Throughout this season of Lent, I’ve been sharing stories of Jesus’ final weeks leading up to His crucifixion in Jerusalem. To get to Jerusalem, He probably traveled south from Capernaum in Galilee down through Samaria. Then he crossed over to the east side Jordan River—a region called Perea, where Herod Antipas ruled as a puppet of Rome. He spent several days ministering in Perea. Then, Jesus crossed back over the Jordan into Judea, visited Jericho (where He eats at the house of Zacchaeus, the wee little man), and finally He made His ascent up to Jerusalem for Palm Sunday and events of Holy week.
But today, we find Jesus in Perea and He is thinking of Jerusalem, lamenting over the Holy City lost in rebellion against God.
Luke 13:31-35
31 At that time some Pharisees said to him, “Get away
from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you!”
32 Jesus replied, “Go tell that
fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and
tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. 33 Yes,
today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do
for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem!
34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 35 And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’[a]”
When Jesus speaks these words in Luke 13, He’s not talking about just any old city.
He is talking about Jerusalem. This is
the Holy City of God. It’s supposed to
be the capital of God’s Kingdom on Earth—at least in the thinking of the Jews
of Jesus’ day.
It was the center of worship. The home of God’s Temple. The place where people believed God’s presence dwelled. Is there any church that is more holy, more important than the Temple of God in Jerusalem? If any place on earth seemed secure… it was Jerusalem.
And yet Jesus says: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem… you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you…” Do you know what happened to Jerusalem?
Jerusalem
and the Holy Temple were supposed to point people to God. But many people in Jerusalem became so enamored with their city and temple that
they loved them more than God. Their
Temple. Their traditions. Their history. Their identity.
They loved those things so much, they could not let them go—even when God Himself (Jesus) was standing right in front of them. They chose their symbols over the Savior.
I once visited Jerusalem. It was clear that every square inch of the city is considered sacred. It is so sacred, it's hard to get anything done. Our tour guide explained about someone who began to construct a building. They got all the necessary permits. However, when they dug down to lay the foundation, they ran into some artifacts. (Artifacts are littered under almost all the city, because it has stood in the same spot for 5,000 years.) Experts were called in and it was determined the artifacts were very important sacred relics. Therefore, the owner was no longer allowed to build on the property.
They people of Jesus day wee no less protective of their city, their traditions, and their buildings. And Jesus knew their hearts, even before He arrived in Jerusalem. He knew they would not change, even when the Son of God came asking them to turn back to God and receive peace and forgiveness. And Jesus grieved, “Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem…”
How
could they miss it? How could they love
a city and its buildings more than they love God?
We might shake our heads at Jerusalem’s folly, but we need to be careful. What might Jesus be saying to us today? Because we often do the same thing.
We love the things of this world—the things of our life—more than God.
I recently moved to a new town to serve a new church. It was hard to leave my previous home. We lived their for 15 years--longer than we lived anywhere else in my life. I loved my church and my friends there and it was also the first home we'd ever owned for ourselves. And I often heard Satan whispering in my ear, "Chris, you can't leave this place. Look at al you've done here. Look at what you've built. This is your home. Are you really going to leave this behind just because God tells you to go somewhere else?"
And I would have to shew Satan away like a fly, because i knew it was God that brought me there. And it was God who would lead me to my knew home. And it is God who I serve and who is the first priority of my life. I will love Him above everything else. And I will serve Him. And I will go where He leads me. And I will die to whatever tries to take His place in my life.
We are often tempted to be like the people of Jerusalem in Jesus’ day. We make an idol of our church. We become so attached to our church buildings, our traditions, our memories of “how things used to be”, our favorite ministries or mission projects, that we begin to love those things more than we love God Himself. And when that happens, even good things become idols.
We can make an idol of anything—if we love it more than God. We might make an idol of our children, our family, our romantic relationships. Money, sex, or influence can become an idol. We can even turn our patriotism into and idol when we become so enamored with our nation that we love America more than we love God and we trust in our military strength or our political leaders more than we trust Jesus.
We have idols in our own personal lives too—things we hold so tightly that we resist God when He calls us to change. It might be:
- A habit we don’t want to give up
- A relationship we know isn’t right
- A lifestyle we’ve grown comfortable with
- A bitterness we’ve learned to live with
- A sense of control we refuse to surrender
We may try to excuse ourselves and say, “This is just who I am.”
But what if God is saying, “No… I want more for you than that”?
And remember, God did not spare even Jerusalem, even His Temple, when it refused to turn back to Him. And we should not assume that God will protect anything in our lives that takes His place. Not our nation. Not our traditions. Not our comfort. Not even our church. Not if they ever become more important to us than Christ.
I know. It sounds harsh. But I don’t want you to miss this: Look at Jesus’ heart. He’s not speaking in anger.
Jesus is weeping. “How often I
have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks
beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.”
Jesus doesn’t want destruction.
Jesus doesn’t want to punish. It
hurts His heart all the more, because Jesus knows there’s a gentler way forward;
they could repent and God would forgive.
Embedded in Jesus’ lament is the best option for all of us. Turn back to God.
Turn away from the path of destruction and find peace with God.
Let go of what you are clinging to and return to the One who truly gives life.
Invitation
Jesus
grieved over Jerusalem. But the real question
for us today is not: “What was
wrong with Jerusalem?”
The question is: "Is there anything in my life that I am holding onto more tightly than I am holding onto Jesus?"
Because Jesus is still calling: “Come
to me.”
And the safest place to be is not in a building, not in a tradition, not in a memory.
The safest place to be is in the arms of Christ.
Choose today who you will serve. As for me and my household, we will serve the Lord.
