Unbelief Luke 19:41-20:8

-As Jesus goes to Jerusalem He encounters the unbelief of the people.

300 Illustrations for Preachers Zapped with a Stun Gun because of Unresolved Conflict

Authorities arrested a 29-year-old Florida woman after she allegedly used a stun gun on a woman who tried to hug her on Christmas. Authorities jailed Deborah Downing on charges of aggravated battery after she reportedly used a stun gun on a friend attempting to offer a greeting. Authorities say Sheri Brennan was picking up a friend on December 25 when the incident occurred. A friend of Brennan’s told police that she was stunned after trying to give Downing a hug. Brennan says she was not injured, but Downing’s actions did surprise her. She told authorities that she and Downing had a rocky past, but she believed they had resolved their differences.

Don’t assume a matter is resolved; make sure it is resolved.

Jesus is entering Jerusalem as the King of Kings; how will He be greeted when He gets there?

I. Jesus Weeps Over Ignorant Unbelief vv. 41-44

When we pick up the story, Jesus has arrived, near to Jerusalem. As He stands over the city, He weeps.

Let’s pay attention to His posture towards Jerusalem; He is emotionally moved for the people

Why is He so moved? They will be facing a most severe kind of judgment that will end in destruction of their city and themselves!

Jesus makes it clear that this destruction flows out of an ignorance, an inability to recognize the truth of their situation:

They do not know what would have brought them peace

Jesus is coming to Jerusalem and He is the Prince of Peace

He is going to make ultimate peace that surpasses any other kind of peace through His death on the Cross

They do not know the time of their visitation

Messiah, God’s promised deliverer is here

However, they will completely reject Him!

So, does God send this destruction as a form of judgment against Jerusalem?

Not exactly. I think it’s important to note that this destruction is the working out of their rejection of Jesus

Jesus came to offer ultimate peace, the peace that comes with God; however, the people were looking for a political leader to deliver them from Roman rule

After rejecting God’s Messiah, they continued to spin out in rebellion against the Romans that ultimately resulted in a war with Rome

Instead of receiving the peace God was giving, they pursued the peace that they wanted and it all results in destruction

I think that there is an important lesson here for us:

Some of us are convinced that we can have life, hope, and peace on our own terms and in our own ways, rather than the life that God provides for us through Jesus

The end result of all of this is destruction!

James 1:13–15

[13] Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. [14] But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. [15] Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. (ESV)

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God, “Thy will be done,” and those to whom God says, in the end, “Thy will be done.”

God’s judgment is not His desire, nor is it capricious. It is the natural fruit of unbelief. This is exactly the state that all of us are in; this is why the hope of Christ is so critical. It does bring hope, life, and restoration to God from the wages of sin.

II. Jesus Condemns Irreverent Unbelief vv. 45-48

The scene shifts to the Temple, and we see a completely different response from Jesus: rather than sorrow, we see anger.

What would cause Jesus to grow angry?

There is an injustice that is taking place

A market has been setup within the Temple, and it is a den of robbers

People coming to the Temple to make sacrifice are being defrauded and charged exorbitant fees to purchase animals for sacrifice

There is an irreverence that is taking place

This Temple was intended to be a place of prayer, not a house of commerce

Rather than honoring the purpose of the place, the Temple had become just another market, missing its intent

There is guilt to go around here, but it all reflects a failure to honor the Lord, to set Him apart as holy!

It is interesting to me that so much of the problem stems from the people who should have known best, the priests, the scribes, and the most important leaders

Rather than honoring the Lord as holy, they participate in the irreverence!

Shockingly, the words and actions of Jesus bring a unity to these leaders, but it is not a unity of repentance but of continued disobedience

Please don’t miss the escalation that is rapidly taking place here:

Rather than giving pause, the leaders unite to destroy Jesus

There is no shame, no reflection, just a self-seeking anger that ignores completely the holiness of God

They are only interested in “useful” religion; a practice that is personally beneficial and enriching

Jesus absolutely condemns this attitude because it dishonors God and abuses people!

A professor at Florida Atlantic University asked students to write the name 'Jesus' on a piece of paper, place the paper on the floor, and then stomp on it. While most blindly complied, some refused to do so, and one student even went to school administrators to complain.

Ryan Rotela, a junior at FAU who was enrolled at the class, told local media that he went to school officials to protest the assignment. "Anytime you stomp on something it shows that you believe that something has no value … So if you were to stomp on the word Jesus, it says that the word has no value."

Initially, FAU defended the assignment and the curriculum from which it was derived. They have since recanted and apologized. "This exercise will not be used again. The University holds dear its core values. We sincerely apologize for any offense this caused," said Florida Atlantic University, a multi-campus institution, in a prepared statement posted on its website.

It’s possible that many of us are “stomping” on the name of Jesus, with our actions as well, saying that it has no value.

III. Jesus is Silent Before Willful Unbelief vv. 1-8

In the final scene that we will consider today, Jesus is confronted by the Jewish leadership with a question about authority:

Where does Jesus derive His authority from?

Who does He think He is, to be able to teach and overturn tables in the Temple, proclaiming the good news of the Kingdom?

Jesus turns the situation on its head and answers their question with a question!

This question does something very important: it exposes the state of their hearts

The question regards the baptism of John the Baptist. Is it from God, or is it only human

This question is a problem:

If they affirm John the Baptist as a messenger of God, then their actions will prove that they did not actually believe Him

If they deny John the Baptist, they will anger the crowd, who clearly believed he was from God and might well endanger them

They can either stand by their disregard for John (and Jesus by extension) or they can be exposed as hypocrites that must repent; they choose a third way, refusing to answer at all

There is a serious willfulness to this: this is a yes or no question that does not allow neutrality

They cannot claim ignorance: they have heard His words and witnessed His power

They have been confronted: their sins are exposed and their irreverence and injustice revealed

Yet, the continually choose to reject Jesus.

His answer is telling: it is silence

There was a choice before the Jewish leaders: they could either recognize Jesus as Lord, or reject Him completely

Their indecision was a decision.

They want the Kingdom, just without the King, and the Lord doesn’t operate under those terms

How do you need to respond to Jesus today?

As New Orleans embarked upon its second century, it was a city divided. On one side, in the city's First Municipality -- the present-day French Quarter, for the most part -- lived the French Creoles, with traditions dating to the city's founding. On the other side, in the Second Municipality -- today's Central Business District -- was the Anglo-American section. The two didn't particularly get along and so each stuck mostly to their respective side of Canal Street, the center median of which was declared in the March 11, 1837, edition of The Daily Picayune to be "The Neutral Ground." While it is unclear how prevalent its use was (or wasn't) at the time, it marked the first known printed usage of that now-distinctly New Orleans term.

Some of us are trying to live in the “neutral ground” with Jesus. You don’t want to be against Him, you just don’t really want to be with Him either. You are living in indecision. Indecision is a decision. No choice is a choice. Today is the day to follow Jesus!