What Does God Want From Me Anyway? - Luke 19:38-44 - April 17, 2011
(Palm Sunday Service)
I know I’ve done it. You’ve probably done it too. You might have even done it this morning as ____________________ read those verses of Scripture for us. In some ways it is hard not to do - it’s hard not to picture, in your mind’s eye, the events of that day when Jesus road into Jerusalem, fulfilling the words of prophecy spoken by Zechariah, when he declared, Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey. Zechariah 9:9
And they did rejoice and they did shout out to all who would hear, “Hosanna!” “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father David!” “Hosanna in the highest!” Mark 11:9-10 And they took this word, “Hosanna!,” which means, “Save!,” or “Save us, we pray!,” and they turned it into an exclamation of praise and celebration. In their minds, deliverance was at hand, and they went wild with excitement.
Some Bible translations even title this passage of Scripture, “The Triumphal Entry.” And you can see why - they had all the makings of a victory parade, didn’t they? People lined the streets shouting praises to God. They followed behind Jesus, they went on ahead of Jesus, and they declared the coming of the Messiah – the anointed one of God – the one who they had been waiting generations for, and who, they believed, had finally come to set them free. They were seeing the Word of God fulfilled before their very eyes. And so the people rejoiced with great zeal – laying down their cloaks and lining the way with palm branches - in honour of the man who rode in their midst.
And yet while all around Him celebrated, and praised God, the one who was at the heart of what was taking place, Jesus Himself, responded very differently. Open your Bibles with me this morning, please, to the Gospel of Luke. Luke 19 and we’ll begin reading in verse 38.
Luke tells us that the crowds cried out “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” [But] 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 19:38-44
Now that’s quite a contrast, isn’t it? While the majority of those around Him celebrated, Jesus wept. His tears, amidst so much happiness, seem out of place, and that should cause us to ask, “Why?” Why would Jesus weep while others rejoiced? Why would He shed tears of sorrow while others laughed? What was Jesus looking to find that day but did not? What did He see that He wished He had not? What didn’t He see that He desired to? And here is a bigger question still: Is it possible that as people in our day – as even we – worship and praise and celebrate – that Jesus weeps still? I mean, if what took place in that day caused Jesus to weep with tears of sorrow, we could very well ask, “Then what does God want from me anyway?” “If this isn’t it, if this isn’t pleasing to God, then what is? What is He looking for from me?”
And to answer that question we need to understand just what it was that day that broke the heart of the Son of God. If we look back to verse 38 we see again that the people are praising God. They are shouting out, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Luke 19:38 And what they are actually doing is quoting a phrase from the Book of Psalms. Keep your place here in Luke, but turn with me for a moment, to Psalm 118. This is what we could call a “Messianic Psalm.” It’s a psalm that not only described something that had happened in the time that it was written, but it also had a prophetic aspect to it as well. In the words of the psalm there was a looking ahead to that day when the Messiah – when Jesus – would come and deliver His people. So let’s start reading in verse 19 and as we read it, see if you can’t help but see these words being fulfilled, in Jesus.
Open for me the gates of righteousness; I will enter and give thanks to the LORD. This is the gate of the LORD through which the righteous may enter. I will give you thanks, for you answered me; you have become my salvation. The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone; the LORD has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. O LORD, save us; O LORD, grant us success. Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD. From the house of the LORD we bless you. The LORD is God, and he has made his light shine upon us. With boughs in hand, join in the festal procession up to the horns of the altar. You are my God, and I will give you thanks; you are my God, and I will exalt you. Psalm 118:19-28
Who was the gate of righteousness? Jesus! Through whom may the righteous enter? Jesus! Who has become our salvation? Jesus! Who was the stone the builders rejected? Jesus! This is a Messianic Psalm and as Jesus rode into Jerusalem that day the people made the connection between that which was to come, and that which was taking place, and so they cried out “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” But Jesus wept, and He wept because He knew, He knew that many of those who cried out in the name of the Lord, would reject the truth of God in favour of the lies of man.
What was the truth that they rejected? They rejected the truth of the suffering saviour. It didn’t fit into their plans. They rejected the truth of the servant king. That didn’t fit into their preconceptions. They rejected the truth of the crucified Lord. That didn’t fit in with their understanding of what God was doing. Yet it was all there for them to see if they’d only had eyes to see and ears to hear. What did the prophet Isaiah say of the coming Messiah? Turn with me to Isaiah 53 and we’ll take a look. Let’s begin in verse 1 …
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth. Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. Isaiah 53:1-11
So it was all there, in black and white as it were, for them to see. But they wanted a God made in their own image, one whom they fashioned with their own thoughts and ideas. They wanted a King who would do the things that they wanted Him to do, who fit into a box of their own making. They wanted a Saviour who would change everything but cost them nothing. They wanted the same God that so many clamour for today.
And so Jesus wept because the people, according to verse 44, “did not recognize the time of God’s coming.” The same crowds that praised God on this day, and who honoured Jesus as their king, would cry out for His crucifixion just a few short days later. And because they did not understand what God was doing they could not see who it was that He was doing it through. They looked for a Messiah who would usher in a physical kingdom in the here and now, one who would overthrow the Romans and establish Israel as it’s own nation once again. They looked for a kingdom to come by violence but Jesus came and ushered in a different type of kingdom. His was a spiritual kingdom that made new, not the nation, but the people. It was not a kingdom brought about by His use of violence but a kingdom established by His refusal to use violence to accomplish the task that God had set before Him. It was a kingdom established on the very Word of God and upon the obedience of Jesus to His Father.
The apostle Paul, in the book of Philippians, writes of Jesus with these words saying that He, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death— even death on a cross! Therefore God exalted him to the highest place and gave him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. Philippians 2:6-11 Amen? Amen!
And so Jesus wept because before Him were a people who would exchange the ways of God for the ways of this world. What did Jesus say? He said, Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 That’s from the Gospel of John. But what did we read this morning? We read that Jesus weeps and as He weeps He says, “If you, even you,” – Jerusalem – you who are the heart of this nation – you who are at the heart of God’s people – you who have stoned the prophets and killed the apostles who dared to speak in the name of God – “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace.” But they would not see it. They would not know the peace that Jesus offered. Instead they would go their own way, and do their own thing, and try to bring about the kingdom by their own hands and Jesus wept.
And He wept because He knew that as they went their own way they were exchanging life for death. In Isaiah we read that we all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. Isaiah 53:6 When we go our own way, when we turn our backs on God, we lay up for ourselves a fearful store of iniquity. Better to call it sin – that’s what it is – and it’s a word that we are more familiar with. The apostle Paul states it clearly for us when he writes that the wages of sin is death. Romans 6:23 Jesus offered the way of life – He once declared, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” John 14:6 He offered the way, and He offered the truth, and He offered life to the people, but if they could not have it their own way, they wanted to have it not at all!
Jesus wept because He knew that when we go our own way we store up for ourselves a fearsome judgment. The vast majority of the Jewish people would not accept the peace nor the life that Jesus offered to them. They would seek it on their own, they would do it their own way. And Jesus wept because He knew the heartache, and the brokenness, and the shattered lives that would follow. And sure enough it did. Roughly 40 years after Jesus died the Jewish people rose up in revolt. They tried to usher in the kingdom by their own hands. The Romans laid siege to the city of Jerusalem and by the time all was said and done something like 600,000 Jews had been put to death. The steps of the Temple ran red with the blood of the people and the temple itself was destroyed. Not one stone was left standing on another.
And so now we know why it is that Jesus wept that day so long ago while the crowds cheered. And yet we’re left with the question we began with: What does God want from me anyway? I’m going to suggest three things this morning that God is looking for in your life.
Number 1: God wants us to see ourselves as we really are. Turn with me to Revelation chapter three. This is one of the churches that Jesus tells John to write to and this is what He tells him to write: “These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest, and repent. Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” Revelation 3:14-21
Folks, unless we allow the Word of God to shape our vision of ourselves we are never going to see ourselves as we really are. How do you see yourself? You probably see yourself as basically a pretty good person. You know you’re not perfect but you’re a lot better than the majority of the people you read about in the newspapers or see on the news each night, right? The problem is – when we don’t see ourselves as we really are - we begin to think of ourselves better than we ought to. The people to whom Jesus spoke said, “We’re rich! We don’t need a thing!” Jesus said, “Not true! You are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked – and what’s worse - you don’t even realize it.”
It’s important that we see ourselves as we really are. So who are we? We are sinners separated from God by our sin. Who are we? We are sinners completely powerless to atone for our sin before a Holy God. Who are we? We are sinners who will one dreadful day face the wrath of God because of our sin. This is who we are. Apart from Christ this is our reality. And we need to understand that because that’s the starting point. If we know who we are, if we know our need, we can come to Jesus repentant, and humble, and broken - but ready to be made new in the image of Christ. We need to see ourselves as we are so that we understand our need, for Jesus says, that He did not come to save the righteous – not because there were any who were righteous – there weren’t – there were just those who thought they were righteous. Jesus came to save the sinners. That’s why the tax collector’s and prostitutes were entering into the kingdom of God ahead of the religious people of His day – why? Because the one understood that they were “wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked” while the other saw themself as “rich … and not needing a thing.” So let me ask you a question: Which group are you in?
When we see ourselves for who we really are – as sinners in need of salvation – we can seek the face of the Saviour. Jesus says, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30 When we see ourselves as we really are then we’re able to come to Jesus and throw ourselves on the mercy of God.
Which leads us to point Number 2: God wants for us to receive new life through Jesus. John 3:16 is a very familiar passage to us, isn’t it? Say it with me … “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16 That’s the heart of God for you – that you would believe in His son; that you would accept as truth that which the Word of God says about Jesus, that you would believe that by the death and resurrection of Jesus, your sins have not just been forgiven, but atoned for, and now you have new life in Jesus and peace with God! That is the Gospel message – that is the heart of God – that you would believe upon His Son, Jesus, so that you would not perish but have eternal life.
It is a belief that goes beyond mere head knowledge. It is a belief that goes beyond mere facts. It is a belief that is at the very heart of who you are. It is a belief that drives your choices, that informs your words, that steers your path in each day. It is a belief that finds a home in the very core of your being and everything in your life begins to take it’s shape because of that one thing that you believe above all else. Friends, is that how you believe in Jesus?
Too many don’t. Too many believe only when it’s convenient, a little pressure, a little discomfort, and they turn away. Too many believe that only when it’s easy and fits in with their own plans, and their own desires, and their own wills. But when that belief cries out to them to follow the ways of God, rather than the ways of man, they crumble and fall. Jesus once quoted the prophet Isaiah saying, “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are but rules taught by men.” Matthew 15:8-9 That describes too many people in our day. And keep in mind that when the Bible talks about the “heart” it talks about that which is at the “central core” of a person. There are many that can say the right words, and talk a good line, but their hearts – that central core that drives their life – is so very far from God. They go through the motions but have never received new life through faith in Jesus.
Number 3: God wants you to know Him. It sounds like such a simple thing and in a way it is. Many of the people who lined the streets that day, and who cheered Jesus into the city, knew a lot about God. They could recite the stories of those who had gone before – people like Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; people like David and Samuel and Elijah – they knew what God had done and what He said He was going to do. But they did not know God intimately. If they did they would not have missed seeing Jesus for who He was.
John records Jesus as saying these profound words: Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. John 17:3 Folks, in the East, “to know” someone goes beyond simply “knowing about someone.” In the East, “to know” carries with it the connotation of “experientially knowing” – having experienced it you know it in a far different way than you did when you just knew about it. I could describe love to you but until you have experienced that love you don’t really know what it is all about. God’s desire is that you know Him and His Son Jesus – that you would experience life with them. This is God’s heart for you.
And God wants you to know it because there is a fearsome judgment that awaits those who reject the truth of God for the lies of this world, who do not recognize the time of God’s coming, who exchange the ways of God for the ways of man, and who refuse the offer of life for the horror of death.
Let me share with you a poem I came across recently. I’ve tried but I haven’t been able to find the name of the poet who wrote it. If you recognize it, and know who the author is, let me know. It is called “At The Crossroad” and it goes like this …
“I encountered a man on the Road of life,
so sure of himself – so convinced he was right.
He had (his) religion, but he didn’t know God,
And though he had eyes, I thought that rather odd:
He only could see what he wanted to see.
So, blind to the truth that could set his soul free;
the man charged ahead – unaware he was lost,
until he encountered a Man on a cross
at a fork in the road
where the path became two
and the man who’d always been sure of himself had to choose.
Between broad and narrow, between left and right,
Between things he could see, and things still out of sight.
And I’m sure that the man would have gone the wrong way,
Had he not encountered the Savior that day.
But love rescued him! Truth set him free!
Grace opened his eyes – he could finally see…
That the Man on the cross made the difference.
Now listen, as this once-proud skeptic proclaims:
“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” (Source unknown) (Palm Sunday – More Than a Sunday Drive – Robert Donato – sermoncentral.com)
There are so many who are blind to the truth of Christ today. So many whose ears do not want to hear. So many who want to go their own way. They want what they want but not the way God wants it. They want pleasure without pain, they want blessing without trial, they want hope without sacrifice, they want life without death. They want all the benefits of the kingdom – peace, joy, love, security, hope and so on … without any of the responsibility or humbling of self. What they really want is the kingdom without the cross.
And when Jesus looked upon Jerusalem that day He saw a people who wanted those very same things. He knew that many of those who cheered for Him in those moments would cry out for His death in the days to come. He knew they would reject Him, and turn away – and yet still, even knowing what was to come – He went – and He died for them. And He died for us who’ve craved the same things. Knowing the pain and suffering and darkness that was to come He entered into Jerusalem anyways. That’s the depth of His love for you and me and that’s the Saviour who calls out to you, “Will you come? Will you join me? Will you lay your life down before Me as I lay my life down for you? Will you receive my gift of forgiveness? Will you know the joy of your salvation? Will you surrender to Me all you are, and have, and ever hope to be? Will you surrender these things that in Me you may be all that I am, receive all that I have, and become that which you are meant to be?” Those are questions that only you can answer. I leave you with them to wrestle through them to the glory of God.
Let’s pray.
