Larry Devich
Sunday, March 04, 2007
The 2nd Sunday in Lent The Unwelcome Savior
Read: Luke 13:31-35
"Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it
cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.” (Lk. 13:33)
We have reached the second Sunday in Lent, so we turn again to the Gospel
lesson for the day. Remember: Jesus is present there—and whatever He is
doing, He is doing for you.
The Pharisees don't want Jesus around. Every time He opens His mouth, it
seems, He contradicts their painstaking teaching that people are saved by
keeping enough rules. Herod doesn't want Him around, either: he's already shut
John the Baptist in prison for denouncing his immorality, and he certainly
doesn't want John's Cousin nearby—especially when He is rumored be such a
threat to Herod's throne. Get rid of this Jesus: that's the plan. Keep Him away
from Jerusalem if at all possible. So some Pharisees approach Jesus and warn
Him to stay away for His own good: “Get out and depart from here, for Herod
wants to kill you!”
Jesus' answer sounds paradoxical at first. On the one hand, He declares that
He will cast out demons and perform cures on His way to being perfected. That
much makes sense for the Christ. But on the other, He proclaims that He is
going to Jerusalem to die, to suffer the fate of many prophets who foretold Him.
But there is no contradiction here: the all-powerful, wonder-working Son of God
is on His way to Jerusalem, where He will suffer and die for the sins of the
world. He will enter the city to the cries of “Hosanna!” and “Blessed be the
name of the Lord!,” mobbed by admirers. Five days later, He'll be on a cross,
surrounded by a jeering mob.
Make no mistake: Jesus doesn't get on that cross by trickery. Herod and the
Pharisees don't lure Him to His death—here in Luke 13, they'd rather He stay
away! Nor is His cross accidental: many today will suggest that Jesus is a tragic
hero who begins a good ministry but then has the bad luck of being crucified for
being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But His death is not an accident, and
no one puts Him there against His will.
He goes willingly. “I must journey,” He says, and it's a matter of divine
necessity. Why must He journey? For you. That is why He has become flesh—
to suffer in your place on that cross outside Jerusalem. No one puts Him to
death against His will—not Herod or Pharisees or the devil Himself, because it
is His will that you be redeemed. And having died for you, He is also risen for
you. Alive for eternity, He declares that the time will never come that He does
not have forgiveness for you.
And if His foes couldn't prevent Him from—or put Him on—the cross, how
could they prevent Him from taking away your sins? They cannot. Jesus wills to
forgive you, and so your faith and salvation are sure. ¶ 3/04/2007 09:12:00 PM 0 Comments
"Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it
cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.” (Lk. 13:33)
We have reached the second Sunday in Lent, so we turn again to the Gospel
lesson for the day. Remember: Jesus is present there—and whatever He is
doing, He is doing for you.
The Pharisees don't want Jesus around. Every time He opens His mouth, it
seems, He contradicts their painstaking teaching that people are saved by
keeping enough rules. Herod doesn't want Him around, either: he's already shut
John the Baptist in prison for denouncing his immorality, and he certainly
doesn't want John's Cousin nearby—especially when He is rumored be such a
threat to Herod's throne. Get rid of this Jesus: that's the plan. Keep Him away
from Jerusalem if at all possible. So some Pharisees approach Jesus and warn
Him to stay away for His own good: “Get out and depart from here, for Herod
wants to kill you!”
Jesus' answer sounds paradoxical at first. On the one hand, He declares that
He will cast out demons and perform cures on His way to being perfected. That
much makes sense for the Christ. But on the other, He proclaims that He is
going to Jerusalem to die, to suffer the fate of many prophets who foretold Him.
But there is no contradiction here: the all-powerful, wonder-working Son of God
is on His way to Jerusalem, where He will suffer and die for the sins of the
world. He will enter the city to the cries of “Hosanna!” and “Blessed be the
name of the Lord!,” mobbed by admirers. Five days later, He'll be on a cross,
surrounded by a jeering mob.
Make no mistake: Jesus doesn't get on that cross by trickery. Herod and the
Pharisees don't lure Him to His death—here in Luke 13, they'd rather He stay
away! Nor is His cross accidental: many today will suggest that Jesus is a tragic
hero who begins a good ministry but then has the bad luck of being crucified for
being in the wrong place at the wrong time. But His death is not an accident, and
no one puts Him there against His will.
He goes willingly. “I must journey,” He says, and it's a matter of divine
necessity. Why must He journey? For you. That is why He has become flesh—
to suffer in your place on that cross outside Jerusalem. No one puts Him to
death against His will—not Herod or Pharisees or the devil Himself, because it
is His will that you be redeemed. And having died for you, He is also risen for
you. Alive for eternity, He declares that the time will never come that He does
not have forgiveness for you.
And if His foes couldn't prevent Him from—or put Him on—the cross, how
could they prevent Him from taking away your sins? They cannot. Jesus wills to
forgive you, and so your faith and salvation are sure. ¶ 3/04/2007 09:12:00 PM 0 Comments
