Sermon: The Weakness of Jesus
Text: Luke 19:41-47
Occasion: Trinity X
Who: Mark Woolsey
Where: Providence REC
When: Sunday, August 12, 2007
May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight, O Lord, my strength and my redeemer. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
I. Intro
Christians from the very beginning of the church have always emphasized the strength and power of Jesus. There were battles for a long time about how strong, and how powerful, but no one doubted His high place. The councils of Nicea and Chalcedon brought even more clarity, stating that not only was He all of this, but that He was very God of very God. That meant that He was not just the strongest and most powerful, but omnipotent, that is, all-powerful. There can be no limits to what He can do. Indeed, our whole worship is built around Him, confessing Jesus to be sovereign King over all, who predestines the fate of the nations down to the individual atoms of which they are made. Yet the Gospel passage today seems to portray Him as weak, unable to save even His own family of people. How can God the Son be said to be weak? If Christ cannot save even His own earthly people, can He save us? Before we answer these questions, let�s back up a bit in the chapter from Luke today.
II. Press Conference
Does anyone know what the context is for these verses today? I must confess I had forgotten what was happening around the events related here until I began my research on them by reading others� sermons. Most of the sermons on these verses are not given on Trinity X, but on Palm Sunday. Although in the midst of Lent, Palm Sunday is one of the most expressively joyful Sundays of the whole year. If you look back a few verses from where we started you will see the Triumphal Entry of Jesus related. In fact, one of the more interesting comments I read about the Triumphal Entry is that it resembles a press conference today in the midst of an election year. By entering Jerusalem riding on a donkey Jesus was consciously saying He fulfilled Zech 9:9ff:
�Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
Shout, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your King is coming to you;
He is just and having salvation.
Lowly and riding on a donkey,
A colt, the foal of a donkey.
I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim
And the horse from Jerusalem.
The battle bow shall be cut off.
He shall speak peace to the nations;
His dominion shall be from sea to sea.
And from the River to the end of the earth.�
�As for you also,
Because of the blood of your covenant,
I will set your prisoners free from the waterless pit.
Return to the stronghold,
You prisoners of hope.
Even today I declare
That I will restore double to you.
For I have bent Judah, My bow,
Fitted the bow with Ephraim,
And raised up your sons, O Zion,
Against your sons, O Greece,
And made you like the sword of a mighty man.�
And it doesn�t stop here. For twenty verses God makes His election promises to Israel. By entering Jerusalem on a donkey, Jesus was claiming to be Israel�s Messiah. If He were following today�s pattern, then after the �press conference�, He would travel the stump, gathering support for His candidacy. At the Israeli Restoration Party�s national convention He would whip His supporters into a frenzy, outmaneuvering all His opponents, and get Himself nominated King. However, His followers skipped all that. They simply elected Him by acclimation, throwing their very clothes down for Him to walk on like a carpet. Jesus, this is it. Take the reigns of power. Kick the Romans out. That�s what Messiahs DO, don�t they? All eyes are on the carpenter�s son who has risen to such prominence in three short years. As He takes the podium for His acceptance speech�
III. Jesus wept.
Jesus wept. He just can�t seem to get it straight. In fact, most of His life is spent doing everything upside down and backwards. First He exists, and then He is born. He avoids sin, but gets baptized. His mother is a virgin when He is born. He says love your enemies, and then severely chastises those who claim to be His Father�s most loyal followers.
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it (Luke 19:41)
This weeping of Jesus is one of only two times that He is recorded as crying. The other is, of course, every child�s favorite memory verse, John 11:35. Who will quote me that whole verse? �Jesus wept.� ;-) And yet why in our passage today did Jesus weep? Well, duh, because He�s sad. Yes, but why is He sad? Because Jerusalem will suffer such a horrible fate? But surely if He is God He can do something about it. As a man, if I see another man crying over something that he has control over, I have little sympathy. Snap out of it and take care of it is my advice.
BTW, right after the meeting today I�ll be teaching a class to husbands on �How to counsel your wife�. It�s sure to be helpful. ;-)
Seriously though, as followers of a sovereign Lord, I think we have a tendency to see God as this impersonal force up in heaven dispassionately directing the affairs of men. But from this passage we see not only that God directs the affairs of men, but that He cares about the affairs of men. We also see that our sin is solely our responsibility and not God�s. God, in spite of His total control, is not the author of sin. When we sin, we do so because we choose it of our own accord. Jesus is sad because His people have chosen to reject their only means of salvation, of peace, and thus will be sorely punished. I don�t believe that the Bible resolves the �problem of evil� by positing that God has limited Himself to such an extent that He does not determine our fate, but gives us �free will�. No, Romans 9 makes clear that even our evil actions still fall under the providence of God. What we see in this passage, therefore, is not an explanation of evil, but simply an assertion that we are responsible for our sins, and that Christ in His human nature was deeply moved by the resulting consequences. God, in some mysterious way, deeply desires our obedience and happiness, allows us to sin and suffer the consequences, and yet is in complete control to such an extent that He could change it at any time.
IV. Jerusalem�s Destruction
In fact, I would like to take a little time out and dive a little deeper into Jesus� prediction.
Listen to our Gospel passage today:
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, �If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when you enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation.� (v 41-44)
Here we see Jesus predicting the destruction of Jerusalem. He said this around 29 A.D., and it came to pass 41 years later. So much of the Scripture is familiar to us that we pass over it without really being impacted by what is said. I would like to take some time and try to explain to you what it is that Jesus foresaw.
Some of you may be familiar with the ancient Jewish historian Josephus. He was probably a child when the apostles were preaching the good news. He wrote several historical books that touch upon some people or events of the New Testament. He was not himself a Christian, nor did he try to defend the faith, but his reports make very interesting reading when compared against the writings of the apostles. He was at the siege of Jerusalem as an employee of the Romans, and here are some pieces of his account of what happened to Jerusalem in 70 A.D.
First I�m going to quote a very curious passage that refers to something that started about seven years before the fall of the city. This is not Scripture, but it relates what can only be described as a prophet and prophecy:
But, what is still more terrible, there was one Jesus, the son of Ananus, a plebeian and a husbandman, who, four years before the war began, and at a time when the city was in very great peace and prosperity, came to that feast whereon it is our custom for every one to make tabernacles to God for the temple, began on a sudden to cry aloud, "A voice from the east, a voice form the west, a voice from the four winds, a voice against Jerusalem and the holy house, a voice against the bridegrooms and the brides, and a voice against the whole people!" This was his cry, as he went about by day and night, in all the lanes of the city.
However, certain of the most eminent among the populace had great indignation at this dire cry of his, and took up the man, and gave him a great number of severe stripes; yet did not he either say anything for himself, or anything peculiar to those that chastised him, but still he went on with the same words which he cried before. Hereupon our rulers supposing, as the case proved to be, that this was a sort of divine fury in the man, brought him to the Roman procurator; where he was whipped till his bones were laid bare; yet did he not make any supplication for himself, nor shed any tears, but turning his voice to the most lamentable tone possible, at every stoke of the whip his answer was, "Woe, woe, to Jerusalem!" And when Albinus (for he was then our procurator) asked him, Who he was? and whence he came? and why he uttered such words? he made no manner of reply to what he said, but still did not leave off his melancholy ditty, till Albinus took him to be a madman, and dismissed him.
Now, during all the time that passed before the war began, this man did not go near any of the citizens, nor was seen by them while he said so; but every day uttered these lamentable words, as if it were his premeditated vow, "Woe, woe, to Jerusalem!" Nor did he give ill words to any of those that beat him every day, nor good words to those that gave him food; but this was his reply to all men, and indeed no other than a melancholy presage of what was to come.
This cry of his was the loudest at the festivals; and he continued this ditty for seven years and five months, without growing hoarse, or being tired therewith, until the very time that he saw this presage in earnest fulfilled in our siege, when it ceased; for as he was going round upon the wall, he cried out with his utmost force, "Woe, woe to the city again, and to the people, and to the holy house!" And just as he added at the last, - "Woe, woe to myself also!" there came a stone out of one of the engines, and smote him, and killed him immediately; and as he was uttering the very same presages, he gave up the ghost. (Josephus, as quoted by David Chilton in "Paradise Restored", pp 279-280)
I find this fascinating that a Jewish historian has recorded such a tale of an extra-Biblical pronouncement against the holy city.
Next is a description of what it was like inside the city before the Romans took it. The citizens of the city became incredibly desperate because of the famine:
...for when they saw any house shut up, this was to them a signal that the people within had gotten some food; whereupon they broke open the doors, and ran in and took pieces of what they were eating, almost up out of their very throats, and this by force; the old men, who held their food fast, were beaten; and if the women hid what they had within their hands, their hair was torn for so doing; nor was there any commiseration shown either to the aged or infants, but they lifted up children from the ground as they hung upon the morsels they had gotten, and shook then down upon the floor; but still were they more barbarously cruel to those that had prevented their coming in, and had actually swallowed down what they were going to seize upon, as if they had been unjustly defrauded of their right. They also invented terrible methods of torment to discover where any food was, and they were these; to stop up the passages of the privy parts of the miserable wretches, and to drive sharp stakes up their fundaments! (Ibid, pp 263-4)
We have read in the Scriptures predictions of cannibalism. Here is Josephus again:
There was a certain woman ..., her name was Mary ... She was eminent for her family and her wealth ... and had fled away to Jerusalem with the rest of the multitude ... and it was now become impossible for her any way to find any more food, while the famine pierced through her very bowels and marrow, when also her passion was fired to a degree beyond the famine itself; nor did she consult with anything but with her passion and the necessity she was in.
She then attempted a most unnatural thing; and snatching up her son, who was a child sucking at her breast, she said, "O thou miserable infant! for whom shall I preserve thee in this war, this famine and sedition? As to the war with the Romans, if they preserve our lives, we must be slaves! This famine also will destroy us, even before that slavery comes upon us; - yet are these seditious rogues more terrible than both the other. Come on; be thou my food, and be thou a fury to these seditious varlets and a by-word to the world, which is all that is now wanting to complete the calamities of us Jews." As soon as she had said this she slew her son; and then roasted him, and ate one half of him, and kept the other half by her concealed.
Upon this the seditious came in presently, and smelling the horrid scent of this food, they threatened her, that they would cut her throat immediately if she did not show them what food she had gotten ready. She replied, that she had saved a very fine portion of it for them; and withal uncovered what was left of her son. Hereupon they were seized with a horror and amazement of mind, and stood astonished at the sight; when she said to them, "This is mine own son; and what hath been done was mine own doing! Come, eat of this food; for I have eaten of it myself! Do not you pretend to be either more tender than a woman, or more compassionate than a mother; but if you be so scrupulous, and do abominate this my sacrifice, and I have eaten the one half, let the rest be reserved for me also." After which, those men went out trembling, being never so much affrighted at anything as they were at this, and with some difficulty they left the rest of that meat to the mother. (Ibid, pp 273-4)
Here�s a description of what the Romans were doing outside the walls at that time:
... so they were first whipped, and then tormented with all sorts of tortures before they died, and were then crucified before the wall of the city. ... they caught every day five hundred Jews; nay some days they caught more. ... So the soldiers out of the wrath and hatred they bore the Jews, nailed those they caught, one after one way, and another after another, to the crosses, by way of jest; when their multitude was so great, that room was wanting for the crosses, and crosses wanting for the bodies. (Ibid, p 265)
Christ talked about the building of ramparts. Listen to Josephus:
And now the Romans, although they were greatly distressed in getting together their materials, raised their banks in one-and-twenty days, after they had cut down all the trees that were in the country that adjoined to the city, and that for the ninety furlongs round about, as I have already related. And, truly, they very view itself of the country was a melancholy thing; for those places which were before adorned with trees and pleasant gardens were now become a desolate country every way, and its trees were all cut down: nor could any foreigner that had formerly seen Judea and the most beautiful suburbs of the city, and now saw it as a desert, but lament and mourn sadly at so great a change; for the war had laid all signs of beauty quite waste; nor, if any one that had known the place before, had come on a sudden to it now, would he have known it again; but though he were at the city itself, yet would he have inquired for it notwithstanding. Ibid, p270.
And finally, here�s some of the description of the taking of the city:
And now the Romans, judging that it was in vain to spare what was round about the holy house, burnt all those places, as also the remains of cloisters and the gates...
The soldiers also came to the rest of the cloisters that were in the outer [court of the] temple, whither the women and children, and a great multitude of the people fled, in number about six thousand. ... the soldiers were in such a rage, that they set the cloister on fire; by which means it came to pass that some of these were destroyed by throwing themselves down headlong, and some were burnt in the cloisters themselves. Nor did any one of them escape with his life. (Ibid, p277)
It�s no wonder that we read today that �Jesus wept�.
V. Wrong Again.
Jesus� impotent, tearful response is not the only problem in today�s text. Look what follows right on the heels of that �acceptance speech�:
Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, �It is written, �My house is a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of thieves.�
And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him� (Luke 19:45 � 47)
Jesus, You just don�t seem to �get it�. After you win a great electoral victory, Your first response is supposed to be to offer the olive branch to your opponents. Bring them on board and get them working for you. It will only enhance your power. But Jesus doesn�t seem intent on power. There�s an old saying that goes, �Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate.� Jesus has always had problems with the priests and scribes, but now a new group has formed a splinter group to oppose Jesus: the leaders of the people. Compromise, Jesus. Don�t be so hard-headed. You came to save us from the Romans, didn�t You?
VI. Tables Turned
Well, just as Jesus upturned the tables in the temple, so He is always doing the same thing in the world and the church. This is the pinnacle of Jesus� earthly ministry. The crowds are following Him, even protecting Him. They hang on His every word. His very presence exudes care, compassion, leadership, joy, courage, and strength. Yet less than one week later that same crowd turned on Him. From the highest peak, He sank to the lowest depth. Not only did He not drive out the Romans, but they snuffed Him out, slowly and agonizingly. In the midst of the high time of the people�s praise Jesus said something that gives us a clue as to why He did what He did, and why events unfolded as they did:
If you had known � the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. (v42)
Yes, Jesus was claiming Messiahship in His Triumphal Entry. But no, it was not to �kick out the Romans�. It was much more serious than that. Shortly, all hell would break loose. Jesus� impotence at Jerusalem�s intransigence was only the tip of the iceberg. The whole kingdom was to fall down around Him. Instead of king, He became prisoner. Instead of Messiah, scapegoat. Instead of leader, He was lampooned.
There are parallel times like this in our own lives, times when even God seems helpless. Times when a storm arises on our own sea, but we can�t seem to wake Christ from His slumber to still the waves. Times when we are on top of mount Moriah with our most precious possession, like Abraham with Isaac, but this time there is no angel to stay our hand from the sacrifice. Times of sadness, sickness, personal tragedy, and even death. Where is Jesus in the midst of those times? What is He doing? The same thing He was doing when He wept over Jerusalem. Atoning for our sins. Interceding for us at the right hand of His Father. And His intercession is effective. Listen to a corresponding passage from Matt 24:
For then there will be such great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect�s sake those days will be shortened. (vv 21-22)
His weakness is our salvation. At the same time He was making His baleful prophesy over faithless Jerusalem, His face was set like a flint to the cross for His people. He does not guarantee us a smooth journey, but He does guarantee us final salvation. Here is Jesus� promise to us from John 10:
And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father�s hand. (vv 28-9)
VII. You
The church of Jesus� day was corrupt. It was perhaps the most holy, yet most profane of all institutions. The Pharisees were paragons of virtue, striving to serve God down to the minutest detail. They not only tithed their gross paycheck, they tithed the flowers that grew in their garden. Are you that conscientious? Are you careful to follow Him in every detail each day? Did you lie this week? Steal? Speed? Jaywalk? Did you commit adultery? Are you attentive to His Word, reading it every day as His marching orders? How did you treat your fellow workers? You family? Did you do unto them as you would have them do unto you? And if you can say that you avoided all these problems, what about your intentions? Did they live up to the standards required in Matt 5 � 7? Remember, any sin in our lives is enough to bring all of the destruction of Jerusalem down on our heads. If your righteousness does not exceed that of the Pharisees and Sadducees, you are hosed. In other words, do you know what makes for your peace?
I say to you Christ, and Christ alone, makes for your peace.
VIII. Eucharist
Christ�s promises are always effective, and always kept. His people, those baptized who believe in Him, He does save from the coming destruction. The event that will destroy every liar, thief, adulterer, profaner, and so on, is the same that will save His people. And we can see that judgment and salvation break in on us today. There is a table spread before you; soon it will be filled with what, for His people, becomes the body and blood of their savior. Come believing, and eat the body that was destroyed and the blood that has filled lake after lake, and you will avoid that lake of fire is never quenched. This body is alive again, and this blood cleanses all your sin!
This is the word of God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirt. Soli Deo Gloria!
