When I was growing up one of the highlights of the year took place every September. We were all euphoric when the Davidson County Agricultural Fair rolled into town. As a kid I liked the rides and the cotton candy and candy apples. As a teenager and young adult, I enjoyed the fair because it was a “meet market.” There were girls everywhere on those fair grounds.
After my first year in college I arrived at the Davidson County Agricultural Fair, no longer a skinny, wet-behind-the-ears teenager, but a sophisticated man of the world. My buddy and I met there and immediately began the prowl for women. It didn’t take long to find some. A couple of girls who were mere freshmen back when we were seniors in high school were there and somehow my friend managed to get them to go into the fun house with us. The two girls were light years apart in their personalities and intellects. My buddy, of course, was after the ditsy blond. She was sweet and pretty, but not the sharpest tool in the shed. It was my responsibility, therefore, to go after the friend. She was a lovely brunette. Unlike her friend, she was exceedingly intelligent and a straight-A student.
Get this picture in your mind. The four of us go into the fun house. Blondie is in front with my buddy behind her. Brunette is next with me immediately behind her. As we’re walking along my friend does what all men and boys must do when it’s dark, scary and there’s a girl around. He yelled “Boo!” to which ditsy blond screamed. It was a sure sign that he was making progress with her. I decided that if it worked for him might work for me too, so not five seconds later I launched my loud “Boo!” Sure enough, brunette screamed too. But it was the most unsatisfying scream I’d ever heard. There was no real emotion behind it. Something inside me said, “She’s pretending.” I thought, “How pathetic!”
She was being intentionally stupid. This brilliant girl was acting completely out of character because she wanted something … a relationship with me, sophisticated man of the world. Isn’t it interesting that people will be clueless on purpose to get what they want?
They also do it if there’s something they want to avoid. Have you ever been pulled over by a policeman and they came to your door and said, “Sir or Ma’am, do you know why I’ve pulled you over?” Even if we know we say, “No.” Or he’ll ask, “Sir or Ma’am, do you know how fast you were going? Do you know what the speed limit is here?” Even if we know, usually we say, “No.” I’ve never heard anyone say, “Officer, I’m so glad you pulled me over. I was exceeding the speed limit and I deserve a citation and points added so that my insurance rates will go up.” Typically, we become clueless on purpose because there’s something we want to avoid.
Clueless on purpose, intentional stupidity, idiot on the spot, playing dumb. We’ll do it if there’s something we want or if there’s something we want to avoid.
See if you can recognize some intentional cluelessness in this story. Jesus is headed to Jerusalem, where in less than one week He will die on a Roman cross because the people unjustly called for His execution. For three years He has taught on the coming kingdom of God, worked miracles, cast out demons, healed the sick, deaf, blind, and lame. He’d just raised a man named Lazarus from the dead, who previously had rotted in the grave for four days. Everything He did and said pointed to His identity as the Messiah, the Son of the living God, Emmanuel, God with us, the King of the Jews, but here’s what happened:
… [Jesus] went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ tell him, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them. As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
“I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” Luke 19:28-44 (NIV)
Forty years after Jesus wept over the people of Jerusalem and uttered these words concerning their imminent destruction it came to pass. In 70 AD, Roman legions under Titus, surrounded the city, bombarded it with huge catapulted stones, starved the population, and eventually broke through and slaughtered everyone inside. The buildings were torn down or burned to the ground. The Temple was dismantled stone by stone, not so much out of rage, but by soldiers collecting the gold that guilt the structure. Why did it happen? The Jewish leaders attempted to throw off the yoke of the Roman Empire. They rebelled against Rome to gain independence. The wanted Israel to regain her former position of prominence and power. They wanted to establish the kingdom of God by force.
The destruction could have been avoided. If the leaders and the populace of Jerusalem had listened to Jesus they would have known that the kingdom of God does not come by political power. Instead, those who live by the sword, die by the sword. They rejected Jesus’ message because they rejected Him as their Messiah. God gave them every reason to believe in His Son. But they were clueless … on purpose. The result of their intentional stupidity was destruction.
Why were they clueless on purpose? There were various reasons, but we can be sure that two things were true: there was either something they wanted or something they wanted to avoid. Either Jesus and all that He represented stood in the way of something they wanted or accepting Him as King of their lives would force them to face something they’d rather avoid.
Many years ago, I led a Christian staff on a campground at North Myrtle Beach. One of the maintenance crew, who was not a part of my staff, was a young man named Tommy. We all really like Tommy and enjoyed his presence at our activities. He was a good guy, but Tommy had never made a faith commitment to Jesus Christ, so one day a one of the guys on staff shared the good news with him and asked him if he’d like to accept Christ as his forgiver and leader. Tommy told him “no” in the nicest of terms. With rare honesty, he admitted than becoming a Christian would take him away from some of the things he enjoyed. He never said what those things were, but we can guess that they were sinful activities. Tommy knew very well that saying “yes” to Christ would inevitably mean saying “no” to things that displeased God.
Tommy was clueless about Christ on purpose. When God visited him through the witness of that staffer he rejected the Lord. There were things that he wanted that Jesus would be an obstacle to keeping. I appreciated his honesty, but I sure hope he changed his mind. What does it profit a man to gain the world but lose his own soul?
I meet a lot of Christians who are confused. They don’t know how to handle this problem or that situation. There’s a relationship that they’re at their wits end about. I’ve made a discovery about confused Christians. Here it is: they know what they should do, but they don’t want to do it. God is presenting them with opportunities to exercise their faith through circumstances and relationships, but they come down with a case of cluelessness. It’s on purpose. At the root of the confusion is something they wish to avoid. An apology that needs to be given. A confrontation in love that needs to happen. A habit that must be faced, repented of, and the pattern broken. Relinquishing control over some area. Confusion occurs when we know the right thing to do but we don’t want to do it. If you’re a follower of Christ, you hear Him. He lives in you. God speaks into your heart in a way that you cannot misunderstand. But we insist that we don’t understand Him. We choose cluelessness.
Clueless on purpose doesn’t cut it. As a Christian, you won’t face eternal judgment in hell, but you will reap destruction in this life. Sow to the wind and you will reap the tornado.
The majority of the Jews in Jerusalem rejected God on the day of His visitation. They feigned ignorance. They were clueless on purpose. There were things they wanted and things they wanted to avoid.
The Pharisees and other religious leaders are the most obvious. They wanted something that Jesus did not give them. He presented Himself to them as a king. That’s what they wanted. But they didn’t want that kind of king. They wanted a man of action, a warlord, who would ride into Jerusalem on his white war steed and trample down the Roman army. They were all about power. They wanted God’s kingdom by brute force. That’s why they were constantly asking Jesus for a sign from heaven. They weren’t content with His miracles of mercy. They wanted fire from heaven to blaze down and destroy the enemies of God such as happened during the days of Elijah. When Jesus entered the city in the custom of a king coming in peace, on the back of a donkey, their purposeful cluelessness about Him solidified.
What about the fickle crowd? I think there was something they wanted to avoid. The pep rally on Palm Sunday occurred mainly at the instigation of Jesus’ disciples. The crowd just kind of joined in. “Cool, a party. Let’s go.” But this same crowd, who on one day declared, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord,” five days later could just as easily join with the religious leaders and scream, “Crucify Him!” They were largely avoiding commitment of any kind. You can’t declare Jesus as King of your life from the heart if you’re not simultaneously making a commitment to take up your cross and follow Him. They wanted to avoid the cost of real devotion, so they became clueless on purpose.
In the final analysis, the people didn’t recognize God when He came to them. It’s not because they were incapable. God gave them all the evidence they needed. They didn’t reject Jesus for lack of information. They heard Jesus’ teaching and witnessed the signs that backed it up. God’s Spirit was also speaking to the hearts of each of those people calling them to Christ. But they resisted. They were clueless on purpose.
God did not make His presence difficult to discern. He was for these people, not against them. He wept over their coming destruction. They were clueless on purpose.
The fact is that many on that day had a clue. The disciples got it. They understood Jesus to be their King. They sacrificed their coats along the road for His majesty to walk over. The donkey got. Jesus sat on a colt that no one had ever taken a ride on. I’ve studied donkeys this week and found that you have to develop a trust relationship with them over a long period of time before they’ll have anything to do with you. This donkey colt obediently accepted Jesus onto his back and never once bucked Him. Even the rocks got it. Jesus said they would have cried out in praise if no one else had on that day. God in their midst was obvious. Only those who were clueless on purpose missed God when He came to them. The end result was destruction.
Friends, you can choose cluelessness, but it will yield destruction in your life too. Jesus said that the way to have real life is narrow, steep, and difficult. Few find real life. Why? It’s not because God makes it hard to find or understand. God is for us. The problem is with us. We look at the path of life and freedom and we see that the things we want aren’t there. Or we look ahead and notice things that we’d rather avoid, so we opt for the wide gate that’s easy at first, but ultimately ends in destruction. I am not talking about hell. I’m speaking of the fractured and broken life that many of you followers of Christ continue in. You know the way Jesus calls you to walk. Choose Christ rather than cluelessness.
For some of you the destruction coming is eternal. You haven’t yet made a faith commit to Christ. Friends and family have shared their faith and their hope with you. You’ve sung the songs about Jesus. You’ve heard the tapes. You’ve read the books. But you remain clueless on purpose. Choose Christ rather than cluelessness.
Let’s take a few moments and recognize Christ coming to us now. He is here in our midst when we gather for worship.
1. Reflect on an area of confusion in your life right now. It may pertain to a relationship, an issue you’re dealing with, an attitude, an action, a habit, a need. Ask Jesus to bring it to your mind.
2. Now get honest about what’s causing the confusion. Ask Christ to reveal what it is you’re trying to avoid. Ask Him to show you what it is you want to get or keep that you think Jesus will take away or not allow. Ask yourself, “What am I trying to avoid? What am I trying to get or keep?”
3. Ask Christ to amplify what He’s already told you to do.
4. Maybe you’re someone who has put off coming to Jesus and making a personal faith commitment. You’ve been clueless on purpose. Ask Jesus to reveal why you’re putting it off. “What am I trying to avoid? What am I trying to get or keep that Jesus would get in the way of?”
5. Repent of your cluelessness. It has been intentional. You’ve done it on purpose. Confess that to the Lord.
6. Receive His forgiveness. The Bible declares that if we confess our sins He who is faithful and just will forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
7. As an act of faith, whether you’re coming to Christ for the first time or handing that area of confusion over to Him, sing this song unto God. He is here. Let us choose Christ rather than cluelessness.
