1 00:00:12,720 --> 00:00:15,760 I wonder, do you ever give any thought to humanity? 2 00:00:16,640 --> 00:00:19,360 Now, that's quite a big topic to be thinking about. 3 00:00:19,360 --> 00:00:21,360 But I wonder, do you ever think about how we're made? 4 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:27,440 I hope you do, because I hope then you're amazed at how God has 5 00:00:27,600 --> 00:00:28,160 made us. 6 00:00:28,860 --> 00:00:32,140 Because not only are we made in his image, but we've been given 7 00:00:32,140 --> 00:00:36,140 emotions by which we relate to one another. 8 00:00:36,780 --> 00:00:41,820 We laugh together, we cry together, and we feel a sense of 9 00:00:41,820 --> 00:00:44,779 contentment in shared experiences. 10 00:00:45,340 --> 00:00:50,220 And God gave us these internal parts of us that we cannot identify. 11 00:00:50,220 --> 00:00:53,180 Because we really can't put our finger on these different emotions 12 00:00:53,340 --> 00:00:54,940 except in feeling them. 13 00:00:55,550 --> 00:00:58,190 So that we would know that we're part of something bigger than 14 00:00:58,190 --> 00:00:58,670 ourselves. 15 00:00:58,670 --> 00:01:04,270 Part of a community, part of a family, part of a circle of friends, 16 00:01:05,070 --> 00:01:09,950 part of a church or part of a society in which we live. 17 00:01:10,750 --> 00:01:13,390 Of course, not all emotions are shared experiences. 18 00:01:13,550 --> 00:01:18,550 Because as fallen humanity, our emotions can betray our true 19 00:01:18,550 --> 00:01:19,150 hearts. 20 00:01:19,390 --> 00:01:23,030 And this is seen in the pleasure we get when we speak ill 21 00:01:23,030 --> 00:01:26,430 of others, perhaps, or in how we react to situations we don't like. 22 00:01:26,840 --> 00:01:31,120 And in these cases, we get angry or we get cross, often lashing 23 00:01:31,120 --> 00:01:36,600 out because we don't get the things our way yet. 24 00:01:36,680 --> 00:01:41,120 Not to justify these kind of reactions, they're part of the package 25 00:01:41,120 --> 00:01:42,120 of who we are. 26 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:46,160 And it is only by the grace of God that we can know forgiveness 27 00:01:46,160 --> 00:01:47,640 and acceptance by Him. 28 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:54,040 And what our emotions are, they're a window into our hearts. 29 00:01:55,580 --> 00:02:00,140 Because our emotions and how we respond tell people all around 30 00:02:00,140 --> 00:02:02,620 us what is truly in here. 31 00:02:06,540 --> 00:02:09,700 Now, as we go into this passage tonight, we'll see something 32 00:02:09,700 --> 00:02:10,540 of Jesus. 33 00:02:11,100 --> 00:02:17,620 We actually get to see his heart as he expresses two emotions 34 00:02:17,620 --> 00:02:23,060 of response to what he finds in Jerusalem as he makes his way 35 00:02:23,380 --> 00:02:26,340 through its streets to Calvary's cross. 36 00:02:27,860 --> 00:02:31,660 And in the passage this evening From Luke chapter 19, we 37 00:02:31,660 --> 00:02:37,020 are in Palm Sunday, and Jesus has made his way to Jerusalem, just 38 00:02:37,020 --> 00:02:40,220 like the other thousands of people who have made their way there 39 00:02:40,220 --> 00:02:41,100 for the Passover. 40 00:02:41,100 --> 00:02:45,780 Remember, this was a time of celebration for the children of Israel. 41 00:02:46,020 --> 00:02:51,080 This was whenever they remembered their exodus from Egypt. 42 00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:56,640 And as a faithful Jew, along with his disciples and those thousands 43 00:02:56,640 --> 00:02:58,240 of others, Jesus made his way. 44 00:02:58,240 --> 00:03:01,560 But of course, as we know as this week unfolds, the significance 45 00:03:01,560 --> 00:03:06,800 of Passover, that old covenant commitment of remembering would be 46 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:13,040 done away with as Christ reinterprets it and tells us firmly 47 00:03:13,040 --> 00:03:16,720 that this celebration that we now know as the Lord's Supper or 48 00:03:16,720 --> 00:03:23,740 communion, is to remind us of his sacrifice, that exodus of sin 49 00:03:23,740 --> 00:03:27,220 from us by our Savior, Jesus Christ. 50 00:03:29,300 --> 00:03:32,540 And Luke does something different for us than the other Gospel 51 00:03:32,540 --> 00:03:33,020 writers. 52 00:03:33,020 --> 00:03:36,500 Because Luke gives us a different perspective of this day. 53 00:03:37,140 --> 00:03:40,060 And he gives us a different perspective of the welcome that Jesus 54 00:03:40,060 --> 00:03:40,420 received. 55 00:03:40,420 --> 00:03:43,660 And we used it this morning as part of our call to worship. 56 00:03:43,660 --> 00:03:47,750 And if you were here, then I wonder, did you pick it up as I read 57 00:03:47,750 --> 00:03:49,150 out our call to worship? 58 00:03:49,470 --> 00:03:53,630 The other Gospel writers speak of Jesus entering Jerusalem and receiving 59 00:03:53,630 --> 00:03:54,670 the praise of the people. 60 00:03:55,390 --> 00:03:58,430 Yet Luke tells us something different in verse 37. 61 00:03:59,310 --> 00:04:03,310 As he was drawing near already on the way down the Mount of Olives, 62 00:04:03,390 --> 00:04:06,910 the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise 63 00:04:06,910 --> 00:04:10,910 God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen. 64 00:04:11,710 --> 00:04:17,330 Notice where Jesus is, because it appears from Luke's perspective 65 00:04:17,330 --> 00:04:21,570 that Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem and is actually heading 66 00:04:21,570 --> 00:04:22,530 to the Mount of Olives. 67 00:04:22,530 --> 00:04:25,970 Now, the Mount of Olives offered a spectacular view of the 68 00:04:25,970 --> 00:04:29,650 temple and across Jerusalem, standing to the east of the city 69 00:04:29,650 --> 00:04:31,330 across the Kidron Valley. 70 00:04:31,970 --> 00:04:34,970 Now, if you know anything of Jerusalem, it's a city quite literally 71 00:04:34,970 --> 00:04:35,650 built on a hill. 72 00:04:35,650 --> 00:04:38,810 That's why the psalmist speaks of that and other writers in the 73 00:04:38,810 --> 00:04:39,570 New Testament. 74 00:04:40,360 --> 00:04:43,880 And there's this long ravine called the Kidron Valley that separates 75 00:04:43,880 --> 00:04:47,560 Mount Zion from where the Mount of Olives is. 76 00:04:47,560 --> 00:04:50,680 And that's where Jesus would have gone to Bethphpage and then 77 00:04:50,680 --> 00:04:54,120 on to Bethany and heading eastwards out of the city. 78 00:04:54,920 --> 00:04:58,560 So this was a path that was well known to Jesus, but he was heading 79 00:04:58,560 --> 00:05:03,440 to the Mount of Olives, and it's here that the people are praising 80 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:03,680 him. 81 00:05:03,680 --> 00:05:07,130 The whole multitude because began to rejoice and praise God with 82 00:05:07,130 --> 00:05:08,050 a loud voice. 83 00:05:10,210 --> 00:05:14,290 Now it would then appear that Jesus is at or near to the Mount 84 00:05:14,290 --> 00:05:17,810 of Olives as our passage this evening commences in verse 41. 85 00:05:17,810 --> 00:05:21,770 Because there we're told still with this language, as drawing near 86 00:05:21,770 --> 00:05:25,330 to Jerusalem, not there, but drawing nearer and nearer. 87 00:05:25,330 --> 00:05:28,050 This is what Jesus says from the Mount of Olives we believe. 88 00:05:28,450 --> 00:05:32,050 And when he drew near and saw the city, remember the vantage point 89 00:05:32,050 --> 00:05:35,410 looking to the temple, looking across the city, one hill across 90 00:05:35,410 --> 00:05:36,610 the valley to the other. 91 00:05:37,600 --> 00:05:39,840 He wept over it. 92 00:05:40,800 --> 00:05:42,240 And this is what Jesus said. 93 00:05:42,880 --> 00:05:49,680 Would that you even you had known on this day the things that 94 00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:51,280 make for peace. 95 00:05:52,879 --> 00:05:56,800 But now they are hidden from your eyes. 96 00:06:01,040 --> 00:06:06,130 This particular account of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem is only 97 00:06:06,130 --> 00:06:10,410 recorded for us in Luke's Gospel, and it is a significant one 98 00:06:10,410 --> 00:06:15,370 as it presents to us the first of the two emotional responses from 99 00:06:15,370 --> 00:06:17,690 Jesus that tell us his heart. 100 00:06:18,570 --> 00:06:22,690 And from the text we see that Jesus heart is heavy with sorrow 101 00:06:22,690 --> 00:06:24,330 for the city and its people. 102 00:06:24,410 --> 00:06:28,810 Across from him at this stage, that heaviness of heart is. 103 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,960 Is not of the cross that's in front of him, but it's Jerusalem, 104 00:06:33,440 --> 00:06:34,560 it's the holy city. 105 00:06:35,280 --> 00:06:39,400 It's quite literally a million people who have come to celebrate 106 00:06:39,400 --> 00:06:40,080 the Passover. 107 00:06:40,800 --> 00:06:44,480 And Jesus weeps with sorrow because quite literally, they are 108 00:06:44,480 --> 00:06:44,800 lost. 109 00:06:44,959 --> 00:06:46,560 How does he describe them elsewhere? 110 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:50,640 They're like sheep without a shepherd. 111 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:56,080 You see, though the rejection of Jesus by many of the Jews was 112 00:06:56,240 --> 00:07:00,970 predicted by in the Old Testament, Jesus still feels great 113 00:07:01,050 --> 00:07:05,770 sorrow over this rejection of the people, reflecting the heart 114 00:07:05,770 --> 00:07:09,930 of God as he contemplates the Jewish people rejecting his prophets 115 00:07:09,930 --> 00:07:11,290 and now his Son. 116 00:07:12,250 --> 00:07:16,450 And the people of this city of peace, as it was known, could have 117 00:07:16,450 --> 00:07:18,850 known the things, the true things that bring peace. 118 00:07:18,850 --> 00:07:21,570 And as we were thinking this morning, peace is not the absence 119 00:07:21,570 --> 00:07:22,090 of war. 120 00:07:22,490 --> 00:07:23,930 Peace is something more. 121 00:07:23,930 --> 00:07:28,010 It's a contentment, it's a stillness, it's a confidence that 122 00:07:28,010 --> 00:07:29,690 nothing in this world can bring. 123 00:07:30,890 --> 00:07:35,010 It's a peace that surpasses all understanding, that can only 124 00:07:35,010 --> 00:07:35,810 come from God. 125 00:07:35,810 --> 00:07:37,130 And this is what Jesus is saying. 126 00:07:37,290 --> 00:07:41,010 If only you'd opened your hearts to this peace, then you would 127 00:07:41,010 --> 00:07:44,810 have known they could have embraced. 128 00:07:45,530 --> 00:07:49,370 As we know, Isaiah refers to Jesus as the Prince of Peace in Isaiah 129 00:07:49,370 --> 00:07:54,840 9, 6, the 1, the only 1 who can bring everlasting peace. 130 00:07:56,920 --> 00:08:00,520 You see, the psalmist tells us in Psalm 72:7 that in the days of 131 00:08:00,520 --> 00:08:02,520 the Messiah, peace will abound. 132 00:08:03,560 --> 00:08:06,680 And Jesus has proclaimed the good news of peace, that is the news 133 00:08:06,680 --> 00:08:09,120 of God's reign throughout his earthly ministry. 134 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:14,360 But Israel on the whole, and Jerusalem in particular, have rejected 135 00:08:15,000 --> 00:08:16,040 such a message. 136 00:08:17,320 --> 00:08:20,320 The people don't know the things of peace because they don't 137 00:08:20,320 --> 00:08:22,280 know the one who brings peace. 138 00:08:22,940 --> 00:08:26,580 And as a consequence, they now face judgment. 139 00:08:26,580 --> 00:08:32,100 And so Christ is right to have a heavy and sorrowful heart, because 140 00:08:32,100 --> 00:08:35,260 the people in front of him will face judgment because of their 141 00:08:35,260 --> 00:08:38,140 rejection of the Savior. 142 00:08:39,180 --> 00:08:43,420 In the words of Jesus, God is hiding the truth from them because 143 00:08:43,500 --> 00:08:45,900 they have already rejected it. 144 00:08:46,780 --> 00:08:49,330 But there's worse to come for the people. 145 00:08:49,730 --> 00:08:52,530 They will be ignorant of what they have missed. 146 00:08:53,250 --> 00:08:55,530 They don't realize they've missed the Messiah because they're 147 00:08:55,530 --> 00:08:56,490 about to crucify him. 148 00:08:56,490 --> 00:08:58,770 If only they knew, then it would have been so different. 149 00:08:58,850 --> 00:09:04,290 But of course we know the Son of God must die and be raised again 150 00:09:04,850 --> 00:09:10,770 so that we, the Gentiles, engrafted in, would know salvation. 151 00:09:12,850 --> 00:09:16,950 But even though the people missed this, God doesn't. 152 00:09:17,430 --> 00:09:21,030 Because God makes it clear, as Jesus continues in verses 43 and 153 00:09:21,030 --> 00:09:23,470 44, that they will receive their punishment. 154 00:09:23,470 --> 00:09:24,630 And it's described like this. 155 00:09:24,630 --> 00:09:27,550 For the days will come upon you when your enemies will set up 156 00:09:27,550 --> 00:09:31,430 a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every 157 00:09:31,430 --> 00:09:35,310 side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within 158 00:09:35,310 --> 00:09:35,670 you. 159 00:09:35,830 --> 00:09:39,830 And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because 160 00:09:39,830 --> 00:09:43,140 you did not know the time of your visitation. 161 00:09:44,180 --> 00:09:47,700 See, instead of peace, Jerusalem is going to face war. 162 00:09:48,260 --> 00:09:52,700 Enemies will descend upon the city and they will besiege it, offering 163 00:09:52,700 --> 00:09:54,020 no means of escape. 164 00:09:54,020 --> 00:09:57,380 And Jesus here is clearly predicting the destruction of the 165 00:09:57,380 --> 00:09:58,980 city in A.D. 70. 166 00:09:59,300 --> 00:10:02,740 Not that scripture tells us, but what we know in history. 167 00:10:03,380 --> 00:10:05,300 That Jerusalem was destroyed. 168 00:10:05,300 --> 00:10:08,140 The city will be leveled to the ground, and the devastation will 169 00:10:08,140 --> 00:10:11,630 be so complete that no stone will be left upon another. 170 00:10:12,110 --> 00:10:14,190 It will quite literally be powder. 171 00:10:15,310 --> 00:10:20,710 Jesus says this again the very next day in Luke chapter 21 and verse 172 00:10:20,710 --> 00:10:23,630 6, when he says, as for these things that you see looking around 173 00:10:23,630 --> 00:10:26,550 him at the temple, the days will come when there will not be 174 00:10:26,550 --> 00:10:30,190 left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down. 175 00:10:30,190 --> 00:10:33,070 So what Jesus says in private, he now says in public. 176 00:10:33,550 --> 00:10:37,070 His heart knows what will happen to this great city. 177 00:10:38,360 --> 00:10:39,880 Children will not escape. 178 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:44,560 Adults will not escape, each one experiencing the consequences 179 00:10:44,560 --> 00:10:47,320 of their sin and their parents sin. 180 00:10:48,200 --> 00:10:51,960 Jerusalem is being judged because it does not know the time 181 00:10:51,960 --> 00:10:52,920 of its visitation. 182 00:10:53,320 --> 00:10:58,360 Now, this word visitation may sound old to us, but visitation in 183 00:10:58,360 --> 00:11:03,410 the Old Testament can signify God's deliverance and help or his 184 00:11:03,410 --> 00:11:04,050 judgment. 185 00:11:05,490 --> 00:11:09,130 Now, before we run too quickly and write down that perhaps this 186 00:11:09,130 --> 00:11:11,890 visitation is judgment, the visitation here is actually positive 187 00:11:12,610 --> 00:11:15,970 because Jesus as God's Christ does bring peace. 188 00:11:15,970 --> 00:11:19,410 He does bring good news, and he does bring that good news about 189 00:11:19,410 --> 00:11:20,530 the kingdom of God. 190 00:11:21,090 --> 00:11:22,570 So this should be positive. 191 00:11:22,570 --> 00:11:26,090 This visitation of Jesus to the city should be great news. 192 00:11:26,090 --> 00:11:29,650 And those hosannas and hallelujah should continue day after 193 00:11:29,650 --> 00:11:30,450 day after day. 194 00:11:32,610 --> 00:11:35,090 But Jesus knows the heart of the people below him. 195 00:11:36,050 --> 00:11:39,170 He looks across that valley and he sees the million people and 196 00:11:39,170 --> 00:11:40,050 knows what they're like. 197 00:11:40,850 --> 00:11:45,410 You see, rather than this actually being positive news, it 198 00:11:45,410 --> 00:11:49,890 is desperate because Jerusalem does not acknowledge him. 199 00:11:50,690 --> 00:11:56,210 Jerusalem rejects him, and so the citizens will face their judgment. 200 00:11:57,980 --> 00:12:04,140 And so, through weeping eyes, Jesus laments for Jerusalem and her 201 00:12:04,220 --> 00:12:07,580 sin of rejection of God's Messiah. 202 00:12:08,540 --> 00:12:12,860 His heart is heavy because the people have had every opportunity 203 00:12:12,860 --> 00:12:18,540 to find peace in him, but they have ignored him and are already 204 00:12:18,780 --> 00:12:21,500 plotting amongst themselves to do away with him. 205 00:12:23,110 --> 00:12:26,470 And isn't it a similar situation for us today? 206 00:12:28,390 --> 00:12:32,590 See, what we're seeing here before us is the heart of Jesus in 207 00:12:32,590 --> 00:12:33,990 Weeping for the lost. 208 00:12:35,270 --> 00:12:38,950 And I think we can be too quick to judge the world when in 209 00:12:38,950 --> 00:12:41,030 fact we should be weeping for it. 210 00:12:41,590 --> 00:12:45,710 I've often stood in shopping centers, yes, here on this island, 211 00:12:45,710 --> 00:12:48,870 but in other countries in the world that I visited, to particularly 212 00:12:48,870 --> 00:12:50,990 countries where Christianity is in a minority. 213 00:12:50,990 --> 00:12:54,770 And I felt the burden that everyone around me is going to hell 214 00:12:55,010 --> 00:12:57,330 because of their rejection of the Savior. 215 00:12:58,370 --> 00:13:01,610 In that moment, I don't judge them for their false religion or 216 00:13:01,610 --> 00:13:02,930 their immoral practices. 217 00:13:03,090 --> 00:13:08,290 I do feel a sense of sorrow that the hundreds around me are walking 218 00:13:08,290 --> 00:13:08,930 to hell. 219 00:13:10,370 --> 00:13:14,130 I wonder, is that how you emotionally respond to those around 220 00:13:14,130 --> 00:13:14,530 you? 221 00:13:15,650 --> 00:13:17,330 Because we could respond in different ways. 222 00:13:17,330 --> 00:13:19,730 We could laugh at them for their folly. 223 00:13:20,480 --> 00:13:22,960 We could criticize them and ridicule them. 224 00:13:24,720 --> 00:13:28,840 Or we could weep for them, just as Jesus did in their state 225 00:13:28,840 --> 00:13:30,800 of rebellion and sin. 226 00:13:32,080 --> 00:13:34,960 You see, I think we must be people who weep for the lost. 227 00:13:35,840 --> 00:13:36,960 Why do I say that? 228 00:13:37,600 --> 00:13:42,280 Because it's exactly what Jesus did on the Mount of Olives, 229 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,160 looking across to Jerusalem. 230 00:13:45,690 --> 00:13:47,770 He wept for a city that would never respond. 231 00:13:47,770 --> 00:13:51,650 And so we must weep for the lost, whether they will come to faith 232 00:13:51,650 --> 00:13:52,330 or not. 233 00:13:53,290 --> 00:13:56,410 Our hearts must be heavy and burdened with sorrow. 234 00:13:56,570 --> 00:14:01,210 We must prayerfully bring them to the Lord so that their eyes, heads 235 00:14:01,210 --> 00:14:06,850 and hearts can be open to the peace that Christ brings his salvation 236 00:14:06,850 --> 00:14:08,010 of their souls. 237 00:14:08,570 --> 00:14:12,810 Before the day of visitation, his true visitation arrives on them. 238 00:14:13,750 --> 00:14:17,870 That's why Paul writes what he does in 1 Timothy 2, 1 4. 239 00:14:17,870 --> 00:14:19,270 Quite a long section. 240 00:14:19,270 --> 00:14:23,750 But first of all, then, says Paul to Timothy, I urge that supplications, 241 00:14:24,230 --> 00:14:28,950 prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all people. 242 00:14:29,510 --> 00:14:33,430 And he goes on to explain for kings and all who are in high positions 243 00:14:33,670 --> 00:14:38,150 that they may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified 244 00:14:38,150 --> 00:14:39,030 in every way. 245 00:14:39,730 --> 00:14:42,690 This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our 246 00:14:42,690 --> 00:14:46,810 Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge 247 00:14:46,810 --> 00:14:47,570 of the truth. 248 00:14:48,450 --> 00:14:51,850 Now, why does Paul specifically talk about kings and 249 00:14:51,850 --> 00:14:53,010 those who are in high positions? 250 00:14:53,010 --> 00:14:55,649 Well, we are 2,000 years removed from this. 251 00:14:56,530 --> 00:14:59,970 There's no one who is a king or in high position would ever call 252 00:14:59,970 --> 00:15:01,090 themselves a Christian. 253 00:15:01,890 --> 00:15:03,410 And so these are pagans. 254 00:15:03,410 --> 00:15:06,650 These are people who are just like those people I walked amongst 255 00:15:06,650 --> 00:15:07,730 in shopping centers. 256 00:15:08,680 --> 00:15:09,840 They were destined to hell. 257 00:15:09,840 --> 00:15:11,400 And what does Paul say to Timothy? 258 00:15:11,800 --> 00:15:12,600 Pray for them? 259 00:15:12,600 --> 00:15:16,360 Well, actually, he says he urges supplications, prayers, intercessions 260 00:15:16,360 --> 00:15:17,400 and thanksgiving. 261 00:15:18,840 --> 00:15:22,960 This is our hearts open before God, weeping for the lost and coming 262 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:24,120 before him in prayer. 263 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:30,680 You see, Jesus emotionally responds to these people and he weeps. 264 00:15:31,640 --> 00:15:34,120 He Weeps because of the judgment they're going to face. 265 00:15:35,430 --> 00:15:37,270 And you know what's even more sorrowful? 266 00:15:38,150 --> 00:15:41,910 They think they're okay, but they're not. 267 00:15:44,390 --> 00:15:48,750 The heart of Jesus before us is one of sorrow and weeping for 268 00:15:48,750 --> 00:15:49,270 the lost. 269 00:15:50,310 --> 00:15:52,790 This example of Jesus must be ours. 270 00:15:53,830 --> 00:16:00,030 We should not and dare not laugh at those who are lost, or ridicule 271 00:16:00,030 --> 00:16:05,260 them or scorn them, but weep and pray that they will come to the 272 00:16:05,260 --> 00:16:05,660 Savior. 273 00:16:05,660 --> 00:16:09,780 Because remember, we were once like them. 274 00:16:14,580 --> 00:16:17,900 But Jesus emotionally responds in a different way in the next four 275 00:16:17,900 --> 00:16:18,500 verses. 276 00:16:18,980 --> 00:16:22,340 Because having looked upon Jerusalem and the Temple, he now 277 00:16:22,500 --> 00:16:26,820 enters it and sees the outcome of the rejection of God. 278 00:16:27,710 --> 00:16:31,550 Now Luke simply moves on from the Mount of Olives to the Temple 279 00:16:31,550 --> 00:16:32,110 courts. 280 00:16:32,590 --> 00:16:35,830 And as Jesus enters those temple courts, he doesn't find it 281 00:16:35,830 --> 00:16:38,190 to be a place of worship, a place that it's supposed to be. 282 00:16:38,350 --> 00:16:42,670 Rather, it has become a market, and in his own words, a den 283 00:16:42,670 --> 00:16:43,550 of robbers. 284 00:16:44,270 --> 00:16:47,550 Look at what verses 45 and 46 say. 285 00:16:48,830 --> 00:16:53,310 I think I don't know where they are, but we'll find them somewhere. 286 00:16:54,590 --> 00:16:57,790 And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, 287 00:16:58,670 --> 00:17:02,750 saying to them, it is written, my house shall be a house of prayer, 288 00:17:02,830 --> 00:17:05,310 but you have made it a den of robbers. 289 00:17:06,590 --> 00:17:08,190 Powerful words from Jesus. 290 00:17:09,150 --> 00:17:12,030 He arrives at the temple, and what he's doing here is fulfilling 291 00:17:12,030 --> 00:17:14,910 the words that you do have in Malachi three 1, 2. 292 00:17:14,990 --> 00:17:17,870 The Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple. 293 00:17:17,870 --> 00:17:20,450 And the messenger of the covenant in whom you delight the 294 00:17:20,600 --> 00:17:23,000 Behold, he is coming, says the Lord of hosts. 295 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:26,360 But who can endure the day of his coming? 296 00:17:26,760 --> 00:17:28,840 And who can stand when he appears? 297 00:17:29,240 --> 00:17:34,120 For he is like a refiner's fire and like fuller's soap. 298 00:17:36,359 --> 00:17:37,800 See what Malachi says. 299 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:42,280 This coming of Jesus into the temple is not a moment of celebration. 300 00:17:42,920 --> 00:17:44,120 It's a moment of judgment. 301 00:17:44,120 --> 00:17:46,440 That's why he tosses over the tables. 302 00:17:47,400 --> 00:17:51,000 You see, this is not the way things should be in the Temple. 303 00:17:52,280 --> 00:17:56,160 The past sins of Israel in the Temple have been repeated now by 304 00:17:56,160 --> 00:17:57,320 a new generation. 305 00:17:58,120 --> 00:18:01,000 Luke tells us that Jesus coming to the Temple is brief. 306 00:18:01,000 --> 00:18:04,040 As the Lord comes to drive out those who are buying and selling. 307 00:18:04,040 --> 00:18:07,840 The Temple has become a place of financial profit instead of meeting 308 00:18:07,840 --> 00:18:10,600 with God in a place devoted to prayer. 309 00:18:11,080 --> 00:18:14,200 And any religious leader of the day could have justified that 310 00:18:14,200 --> 00:18:17,400 items were needed to perform the sacrifices correctly. 311 00:18:17,480 --> 00:18:20,340 And so this aspect of temple life was required. 312 00:18:21,300 --> 00:18:24,580 Well, was there not a whole city and surrounding area in which 313 00:18:24,580 --> 00:18:25,380 people could trade? 314 00:18:26,100 --> 00:18:28,180 Why did they need to do it in the Temple? 315 00:18:29,460 --> 00:18:34,020 Well, cynically, we can say the Ruling and religious classes 316 00:18:34,020 --> 00:18:38,300 were able to profit from it and benefit from it by the extra 317 00:18:38,300 --> 00:18:39,940 taxes that they would charge. 318 00:18:41,140 --> 00:18:45,220 But what this scene is really telling us is that the spiritual 319 00:18:45,220 --> 00:18:48,190 heart Israel had collapsed. 320 00:18:49,310 --> 00:18:53,030 They may not have been worshipping false gods as their ancestors 321 00:18:53,030 --> 00:18:56,830 had done before the exile to Babylon, but there was. 322 00:18:57,470 --> 00:19:01,630 They were not practicing worship in a way that was practiced 323 00:19:01,630 --> 00:19:05,870 decently and in order, as Paul writes in First Corinthians. 324 00:19:07,070 --> 00:19:09,270 They weren't living by the way God had told them. 325 00:19:09,270 --> 00:19:13,140 And perhaps the cleansing of the temple anticipates its destruction 326 00:19:13,700 --> 00:19:16,260 that Jesus predicts in chapter 21. 327 00:19:16,820 --> 00:19:20,620 And if so, this cleansing is a prophetic action symbolizing the 328 00:19:20,620 --> 00:19:21,700 Temple's destruction. 329 00:19:22,020 --> 00:19:25,060 And Luke tells us nothing more, except to say that Jesus was 330 00:19:25,060 --> 00:19:26,740 daily teaching in the temple. 331 00:19:26,980 --> 00:19:31,860 And as he did, he was making enemies of the Jerusalem elites. 332 00:19:33,860 --> 00:19:36,020 And he was teaching daily in the temple. 333 00:19:36,260 --> 00:19:38,900 The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of 334 00:19:38,900 --> 00:19:41,010 the people were seeking to destroy him, but. 335 00:19:41,080 --> 00:19:44,360 But they did not find anything they could do, for all the people 336 00:19:44,360 --> 00:19:46,280 were hanging on his words. 337 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:51,280 Jesus continues teaching the people until the end, instructing 338 00:19:51,280 --> 00:19:52,840 them even in the temple. 339 00:19:53,640 --> 00:19:57,160 But the people of influence are determined to do away with him. 340 00:19:57,480 --> 00:20:00,680 The chief priests, the scribes, and those with political 341 00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:01,320 heft. 342 00:20:02,280 --> 00:20:05,000 Yet the leaders are hindered in their plotting, as the people 343 00:20:05,000 --> 00:20:06,920 have a very different view of Jesus. 344 00:20:07,940 --> 00:20:11,060 And is it quite the statement that's here in Scripture that says 345 00:20:11,060 --> 00:20:13,300 they hang on his every word? 346 00:20:14,660 --> 00:20:19,220 The people, by their attention to Jesus teaching, show their spiritual 347 00:20:19,220 --> 00:20:23,860 perception to be far greater than of those who are supposed to 348 00:20:23,860 --> 00:20:26,820 be leading Israel in the area of faith. 349 00:20:28,260 --> 00:20:33,060 Jesus has come to his temple, and it is clear that his opponents 350 00:20:33,610 --> 00:20:36,890 will not be able to endure the day of his coming. 351 00:20:37,850 --> 00:20:42,330 Indeed, they will think they have won, but they will not. 352 00:20:43,530 --> 00:20:48,490 Their heckles are raised because of Jesus emotional response. 353 00:20:49,609 --> 00:20:51,610 He demonstrates his heart. 354 00:20:51,930 --> 00:20:55,010 This window that we're given into the heart of Jesus is no longer 355 00:20:55,010 --> 00:20:56,330 one of weeping and sorrow. 356 00:20:56,490 --> 00:20:58,490 It's now one of anger. 357 00:20:58,490 --> 00:21:02,850 And it is against those who abuse and misuse the name and worship 358 00:21:02,850 --> 00:21:03,250 of God. 359 00:21:03,250 --> 00:21:05,050 Let's call it spiritual adultery. 360 00:21:06,350 --> 00:21:09,870 They say one thing and they practice another. 361 00:21:10,910 --> 00:21:15,790 Jesus challenges these powerful men on two fronts, these 362 00:21:15,790 --> 00:21:16,990 people who are in charge. 363 00:21:17,230 --> 00:21:19,910 The first thing he does is he overturns the tables. 364 00:21:19,910 --> 00:21:24,070 And in doing so, he challenges their morals and their ethics regarding 365 00:21:24,070 --> 00:21:25,230 the worship of God. 366 00:21:26,270 --> 00:21:29,150 He's challenging the heart of what they're supposed to do practically 367 00:21:29,150 --> 00:21:30,190 in leading the people. 368 00:21:30,510 --> 00:21:34,620 And secondly in his teaching, he is challenging their theology 369 00:21:34,780 --> 00:21:37,820 of God, what they believe about him, what they believe about 370 00:21:37,900 --> 00:21:38,780 the Messiah. 371 00:21:38,940 --> 00:21:43,500 What they believe about salvation as the Son of God is in 372 00:21:43,500 --> 00:21:47,540 their midst, they're the ones supposed to be looking out for him. 373 00:21:47,540 --> 00:21:53,180 They're the ones who know how to identify him, and yet they ignore 374 00:21:53,180 --> 00:21:53,500 him. 375 00:21:55,100 --> 00:21:59,060 But of course, the anger of Christ is not like our anger. 376 00:22:01,300 --> 00:22:06,220 Our anger comes from outbursts of not getting things our way. 377 00:22:06,220 --> 00:22:07,420 Ultimately, that's what it is. 378 00:22:07,420 --> 00:22:10,860 Whether you're, you're annoyed by a little ear chipping or a little 379 00:22:10,860 --> 00:22:13,579 voice chipping in your ear and wanting something and you're doing 380 00:22:13,579 --> 00:22:16,780 something else and you turn around and you bark at them, that's 381 00:22:16,780 --> 00:22:17,340 a response. 382 00:22:17,340 --> 00:22:18,420 Because we're not getting our way. 383 00:22:18,420 --> 00:22:19,700 We're not getting what we want. 384 00:22:20,340 --> 00:22:21,700 And that's what anger is. 385 00:22:21,780 --> 00:22:23,460 Anger is about self. 386 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:27,440 But Jesus was the suffering servant. 387 00:22:28,480 --> 00:22:30,280 Jesus was the Messiah, the Son of God. 388 00:22:30,280 --> 00:22:33,880 This anger is not a knee jerk reaction response. 389 00:22:33,880 --> 00:22:37,040 His anger is a righteous anger. 390 00:22:38,160 --> 00:22:42,840 Whereas in our anger we want to prove we are right, in the anger 391 00:22:42,840 --> 00:22:47,280 of Jesus, it is one that is righteous because it is fair. 392 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:52,520 And there are many verses that speak of the slowness by which God 393 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:53,520 is to anger. 394 00:22:54,110 --> 00:22:55,150 We read them this morning. 395 00:22:55,150 --> 00:22:58,750 And so for the second person of the Trinity to display this righteous 396 00:22:58,750 --> 00:23:00,670 anger means that we need to pay attention. 397 00:23:00,910 --> 00:23:05,310 Because whatever is going on, Jesus is taking seriously so seriously 398 00:23:05,790 --> 00:23:07,790 that it rises him to anger. 399 00:23:08,910 --> 00:23:12,030 And to pay attention means that we must ask ourselves, are we 400 00:23:12,030 --> 00:23:15,950 like the temple attenders of old or attendees of old? 401 00:23:16,670 --> 00:23:22,050 Do we simply come to be seen or to keep ourselves in the hope 402 00:23:22,290 --> 00:23:23,330 that we're okay? 403 00:23:23,410 --> 00:23:25,890 Lulling ourselves into believing that being a church will 404 00:23:25,890 --> 00:23:28,610 simply save us like a bargaining chip with God? 405 00:23:28,610 --> 00:23:31,890 That on that day when Christ comes and we face the judgment, we'll 406 00:23:31,890 --> 00:23:34,050 be able to say, but I went to church. 407 00:23:36,290 --> 00:23:40,250 If nothing else in this incident, in this final week of the 408 00:23:40,250 --> 00:23:43,490 life of Jesus, to teach us is that we cannot play him for the fool. 409 00:23:44,370 --> 00:23:46,290 Coming to church does not save you. 410 00:23:46,690 --> 00:23:47,570 It's good to be here. 411 00:23:47,570 --> 00:23:50,130 Don't get me wrong, it is very good to be here. 412 00:23:50,610 --> 00:23:51,930 But it doesn't save. 413 00:23:51,930 --> 00:23:55,450 And if we think we're coming here to use it as a bartering chip 414 00:23:55,450 --> 00:23:58,690 in the future, then we are playing God for the fool. 415 00:23:59,650 --> 00:24:01,250 You see, God knows our hearts. 416 00:24:01,650 --> 00:24:03,650 He knows them just as we know them. 417 00:24:03,970 --> 00:24:07,530 And what he requires of us is what he required of his people of 418 00:24:07,530 --> 00:24:07,810 old. 419 00:24:08,450 --> 00:24:13,660 He requires faithful worship of his name through the gift of his 420 00:24:13,660 --> 00:24:14,220 salvation. 421 00:24:14,700 --> 00:24:17,220 And for us, that gift of salvation is Jesus Christ. 422 00:24:17,220 --> 00:24:20,660 And so we worship God because of Jesus, because He is the One who 423 00:24:20,660 --> 00:24:26,420 has provided us the way by which we can Worship as the writer 424 00:24:26,420 --> 00:24:31,260 of Hebrews in Hebrews 12, 28, 29 says, Therefore let us be grateful 425 00:24:31,420 --> 00:24:33,980 for receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. 426 00:24:34,220 --> 00:24:38,220 And thus let us offer to God acceptable worship with reverence 427 00:24:38,220 --> 00:24:38,790 and honor. 428 00:24:38,940 --> 00:24:42,460 Awe for our God is a consuming fire. 429 00:24:43,900 --> 00:24:48,140 Again we see in Hebrews verses that sum up quite well what we're 430 00:24:48,140 --> 00:24:48,700 looking at. 431 00:24:49,660 --> 00:24:51,420 What's the problem with the people? 432 00:24:52,300 --> 00:24:57,100 Well, the problem as Jesus weeps and with a sorrow filled heart 433 00:24:58,460 --> 00:25:01,740 is their judgment, their lostness. 434 00:25:02,460 --> 00:25:04,220 And they don't even know it yet. 435 00:25:04,220 --> 00:25:04,780 They should. 436 00:25:05,750 --> 00:25:07,470 And as he's in the temple, what is the problem? 437 00:25:07,470 --> 00:25:09,990 Well, the problem is they're two faced. 438 00:25:10,710 --> 00:25:13,990 They're saying they worship God, but really they're not. 439 00:25:14,630 --> 00:25:19,870 They're worshipping self and simply going through ritual so that 440 00:25:19,870 --> 00:25:23,110 they will convince themselves they're okay. 441 00:25:24,550 --> 00:25:28,310 But when we look to the heart of Jesus, both his weeping heart 442 00:25:28,470 --> 00:25:32,780 and that heart of anger, righteous anger, the heart of Jesus 443 00:25:32,780 --> 00:25:38,820 is one for us that wants us to love him as we respond to his love 444 00:25:38,820 --> 00:25:39,420 for us. 445 00:25:40,620 --> 00:25:44,620 You see, it's not one way where Christ expects us only to love 446 00:25:44,620 --> 00:25:44,900 Him. 447 00:25:44,900 --> 00:25:49,020 He has loved us first in that demonstration of that love on Calvary's 448 00:25:49,020 --> 00:25:49,300 cross. 449 00:25:49,300 --> 00:25:53,260 He wants each of us to be faithful to him, not to be adulterers, 450 00:25:53,660 --> 00:25:57,020 but to worship him and him alone in our thoughts, in our actions 451 00:25:57,020 --> 00:26:01,770 and our words, so that our hearts will truly become his and 452 00:26:01,770 --> 00:26:05,530 he will be glorified in our worship and in our acts of service 453 00:26:05,610 --> 00:26:06,330 for Him. 454 00:26:07,530 --> 00:26:10,890 You see, this is what his heart is for us as he both weeps 455 00:26:11,290 --> 00:26:13,330 and demonstrates righteous anger. 456 00:26:13,330 --> 00:26:16,490 Because the window on the heart of Christ is one we need to 457 00:26:16,490 --> 00:26:17,930 see and we need to know. 458 00:26:18,410 --> 00:26:22,890 Because in it we see truly who he is and it is a heart of love towards 459 00:26:22,890 --> 00:26:23,210 us. 460 00:26:24,340 --> 00:26:28,140 So as we finish this evening on this Palm Sunday, will you trust 461 00:26:28,140 --> 00:26:28,820 him tonight? 462 00:26:28,980 --> 00:26:32,900 Will you trust him and his heart that he is enough for you? 463 00:26:33,380 --> 00:26:37,620 And so completely commit in faith to him and to him alone. 464 00:26:38,020 --> 00:26:42,620 Because in these next days, as we follow this Holy Week to Good 465 00:26:42,620 --> 00:26:46,260 Friday, he will demonstrate that love on the cross for you. 466 00:26:47,540 --> 00:26:52,840 And when we are confronted with Christ, we must respond. 467 00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:57,080 Is your heart troubled tonight? 468 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:02,280 Well, as Jesus wept over Jerusalem offering peace, receive 469 00:27:02,520 --> 00:27:05,640 his peace for the days that are ahead. 470 00:27:06,920 --> 00:27:11,160 Are you filled with self righteous in the words that you use 471 00:27:11,960 --> 00:27:15,400 in the actions you want to show people, yet you're someone different 472 00:27:15,480 --> 00:27:16,680 behind closed doors? 473 00:27:17,140 --> 00:27:19,460 Or you simply think turning up here is enough? 474 00:27:20,500 --> 00:27:25,020 Well, the Savior may be angry, but it is righteous because it is 475 00:27:25,020 --> 00:27:28,820 for your good that you will turn while there is yet still time 476 00:27:29,300 --> 00:27:34,820 and come to him for his heart of love and no salvation in him and 477 00:27:34,820 --> 00:27:35,620 him alone. 478 00:27:36,900 --> 00:27:38,980 Respond to Jesus this night. 479 00:27:40,020 --> 00:27:44,520 Respond to his open heart and loving heart so that we will know 480 00:27:44,520 --> 00:27:49,320 him as Lord and Savior and we will live for him in the days ahead 481 00:27:49,320 --> 00:27:50,520 that he has given us. 482 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:52,520 So let us pray. 483 00:27:53,240 --> 00:27:57,960 Our Father God, we thank you for your word, a word of challenge 484 00:27:57,960 --> 00:28:02,280 to us because we don't want to think of an anger, even a righteous 485 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:03,200 anger upon us. 486 00:28:03,200 --> 00:28:06,960 But yet Jesus demonstrates this because it is the depth of his 487 00:28:06,960 --> 00:28:07,880 love towards us. 488 00:28:08,610 --> 00:28:11,490 And he went to that cross to demonstrate that love. 489 00:28:12,530 --> 00:28:15,410 And so we ask Father, that we will respond well to Jesus. 490 00:28:15,970 --> 00:28:19,690 We will respond well to his weeping, that we too will weep for 491 00:28:19,690 --> 00:28:22,370 the lost where we will have a genuine concern. 492 00:28:24,610 --> 00:28:27,570 And Father, we ask that you will help us to know our own hearts 493 00:28:27,970 --> 00:28:29,250 so that we will be true. 494 00:28:30,770 --> 00:28:34,930 And Father, we will be honest before you and we will come unto 495 00:28:34,930 --> 00:28:38,130 you for salvation and for life eternal. 496 00:28:38,690 --> 00:28:40,850 And we ask these things in Jesus name. 497 00:28:41,890 --> 00:28:42,450 Amen.