Sovereign Mercy
Notes
Transcript
Open your Bibles with me to Luke 13:31-35.
We have been working through Luke’s gospel. And we are coming to close a pretty intense chapter. Jesus has been increasing his warnings to the Jewish people of their need for repentance and humility. And now, here, he ends with an appeal to Jerusalem to repent.
All of us are looking for safety. A harbor. Refuge and rest. We build financial buffers. We secure our homes, we protect our health. We surround ourselves with those who make us feel safe. Maybe religiously or politically. We want to feel safe, right, justified, and in control.
We tend to think that if we can just get our circumstances right, our logic right, and our outward self right, then all will be secure.
But the problem is often not with our heads but our hearts. The problem of human nature is that we mistake outer structure for inner righteousness. We use our religious traditions and theological garb, or our good reputation, as a cloak to hide behind.
But the Lord brings forth His words to expose us. And God reveals to us that we aren’t like we thought. Instead, we are often stubborn, rebellious, prideful, and self-righteous. Because at the end of the day, the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart.
Here is Luke 13, Jesus encounters two forms of hostility. One is an earthly tyrant named Herod, and the other is a religious city called Jerusalem, blind to its own spiritual decay within.
And here, Jesus is undeterred from His mission and moves steadily to the Cross and suffering, weeping over the city and people who will put Him to death, while also offering mercy to rebellious sinners who will repent and come to him for grace!
Sermon Summary: Jesus overcomes rebellion through mercy.
31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ 34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
I. Rest in God’s Sovereign Control. (vv. 31-33)
I. Rest in God’s Sovereign Control. (vv. 31-33)
Jesus is making his way toward Jerusalem. We see Him teaching in the nearby towns and villages, journeying toward Jerusalem (v. 22). He just answered the question of whether those who are saved will be few. He’s warned that time is running out. Jesus is standing before His own people, inviting them into the Kingdom of God, but they are refusing Him. And Luke tells us - it was at that very hour. So Jesus is teaching, and not much has changed, and…..
31 At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” 32 And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’
Now, this is interesting, because we see that some Pharisees are warning Jesus here. And we may be like, what’s going on here? Is this genuine, or is this a play? We would be right to see this as a play. We know that because Luke has already shown us the Pharisee’s cards.
53 As he went away from there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to press him hard and to provoke him to speak about many things, 54 lying in wait for him, to catch him in something he might say.
So they come to Jesus and say - GET AWAY….that’s two verbs in the GREEK. LEAVE AND GO!! Because HEROD wants to kill you!
Now, it’s likely true. That Herod Antipas, who killed John the Baptist, likely wanted to kill Jesus as well. It may even be likely that Herod is conspiring with the Pharisees to bait or trap Jesus. And that the Pharisees wanted him to stand before the Sanhedrin. Or it’s that Herod wants him out of the region that he controls. He’s had enough of the religious conviction these prophets and preachers bring.
In Acts 4:27, we see this conspiring together. You remember when Peter and John were put into prison for preaching the gospel. And the church prays. They knew this dynamic was coming against Jesus.
27 for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.
Now, that verse right here is colliding truths within this text. That is, here is Herod, the prociding governor of the region. The ruler in power, who gives a word and it happens, now wants to kill Jesus. AND he’s already done it to John the Baptist. So how will Jesus respond?
You know, fear might cause us to do strange things. Fear can cause us to run. Fear can cause us to panic. When we become aware of conspiring and attacking. It drains us. We feel the fatigue. Retreat is natural. This was a scheme and temptation in the Old Testament. Amaziah told Amos to flee from Bethel and prophesy in Judah. Shemiah advised Nehemiah to hide in the temple, fearing enemies would come to kill him. And the same tactic is being used here against Jesus. Coward in fear, run, flee!!
And so Jesus responds in v. 32: “Go and tell that FOX!!” You go and tell that Fox HEROD, what I DO!!
I cast out DEMONS - I perform CURES….that’s an old word for HEALINGS. I do that today, tomorrow, and on the THIRD DAY I FINISH MY COURSE!!
See, calling Herod a fox. Jesus is using a little bit of wordplay here. A fox was known to be cunning and cowardly. Rather than being brazen and out in the open. A fox is a SLY FOX. They are crafty, they are sneaky. And a FOX, on the outside, with its furry coat and mane, it resembles a ferocious LION! It’s an animal that can appear to be BIG, but actually, it is much weaker than he appears.
See, by all accounts, Herod seems to be in control. He’s big, he’s bold. He’s making threats and accusations. He appears to be as bold as a lion! And then there is the humble Jesus.
All through the gospel of Luke. Jesus is performing the works of the MESSIAH. The lepers are cleansed. The blind can see. The LAME walk! The KINGDOM OF SATAN is pushed back, and stands no chance against the KINGDOM of GOD!!
HEROD, you only have the appearance of control. You are NOT the sovereign. You are a political tyrant, but you are NOT the Lord. You are an earthly dictator, but you are NOT the LORD!!
In fact, the FATHER has a plan for ME!! You go tell that Fox! He’s NOT in control. You go tell that FOX, The Lord is SOVERIGN, not HIM!! And that plan for Jesus was through suffering
10 For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering.
And here is Jesus, on his way to Jerusalem. Where Jesus said that he would suffer and be killed!! He accomplishes the DIVINE MUST!!
You see this clearly back in Luke 9:21-22
21 And he strictly charged and commanded them to tell this to no one, 22 saying, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.”
33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’
And so Jesus says here. 33 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’
This is a divine calling on the Son of Man! There is A work for Him to accomplish. So the plots and schemes of Herod and the Pharisee mean only the sovereign working of His Father!! That Jesus must go to the CROSS and FINISH the work that His Father has given to HIM to complete!!
The plan of Herod and the Pharisees doesn’t thwart the plan of God; they only further it!!
Listen to Peter in Acts 2:22-24
22 “Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.
That was ultimately true for Jesus. But beloved, it’s practically true for you as well. The Lord is NOT off His throne. He’s NOT stopped being Lord after the reality of the CROSS and empty TOMB.
Jesus is still the Lord. And what you may fear in your life. The threats, the schemes, the misfortune. The schemes of Satan that might cause you to tremble and worry and fret, to say Life is out of control!!
To know that there is nothing that happens in this life. To you, around you, NOTHING that takes place in this world, that doesn’t pass through the hands of SOVERIGN GOD.
So we can live in confidence, NOT coward in fear. The Lord is SOVERIGN. And because God is sovereign, we can trust in Him. We can REST in HIM!
What do you worry about? What have you been conditioned to fear? What have your circumstances and misfortunes distorted God’s provision and care, and trust in Him? Through the trouble and hardship. Through life in what feels like chaos. Where do you tend to shift from confidence in Christ to unbelief?
NOT believing, NOT trusting that God is in control. There is a deep thread I want to pull here, but I simply don’t have time. In fact, I would argue that most of life is lived right here. Between the crosshairs of God’s Providence and our SELF Provision….where we fight and wrestle with the Lord, rather than REST in HIM!!
II. Realize the Danger of Spiritual Pride (v.34)
II. Realize the Danger of Spiritual Pride (v.34)
There is a lot converging in this section of scripture. It is difficult to break it up nice and neat. That will be more evident here in verse 34. Luke is writing here in such a way for three chapters now, the focal point has been on Jerusalem. And now, in two verses, everything comes zeroing in here. Jesus ends verse 33, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem. And now.
34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!
This sets up intense irony and hyperbolic language. Did every prophet die in Jerusalem? Not all of them. John the Baptist was executed by Herod in Galilee. But many of them did die in Jerusalem.
The innocent blood spilled by Mannasseh and Jehoiakim (2 Kings), including the prophets who were sent to rebuke them. Think of Zechariah, who was killed between the altar and the Sanctuary.
This what Jesus alluded to back in Luke 11:49-51
49 Therefore also the Wisdom of God said, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, some of whom they will kill and persecute,’ 50 so that the blood of all the prophets, shed from the foundation of the world, may be charged against this generation, 51 from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who perished between the altar and the sanctuary. Yes, I tell you, it will be required of this generation.
The irony is striking. Jerusalem. The city that is to be the city of God. The city of religious garb and pomp. The place of the Temple. The place where sacrifices are offered unto the Lord. JERUSALEM, JERUSALEM!! THAT HOLY CITY!! Is the city WHO is KILLING PROPHETS and STONING those who are sent to it. Both present active participles. They are actively doing this, STILL, Jesus says!!
For they will do the same to Jesus!! Thus, He must go to Jerusalem!! And they will reject Him, those God has sent Him for their good!!
And rather than exuding a heart for the Lord. Rather than displaying a posture of humility and repentance. Over and Over Again, Israel continued in a way of Religious PRIDE. And at the heart of Israel was Jerusalem. At the heart of Israel’s place of worship of God was their rejection of God’s work among them. STONING the Prophets. Killing those who God sent to them to bring them back to HIM!! It was their way of justifying themselves, declaring themselves right and the prophets to be false.
This is Spiritual pride. This is the doubling down and justification that they are right!! How dare someone confront them? How dare someone bring their flaw to attention? How dare someone reject their facade of holiness and righteousness?
You see this confronted all the way back in Jeremiah.
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: 2 “Stand in the gate of the Lord’s house, and proclaim there this word, and say, Hear the word of the Lord, all you men of Judah who enter these gates to worship the Lord. 3 Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Amend your ways and your deeds, and I will let you dwell in this place. 4 Do not trust in these deceptive words: ‘This is the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord, the temple of the Lord.’
And this is exactly what John the Baptist confronts in Matthew 3:7-9
7 But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to his baptism, he said to them, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? 8 Bear fruit in keeping with repentance. 9 And do not presume to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father,’ for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children for Abraham.
You know, the problem of pride is NOT that we don’t recognize it as dangerous. We always spot it others. The problem with pride is that we refuse to imagine it’s within us! The audacity to think I could be that way. We are clever and quick to point the finger in the other direction.
So we have unmet desires, and it’s someone else’s fault. We have a disagreement, and the blame is always on them. We’ve got knowledge, so everyone else is wrong. We know better. We have it figured out. They don’t know. If they were like me, then they’d see it!!
And then add a religious cloak to it, and it’s a recipe for disaster! Well, I’m right. I’m religious. I’m involved. I know what I’m owed. I know what I deserve. They should listen to me!! I know what I’m talking about!!
And we think that outward doing and outward zeal are more precious in the sight of God than an inner disposition of humility.
We would be wise to recognize the danger of spiritual pride. And we would be wise to actively fight against it within our hearts. You know, this is perhaps the greatest temptation among religious-minded people. To have their MIND’s right, but their hearts far from God!!
To have all the theological articulation right. To be careful and meticulous to the degree of overthinking and have the acumen to argue for our point! And in the midst of being correct, we can be wrong in how we yield and leverage our position.
Listen, can I just shoot really straight with you? The problem is likely NOT to be in our logic. The problem will often be in our heart posture towards others. And I’m watching this play out in so many arenas. On social media. Among pastors and influencers. In celebrity culture, that is just about inflating egos and our brand. Rather than about Christ and his church.
Because Jesus is always pointing back to the heart. Jerusalem had the outward zeal, but its heart was filled with pride. It was filled with hatred and selfish ambition. And really, because of that, they were so far from the Lord. NOT because they were getting the outward show wrong. But because their hearts were corrupted. And rather than living in humility, they lived in a disposition of pride before the Lord, and it was ruining their heart posture before God, which is why they refused to listen to him. It wasn’t because Jesus wasn’t clear. It’s because their hearts were not willing.
Beloved, that’s what pride does, and that’s what we see next!
III. Run to Christ For Refuge (v.34b)
III. Run to Christ For Refuge (v.34b)
There is another interesting irony. That in the midst of seeing the rebellious hearts of men. You see the tender mercies of Christ.
34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
You know, Jesus is familiar with Jerusalem. He would have made annual returns to the city for Passover. You remember him as a boy in the Temple with his parents. He loved the city. He loved the people. He loved the Temple. His Father’s house. And yet, time and time again, he longed for His people to come to Him for mercy!!
And now, here he is, speaking to the hardness of heart of the Jewish people, stoning and killing the prophets, and it’s Jesus who declares compassion, even to those who have rejected them.
He says how often I would have gathered you. I would have restored you. And then gives an image of a hen and her brood, gathering them under her wings.
This is a strong image. It’s strong because it instills a motherly-like compassion for her children, which we can all relate to. If you are a mother, you know this tender mercy. If you are a son or a daughter, you know the embrace of a mother’s heart towards her children. But the image is pressed further, because the wings of the hen are intended to be a place of refuge from danger.
The image of a hen gathering he brood under her wings is ripe with biblical imagery.
Of protection and care for the faithful. Of strength and endurance. And even judgment for the wicked.
Here is what Moses writes in Deuteronomy 32:9-11
9 But the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted heritage. 10 “He found him in a desert land, and in the howling waste of the wilderness; he encircled him, he cared for him, he kept him as the apple of his eye. 11 Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that flutters over its young, spreading out its wings, catching them, bearing them on its pinions,
And in the same way the Psalmsist declares in Psalm 91:3-4
3 For he will deliver you from the snare of the fowler and from the deadly pestilence. 4 He will cover you with his pinions, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness is a shield and buckler. 5 You will not fear the terror of the night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in darkness, nor the destruction that wastes at noonday.
And here is a city that is in open rebellion against God and the Lord Jesus Christ, saying I am so willing to bring you in and embrace you with compassion!
This is the heart of Christ for rebellious sinners. Drawing near to them in mercy and grace! But there is a problem….
And the problem is NOT the mercy of Jesus, the problem is the rebellion of the hearts of men!!
There is another play on words here…Jesus says how often I would have wished. I would have gathered, but you were not willing; you wished otherwise!!
See, the issue wasn’t with the offer of Jesus. He had been openly declaring the truth of who he was to the people of Israel. He’d performed miracles. He healed the sick, cleansed the leper. He cast out demons. He did miracle after miracle…the problem wasn’t with the clarity of Jesus, but the unwillingness of Israel’s heart toward the Lord.
They saw it plainly. But wanted another sign. They heard him teach plainly, but had their own interpretation and were unwilling to see Christ as the fulfillment of the Law and Prophets. They saw the signs and wonders but explained them away to ease their own conscience. The issue wasn’t with Jesus, but the hearts of men.
Rest assured, that is where the problem always sits. The heart of the problem is always the problem of the heart!! And here is the heart of Christ towards rebellious sinners. And that truth is NOT just for the Jewish people. But for us as well.
13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.
Beloved, the reality of the cross and empty tomb is the tender mercy of Christ for rebellious sinners. That Jesus gave his life to save us, NOT because we deserved it, but in spite of us. The cross was necessary because of us! And rather than leaving us in our filth. Christ draws near to sinners through his life, death, and resurrection. And invites all men to come to him for mercy! Jesus didn’t merely suffer to provide you shelter. He took the fire of divine wrath in His own body so we can live under his wings!!
The issue is NOT that what Christ has done is insufficient. His death is sufficient to save to the uttermost. The issue is stubborn and rebellious hearts that refuse to come to him for rest!! They refuse to bow their knee in repentance and faith!! They refuse to trust Christ for salvation! They refuse to cry out in repentance and faith!!
And for the believer in Christ, that is often our battle daily, isn’t it? The temptation to pick up in your own strength. The temptation to find refuge in your own covering and strength. That we like to think, we are immune to religious pride, and therefore we refuse to surrender our hearts and souls to him. See the irony?
We carry struggles and burdens as if we can now shoulder them because of Jesus, rather than entrusting ourselves fully to Jesus, so that we might find true rest!! We live in agony and turmoil; maybe we spiritualize it as this is my “cross-bearing”… when in reality, it’s a refusal to yoke our lives fully unto Christ. And so we live in this strange paradox, having nearness to Jesus, but NOT embracing the mercy of Jesus for our souls.
We keep him at a distance as a distant authority or advice-giver, rather than running into His embrace as our protector. We are more content with the righteous and religious covering than the pureness of a humble, contrite heart before God, in desperate need of His care!!
5 Likewise, you who are younger, be subject to the elders. Clothe yourselves, all of you, with humility toward one another, for “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.
And Jesus invites us here in Luke 13, for rest!! How often I would have gathered you, but you were NOT willing!!
Are you running to Christ for mercy? For Rest, For Assurance!! In troubles and anxieties. When you feel guilty. When you feel weak and tired, and stressed, and drained!! And BURDENED!! Jesus says, “You can come to me!!” He desires that we come so that he can embrace us with tender compassion and mercy for our souls.
Stop striving in your own strength, and let him gather you in His care!
IV. Rejection Results in Righteous Judgment (v.35)
IV. Rejection Results in Righteous Judgment (v.35)
I’ve mentioned it before, I believe in this section of scripture. But this theme comes up often in scripture; it’s the truth of God’s opposition to a prideful heart, and God’s grace toward the humble. And because of Israel’s continued rejection of Christ, comes God’s judgment for their rebellion.
34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 35 Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
Scholars are divided over what Jesus means here: does the ‘forsaken House’ mean the City or the temple? The result is the same. God has removed His protection from the City. The city was besieged and fell to the Romans in AD 70. The temple too was destroyed. The glory of the Lord departed from the Temple. It is ICCABOD, for the glory of the Lord has departed from there!
This is a divine passive. God has withdrawn His presence. The warning comes in Jeremiah 22:4-5
4 For if you will indeed obey this word, then there shall enter the gates of this house kings who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their servants and their people. 5 But if you will not obey these words, I swear by myself, declares the Lord, that this house shall become a desolation.
To those willing to come to Christ in humility and repentance, there is sweet mercy to be found in Him. But to those who reject Him, there remains a reality of judgment. You see this crystal clear in passages like John 3:16-19
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
And because of their hardness of heart, the Lord has forsaken them. God has given them over to their desires and lusts. And yet, for those who might turn to him in Mercy, God remains willing to receive them, but those who remain hardened in heart, there is coming judgment of God.
And so Jesus closes and says, “You will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”
Now this is incredibly interesting. Because Jesus is quoting from Psalm 118:26
22 The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 23 This is the Lord’s doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 24 This is the day that the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 25 Save us, we pray, O Lord! O Lord, we pray, give us success! 26 Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! We bless you from the house of the Lord.
Now, I pulled back to verse 22 there, because I want you to see this Psalm within context. And recognize what Jesus is saying and what Luke is doing here, quoting from this Psalm. This is no accident. In fact, this is the first of three direct quotes from this Psalm in the Gospel of Luke, though there is an allusion to it when John asks whether Jesus is the one to come or whether they should look for another (Luke 7:18-23).
By the New Testament period. This Psalm had messianic expectations. You see it here, in the coming together of the expected one coming and the union of God’s house, whereas in Luke the house lies desolate. The Psalter anticipates the House as blessed.
The next time this Psalm is quoted, it’s quoted by the people in the crowd during the triumphal entry, when they are shouting.
37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, 38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
And the next time it’s quoted, it’s Jesus declaring that he is the stone that the builder rejected, who has become the cornerstone. That the rejection of the stone of Christ is the ultimate act of HUMAN pride, but God turns that STONE of stumbling into the cornerstone of salvation for all who run to HIM!.
Jesus is declaring here that he is long-expected Messiah. Though He be rejected by His own people, one day they will see Him coming and be in utter dismay, because they recognize His glory.
That now, they look at Him and reject Him. One day they will see HIM, and they will say of Him on that DAY. BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES in the Name of the LORD!!
Now, there is debate and wonder whether Jesus is alluding here to an end-time inclusion of Jews repenting and trusting Christ. Paul alludes to this in Romans 11, that a partial hardening has come upon the Jewish people, until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.
And there is a great mystery around this reality, but for those apart from Christ, there remains an urgent decision. We will confess Christ as Lord and receive mercy. Or will we reject Him in judgment?
But there is a coming day, when His Lordship will be undeniable. Then all will give a proper confession to Christ. Jesus is extending to them an offer of willful confession, but there is coming a day when they will confess Him as King, regardless!!
This is similar to Philippians 2:5-11
5 Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, 6 who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, 7 but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. 9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
On that great and final day, the glory of Christ will be on full display. All will bow their knee in worship. Regardless of their hatred, hostility, and rebellion. On that day, they will all bow their knee at His Lordship and declare Him blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.
Jesus overcomes rebellion through sovereign mercy. You can bow to Christ today in repentance and faith, and find shelter under His wings, or on that final day under His righteous judgment. Run to Him while mercy is still offered.
