By faith, we see Jesus—determined to save.

 

Sermon for Lent 2, March 16, 2025

Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.  Amen.

Luke 13:31-35  ³¹In that very hour, some Pharisees came to him and said, “Leave, and go away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”  ³²He said to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I am going to drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.  ³³Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it cannot be that a prophet would be killed outside Jerusalem!’  ³⁴“Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her!  How often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!  ³⁵Look, your house is left to you desolate.  I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you will say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” (EHV)

By faith, we see Jesus—determined to save.

Dear friends in Christ,

            It sounds rather nice, doesn’t it?  Those Pharisees coming to warn Jesus that the ruler of the land is planning to kill Him.  It would be the duty of any believer to warn someone if there was a killer stalking him or her.  I’m sure we would appreciate that concern for our lives.  Yet, as is so often the case, some things aren’t what they seem.  One thing that is certain and never changes is that By faith, we see Jesus—determined to save.

Commentators have had various opinions about those Pharisees who came to warn Jesus.  However, one thing that is almost certainly true is that they didn’t come out of concern for our Savior’s life.  Now, it would not be without precedent for a Herod to want to kill Jesus.  Indeed, Herod the Great, this man’s father, demonstrated murderous hatred for anyone who might usurp his throne.  In fact, that Herod sent his soldiers to murder all the baby boys under two years old at Bethlehem after he learned from the Wise Men from the east that the King of the Jews had been born.

On the other hand, Luke reports that later, at the time of Jesus’ trial before Pilate, Pilate sent Jesus to this Herod because Jesus had grown up under his jurisdiction, and “When Herod saw Jesus, he was very glad.  For a long time, he had wanted to see him, because he had heard many things about him.  He hoped to see some miracle performed by him.” (Luke 23:8)  Therefore, it is highly unlikely that the Pharisees were in cahoots with Herod, or showing any concern for Jesus.  Either they simply wanted Jesus gone from their area, or more deviously, they wanted Jesus to go to Jerusalem where the Pharisees and others were conspiring to put Jesus to death.

In reply to the Pharisees’ warning, Jesus said to them, “Go tell that fox, ‘Look, I am going to drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.  Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, because it cannot be that a prophet would be killed outside Jerusalem!’  Here is where we see, again, Jesus’ determination to carry out His Father’s business.  Just as He has been doing all His life, notably since He was a twelve-year old boy, Jesus was determined to do the work of saving people. 

So that many would put their faith in Him, Jesus was preaching the Good News throughout the land, and so that they would recognize Him as the Son of God and promised Savior, Jesus was using His divine authority to drive out demons and heal those stricken individuals brought before Him.

Jesus’ intent was to stop not one step before He reached His goal which was to be sacrificed on the cross for the sins of the world.  Just as was evident in several other attempts on His life, Jesus would not be deterred.  His Father in heaven had a plan to bring forgiveness, faith, and eternal life to all the elect He had chosen from before the beginning of the world.  Yet, for people to be saved, Jesus had to be that perfect Lamb of God, unblemished by any sin or shortcoming, and be put to death for our sins at exactly the time and place the Father had planned before the prophets were inspired to prophecy the various signs.

Now, consider, for a moment, how many times you and I have failed at carrying out our plans.  Worse yet, consider how many times we didn’t love someone else enough to sacrifice our own time or money to help, or to share the Good News, to discipline gently, or to forgive completely.  Even more graphic, how often have we failed to show love and mercy to enemies or even to loved ones and relatives who have offended or hurt us?  How often have we failed to come to Jesus for help in any need, or forgiveness of any sin?  How often does listening to Jesus’ Word seem unimportant?  Have we ever plotted to push Jesus out of our way?  All of those sins and more were carried to the cross on Jesus as He paid with His life for our guilt.

The great thing about Jesus is that He didn’t consider whether we were worth saving.  He didn’t ask what we had done for Him or whether we could do enough for Him that it would be worth His time or His life in order to save wretched sinners who had often neglected His mercy, His grace, His gifts, and His commands.  No, Jesus was steadfastly determined to save sinners like us.

Jerusalem had centuries of rebellion against God, the same God who had rescued them out of Egypt and slavery and led them through the wilderness into the Promised Land.  Jerusalem also had earned the reputation of killing God’s prophets, because they had done it so many times.  It would not be hard to expect that God would finally have had enough of trying to save that stubborn people.  Of course, that would also mean God would grow tired of trying to save us or anyone else.

And Jesus?  Jesus lamented, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her!  How often I have wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”  Jesus greatly desired that the people of Jerusalem would trust His message, repent of their rebellious ways, and receive the forgiveness and salvation that would result from Jesus living holiness for them and the world and dying on a Roman cross to pay the penalty of death all sinners deserved, including you and me.

As always, Jesus had the same will as His Father “who wants all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Timothy 2:4)  All people!  That includes the worst of sinners.  It included Herod and his family, the Sadducees and Pharisees, the Romans and all people everywhere.  Jesus was on that journey that would end at Golgotha because “God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

Now, obviously, not everyone has believed in Jesus; therefore, many will be damned, but they won’t be in hell because Jesus didn’t want to save them.  Rather, every soul that lands in hell for eternity is and will be there because they have rejected the One Savior who came to rescue the world.  God’s chosen people of Israel were a prime example of those upon whom God showered so many good things and such blessing and kindness, including His message of forgiveness and salvation with eternal life in heaven for those who believe in Him.  Still, many were not willing to let Jesus be their Savior.  They called God’s Son a blasphemer.  The Jewish people watched Jesus heal and forgive and perform astounding miracles, but they turned up their noses at the thought of them needing what Jesus came to give and do.  Vast numbers of people do the same still today.

One question that often crosses minds with a text such as this: Why do some believe and be saved, and others do not believe and are condemned?  When considering that question, some people accuse God of being unfair.  Some consider God erratic or capricious.  Many doubt God’s existence.  Vast numbers of people put their hopes in other gods or ideas which offer no forgiveness, salvation, or peace.  Jesus told those Pharisees, “Look, your house is left to you desolate.  I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you will say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”  The first part of this statement is a warning that Jerusalem would be destroyed as a consequence of its unbelief.  God would remove His protection from that nation which had so thoroughly rejected Him.

At the same time, we see why some are saved and others are not.  Those who believe in Jesus and receive forgiveness, salvation, and eternal life are not better, harder workers, richer, or more holy by nature than the ones condemned.  None of us deserve what Jesus has done for us.  Furthermore, we only have our eyes opened to see Jesus as the Savior and “he who comes in the name of the Lord!” because the Holy Spirit has worked that faith in us by the hearing and power of God’s Word of grace and peace.  We didn’t decide it, do it, or even ask for it.  God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit worked every part of our salvation. 

So why some and not others?  To be honest, the Bible doesn’t answer that question.  What it does say, is that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)  And furthermore, as Jesus explained here, those who reject God’s grace are condemned only because they “were not willing!”  They were not willing to accept that Jesus is the Savior of the world.  They are not willing to accept that they need a Savior, or that Jesus is that One God sent to deliver them from evil.

Where does that leave us?  Well, having been brought to believe in Jesus as our Savior through the hearing of the Gospel and the washing power of Baptism, God has made us His own dearly loved children.  Through hearing the Word, we have been brought to repentance of our sins, our hearts of stone were replaced by living hearts, and our eyes have been opened to see Jesus for who He truly is, the Son of God and Lamb that was slain for sinners, who then was raised from the dead in triumph over every remnant of Satan’s rebellion.  Thus, By faith, we see Jesus—determined to save! 

We see God in the person of Jesus.  We see Jesus’ dedicated love for us in His life and sacrifice on our behalf.  We see Jesus’ commitment to our forgiveness and salvation in the bread and wine that holds His body and blood in the Lord’s Supper.  We come to Him again and again to have our faith refreshed and restored through that life-giving meal.  When the law strikes our hearts, or the devil whispers his accusations in our ears, we run back to our baptism by which Jesus opened our eyes to see Him as He truly is: the Son of God who left His throne in heaven to make Himself one of us, and having no sin of His own, He took on ours, so that He could take our punishment and give us peace in return with complete forgiveness, sure holiness, and life in His heavenly home.

By faith, we see Jesus—determined to save.  Amen.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his own blood and made us a kingdom and priests to God his Father—to him be the glory and the power forever.  Amen.