Lamentations of the Man Christ Jesus
Luke thirteen is filled with wonderful lessons. The editors of my particular bible precede the chapter with the words, "Call to Repentance." Surely that is the focus of our Lord's teaching here. In the first section Jesus speaks of the necessity and urgency of repentance. He makes it very clear that all men, women and children are in need of repentance. Twice He makes this strong statement. "Unless you repent you will all perish!"
In the next section, verses six through nine, Jesus tells us what true repentance looks like. He describes a fruitless fig tree and warns that it will be cut down if it remains fruitless. Of course there is a spiritual application. One who claims repentance and faith in Jesus but bears no fruit is not a Christian. A true lover of God, by faith in Jesus for salvation, bears the fruit of obedience. If there is no fruit, there is no salvation and eventually, when grace has been withdrawn, this person will be cut down and cast into the fire.
In verses ten through seventeen Jesus reveals His power over sickness and special days by healing a woman on the Sabbath. This infuriated the Jewish leaders who accused Christ of breaking the law. Jesus argued his case and proved that healing the sick was not a violation of the Sabbath. His opponents were humiliated and the crowd rejoiced.
In verses eighteen through twenty-one Jesus speaks of the slow but certain expansion of His kingdom. Then in verses twenty-two through thirty He calls the people to repentance once again. His advise is this: strive, wrestle, agonize to enter the kingdom of God for the day is coming when the door of opportunity will be closed. The day of grace will come to an end. All who have entered will dine with Me, all the rest will be cast out. On the outside there will be great misery and eternal torment.
Christ spoke all these things to or at least in the presence of the Pharisees. They had been humiliated, told they must repent, and that the door to heaven might be closed with them on the outside. As if that was not enough the multitudes loved Jesus and were gathering by the hundreds to hear Him. Is it any wonder that in the final section of this chapter we find the Pharisees trying to get rid of Jesus. Follow with me as I read our text for today.
(Luke 13:31-35 NASB) "Just at that time some Pharisees came up, saying to Him, "Go away and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You." {32} And He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.' {33} "Nevertheless I MUST journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem. {34} "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! {35} "Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'"
Now let us take a closer look. (Luke 13:31 NASB) "Just at that time some Pharisees came up, saying to Him, ‘Go away and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.'" This is the same Herod who had John the Baptist beheaded. Did he want to kill Jesus also? We know that Jesus made him nervous and perhaps fearful. For he and others thought that Christ might be John come back from the dead. Was Herod's conscience bothering him? Perhaps that was why he wanted Jesus to leave. On the political side a "Jesus movement or uprising" could cause Herod some trouble. Maybe that is why Herod wanted Him to move on. Who knows what motivated such an evil man.
The first question I ask when I read this verse was, "Were these Pharisees really concerned about Jesus' well being? That is highly doubtful. Jesus was a real problem to the Jewish leaders. The people followed and listened to Him instead of them. Some believe the Pharisees wanted Jesus to move on to Jerusalem where they had the power to deal with Him like they wanted to and ultimately did. What ever their motivation Christ's response is what concerns us today.
{32} "And He said to them, "Go and tell that fox, 'Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.' {33} "Nevertheless I MUST journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem."
To call a man a fox in Christ's day was to speak of his insignificance. If the word carried the meaning attached to it today Jesus was also speaking of his craftiness in the pursuit of his evil desires. Both meanings could be present in Christ's statement. At any rate, Jesus speaks in such a way as to let Herod and the Pharisees know that He is not afraid and will not change His plans for either of them. The phrase, ". .today, tomorrow, and the third day . .", is a proverbial form of speech which describes an indefinite but brief period of time. "Take note, says Jesus, I will continue to cast out demons and heal the sick in this area a little while longer. At just the right time I will leave for I MUST go to Jerusalem. I will reach my goal in that city." Christ's goal was to lay down His life for the sheep, the given ones, the Elect of God. Nothing could prevent Christ from reaching His goal. Nothing could stop Him from shedding His blood for the lost, that was the w!
ill of God for Him. He would fulfil His destiny. The Pharisees could not stop Him neither could Herod. So it is, I am happy to declare, with us.
Each Christian can face evil tidings with the same calmness and assurance that we see in Christ. We can do so for Christ's Father is ours as well. Each of us has the right and warrant to say, "Do as you will, I will keep on working for the Lord. You cannot overthrow God's plan for me." Brothers and sisters, God has a will and purpose for each of us and until that is complete we are invincible! Until we breath our last we must continue serving our Lord. We must continue using all the means of grace through which God gives us everything pertaining to life and Godliness. We needn't be overly anxious about health, family, money, country or plans. For all these things, whatever form they take, are FOR US by divine design. In the midst of it all we will remain safe. Hear the word of the Lord.
(1 Corinthians 3:21 NASB) {21} "So then let no one boast in men. For ALL THINGS BELONG TO YOU, {22} whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or things present or things to come; ALL THINGS BELONG TO YOU, (Everything has been designed by God to do us good and not harm. This includes the people in our lives, the diseases we contract, and the day to day experiences of life.) {23} and you belong to Christ; and Christ belongs to God." All things are for me as opposed to against me. Christ owns and has taken possession of me. God has possession of both me and Christ. Are we safe or not? Greater safety cannot be imagined! We can look people and situations in the face and say, "You may mean this for evil but my Father has designed it for my good. Do what you will."
Let's move on to Christ's statement in Luke 13:33. "Nevertheless I MUST journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; FOR IT CANNOT BE THAT A PROPHET SHOULD PERISH OUTSIDE OF JERUSALEM." This statement cannot be taken literally. For many prophets had been killed outside Jerusalem. John the Baptist was the most recent. What Christ must mean is that, "It was a most unusual thing for a prophet to die outside Jerusalem." It was unusual because that is where the Sanhedrin resided. This was the great Jewish court in whose hands would rest the fate of any questionable prophet. This great prophet, Jesus, must go to Jerusalem to be judged and put to death by His countrymen. What the prophets spoke of Him in the scriptures must come to pass.
Now for the lamentation of the Man Christ Jesus. {34} "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! {35} "Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'"
How can it be that God in the flesh weeps at Lazarus's grave and here laments Israel's unwillingness to receive Him as the Messiah? Indeed His lamentation includes days gone by wherein He came to Israel by the prophets of old. Then, as now, His gracious advances were rejected. His prophets were murdered in the name of God. Yet He speaks with compassion and deep sorrow for their unbelief. In another place we see Him weep as He looks upon the unbelieving inhabitants of Jerusalem.
(Luke 19:41-44 NASB) And when He approached, HE SAW THE CITY AND WEPT OVER IT, {42} saying, "If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been HIDDEN FROM YOUR EYES. {43} "For the days shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you, (He speaks of a dirt ramp by which their attackers would come over the wall.) and surround you, and hem you in on every side, {44} and will LEVEL YOU TO THE GROUND AND YOUR CHILDREN WITHIN YOU, AND THEY WILL NOT LEAVE IN YOU ONE STONE UPON ANOTHER, BECAUSE YOU DID NOT RECOGNIZE THE TIME OF YOUR VISITATION." Israel had been visited many times by the prophets of old and now by Christ himself. Yet they did not recognize Him as the promised Messiah. The truth had been hidden from them. But by whom? By God and Christ, of course. Let me prove the truth of this statement.
(Luke 10:21-22 NASB) At that very time He rejoiced greatly in the Holy Spirit, and said, "I praise Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that THOU DIDST HIDE these things from the wise and intelligent and didst reveal them to babes. Yes, Father, for thus it was well-pleasing in Thy sight. {22} "All things have been handed over to Me by My Father, and no one knows who the Son is except the Father, and who the Father is except the Son, AND ANYONE TO WHOM THE SON WILLS TO REVEAL HIM."
Here we are told that God hides His truth from some and reveals it to others. Then, in the final sentence, we see that Christ has the right, ability and power to reveal truth about God and Himself to anyone He wants to! So, why did He not reveal Himself in a saving way to the Jews in Jerusalem or to all of Israel for that matter? Some believe they have found the answer in the thirty-fourth verse and the last phrase. There Jesus says, "I would have gathered you but, "You would not have it." The King James version has, "And ye would not." Other translations say, "You were unwilling." The answer, say some, as to why the Jews did not believe has to do with the will of man. God the Father and God the Son did reveal themselves savingly but could not actually save the Jews because they did not will to be saved. Jesus tried but they were unwilling and that is why He was sad and weeping. Is this the answer? Let me show you from the scriptures why this cannot be true.
(Psalms 110:3 NASB) "Thy people WILL VOLUNTEER FREELY IN THE DAY OF THY POWER; In holy array, from the womb of the dawn, Thy youth are to Thee as the dew." What this verse says is this. Those chosen by God for salvation will volunteer freely to believe and trust in Christ WHEN God causes them to do so. In the day He comes to an individual by the power of the Holy Spirit that person will gladly receive the Savior. "Thy people will volunteer freely in the day of Thy power." In other words, the obstinance and unwillingness of one to believe is overcome by the power of God when He chooses to save them. God simply changes sinners, from the inside out, so that their wills are no longer contrary to His. In a moment, by the power of God, they who were once opposed to Christ freely run to Him. Man's will is no obstacle to God's salvation. Consider two additional texts.
(Romans 9:16 NASB) "So then it (In the context Paul is speaking of election and salvation.) does not depend on the man who wills or the man who runs, but on God who has mercy." Again the will of man is not the deciding factor. God choosing to show mercy or with hold it is the deciding factor. Finally, hear the words of John 1:11-13 NASB. "He came to His own, (The Jews) and those who were His own did not receive Him. (They were unwilling to recognize Him as the promised Messiah.) {12} But as many as received Him, (Not all Jews or Gentiles rejected Christ.) to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, (Now He tells us why they received Him and believed in His name.) {13} who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." The bottom line is the same as before. The deciding factor in salvation is not the will of man but the will of God. When He chooses to save a person He reveals Hims!
elf to them in a saving way making them willing to trust Christ as the Savior of their souls. Therefore, we must reject those who say that the Savior is filled with sorrow because He cannot overcome the contrary desires of the Jews. So what do we have in the lamentation, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . " if it is not Jesus lamenting His inability to save those He loves?
We have proof of Christ's humanity first of all. He was really a man, a human with all the emotions and feelings that go with that. Jesus loved his fellow man and was saddened by the prospect of their damnation. As God, He had determined to save the elect and them only. As the man Christ Jesus He is filled with sorrow when He thinks of the destruction that will come upon the unbelieving. Our Lord, being God, could look at men and identify them as elect and non elect but He preached the gospel to all. Having preached the Gospel he wept over those who remained in unbelief. Jesus' knowledge of and compliance with the will of God to save some and not others did not keep Him from weeping over those who would not believe.
The Apostle Paul, the man who teaches us the most about election, predestination and the sovereignty of God, mimics our Lord in feeling for the lost. In Romans 9:1-3 Paul says this, "I am telling the truth in Christ, I am not lying, my conscience bearing me witness in the Holy Spirit, {2} that I have great sorrow and unceasing grief in my heart. {3} For I could wish that I myself were accursed, separated from Christ for the sake of my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh . ." Paul goes on in Romans nine to reveal the truth about election and salvation. He proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that God saves who He will, when He will, if He wills to do so. For God is the Potter and people are his clay. This is the theology Paul learned from Jesus, the Man God, who saves and damns as He sees fit. These are the facts. This is biblical theology. Paul loved and taught these things but still he had unceasing grief in his heart for the unbelief of his people. He had grief!
, sorrow, sadness, and tears when he thought about his fellow Jews being lost. What can we say but that Paul had a heart like Christ's.
What is the point of all this? We must never allow what we know about God and His way of saving men to make us cold, unconcerned and unfeeling. We must never become so matter-of-fact that we have no love and concern for the lost. We must never forget that the "Law of Love" demands that we seek the best for our neighbor and that is their salvation. Yes, good, sound theology tells us that the elect will be saved and the rest of humanity will perish in their sin. These are indisputable truths. Yet we are instructed to mimic our Savior by walking in love toward all. Knowledge was never intended to destroy compassion, tenderness, concern or love for the persons and souls of men.
Jesus had more knowledge than we will ever have. He knew and had determined who would and would not be saved. Still He preached to them all and wept over those who would not believe. We are to follow Christ's example. We are to follow the apostle Paul who followed Jesus. Paul knew that not all Israel was chosen for salvation and yet he sought the salvation of all. He knew that the majority of his countrymen would not be saved and that by the decree of God. Yet, he had sorrow in his heart for them and longed to see them believe. Let no man think he has improved upon Jesus and Paul because he is not moved in his emotions for the plight of sinners. The one who has lost the ability to grieve over the lost may have his theology correct but it hasn't done its work in his heart. For all truth is intended to make us just like Jesus, the lover of the souls of men. Now for the final verse in our text.
(Luke 13:35 NASB) "Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, 'BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!'"
By the prophets of old and at last in person, Jesus came to Israel. They did not recognize their day of visitation, their opportunity for salvation. They killed the prophets and would soon kill Christ. Therefore, judgement would be their reward. In about forty years Jerusalem would be leveled and its inhabitants destroyed. The day of grace would be over for many. The door would be shut. These would not see Jesus again until the resurrection and His second coming. Then it would be too late. Yes, the text declares that those who rejected Jesus will at last say, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." All men will recognize Jesus for who He was and is but it will be too late then. There are no second chances. The day the prophets came was the day of salivation. The day Jesus came was the day of salvation. When He comes again it will be the day of judgement.
The lessons of the day are these. First, as a Christian you need not fear anything in this life for all things are yours. You and I can look people and situations in the face and say, "You may mean this for evil but my Father has designed it for my good. Do what you will. I will continue to follow my Lord."
Second, I hope we have learned that truth was never intended to destroy feeling, love, and concern for our fellow men and women. Have you concluded that it's wrong or illogical to seek and pray for the salvation of the lost? Have you lost the ability to grieve over those who live and die in unbelief? If so I point you to Christ and to Paul both of whom wept for sinners. I refer you to the Son of God who has ordained all and knows all yet still weeps as He contemplates the damnation of the lost. Let us learn truth at all costs but let Christ and Paul be the measure of how it affects us.
Third and finally, we have learned that we must repent when we are visited by Jesus or stand condemned in the judgement. He has come to us with the good news of salvation many times and in many ways. He came to you in the past by the words of a godly mother, father, or grandparent. Perhaps He came to you in the words of a tract, tape or radio program. One thing is certain, He has visited you today by the words I have spoken. I pray that you recognize this visitation and flee to Jesus for salvation.
