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The Ongoing Ministry and Compassion of Jesus
Hello friends.
Thanks for listening today.
Welcome to the 2nd Sunday of Easter Preparation.
Our Revised Common Lectionary passage comes from Luke 13:31-35, a text that reminds of Jesus' daily ministry in the face of his approaching passion.*
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you."
He said to them, "Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.
Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.'
* Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!
How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
See, your house is left to you.
And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Let's start with some context.
*In Luke 9:51, Jesus begins his journey to Jerusalem where he knew that he would face opposition from religious leaders and eventually his death.
Along the way, he demonstrates the presence of God's kingdom through repeated deliverance from demons and healing from sickness.
*These signs and miracles create an opening in the minds and hearts of many who witness them.
Jesus teaches the crowds of people from Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem, revealing the heavenly Father.
He shares the good news of his amazing love and offer of salvation for all.
He offers true freedom, spiritual healing and deliverance.
*As Mark 1:14-15 says, Jesus proclaimed the gospel (good news) of God, saying
"The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand [come near]; repent and believe the gospel."
Jesus was the presence of God's kingdom among them, and crowds of people followed him along his journey.
If you want to imagine this in today's world, *Jesus might have a huge social media following who track his journey on foot from Galilee to Jerusalem.
Perhaps they would turn out to see him in person as he passed near their town.
*Wherever Jesus goes, he brings signs of God's kingdom.
He IS God's kingdom on earth at that time.
*And he IS God's kingdom here and now as he lives through us in the Holy Spirit, leading, empowering us to embody his loving presence in this troubled world.
More on that later...
Verses 31 of our passage says,*
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, "Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you."
So here's Jesus, doing his work on the way to Jerusalem, where he knows he will die.
The Pharisees come along and warn him to run, because the same Herod who chopped off the head of John the Baptist's wants to kill him.
Now the passage doesn't reveal the motivation of the Pharisees here.
There were some converts among the Pharisees who might have sincerely wanted to warn Jesus.
Or it could have been that this warning was from the jealous Pharisees who wanted to scare Jesus off their turf.
We really don't know.
Whatever the case, Jesus replies,
"Go and tell that fox for me, 'Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.
In other words, "I'm operating by my own timetable, not yours."
Herod has no power over Jesus or his ministry-it's the Father's work and no man can stop it.
Today and tomorrow Jesus will continue his daily work, and Jesus is the one who will complete that work.
It will be completed on the third day.
The third day is an allusion to Jesus' resurrection, when his physical mission on earth is completed.
What a powerful reminder to us as we participate in Jesus' ongoing ministry even right now.
God's work is not subject to human power.
It will not stop for ANY reason because it's GOD'S work.
*Are we desperately running to every corner of the globe trying to bring the gospel to every person of every nation so that the end can come?
Such an effort, while noble, would indicate that we think WE are in charge, that it's our work and not God's.
God's work doesn't depend on our success.
*Are we discouraged when our friends and relatives don't want to hear the gospel?
Absolutely.
But God's timetable doesn't look like ours.
We don't see what he sees.
We can, however, count on his loving desire that ALL men come to repentance and be saved.
And he will redeem everything for good IN HIS TIME, the very best time.
Craig showed me a news article about Zhou Jinxia, a Christian woman in northeast China, who has been arrested-again-for proselytizing.
That comes as no surprise to family and friends, who call her "unbreakable" and "irrepressible."
More than 50 times, Zhou has attempted to share the Gospel message with *Chinese President Xi Jinping and his wife.
The result?
Repeated arrests and detentions-and now a growing notoriety that some people fear could result in longer imprisonment.
*Using placards filled with Gospel messages, Zhou regularly stands outside a gated area in Beijing where top Chinese Communist Party officials reside.
On February 20, she stood there again to greet President Xi when he returned from the Winter Olympics.
This led to her arrest for "picking quarrels and provoking trouble."
Zhou "concluded that no solution to China's problem[s] would be possible unless [the president and his wife] would receive God in their hearts."
One of her placards reads, "God loves the people of the world and is calling out to Xi Jinping and Peng Liyuan.
Atheism nurtures sin and brings down the people.
The Kingdom of Heaven is at hand; you should repent."
What an amazing witness this lady is, yet it seems that this is not God's timing for President Xi's conversion.
Verse 33 repeats Jesus' point that his ministry must and will continue:*
Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.'
Even today, Jesus' ministry must continue as his followers participate in the work he has already prepared in advance for them to do.
*Now verse 34-35:
Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!
How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!
See, your house is left to you.
And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
Jesus is headed towards the historic seat of Jewish power in Jerusalem where both kings and priests have their home.
Prophetic ministry in the face of power is a dangerous activity.
It jeopardizes the lives of those who would speak the truth of God's kingdom to the powers that be.
Jesus is no exception.
But what is surprising is Jesus' reaction.
He characterizes the city as killing prophets and apostles ("those who are sent,"), but his response is the compassion of a mother.
Jesus longs to gather Jerusalem under his wings (v.
34).
Jesus longs to comfort those who would reject him.
*He envisions Jerusalem as a brood of vulnerable chicks in need of their mother's protection and longs to offer the same protection, salvation, to the very city where he will die.
*Unfortunately, Jerusalem also has a longing.
The city does not want to be gathered under the salvation of Jesus.
What a tragedy.
They rejected God's grace IN PERSON, the person of Christ.
What agony Jesus experiences over this, *even crying over Jerusalem, as we read in Luke 19:41.
So great is his care and compassion even towards his enemies.
What a powerful example for us.
As Christ followers, we should be known for our compassion, even towards those who might be considered our enemies.
*Today our news reports are filled with horrible photos of human suffering at the hands of Russian President Vladimir Putin.
I don't know about you, but tears come to my eyes when I see these photos.
So does anger.
*I just finished an excellent historical novel about the Nazi occupation of Holland during the second world war.
The author follows the lives of three women-one a Jew, one a farmer, one a young woman.
These women each wrestle with their faith in the face of great suffering during the 5-year Nazi occupation.
One character in particular-Lena-- struggles with anger as her husband disappears to assist the Resistance movement.
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