Rev. Charles Lehmann + Trinity 10 + Luke 19:41-48 In the Name of + Jesus. Amen.
As far as we know from the Scriptures, there are only two times that Jesus was moved to weep. Today's Gospel reading gives us the second time. In our reading, Jesus weeps over His beloved city of Jerusalem. A few weeks before He had wept at the grave of a friend. What do these occasions share in common? The answer is more straightforward than it might seem at first. Jesus weeps at the death of those whom He loves. He loved Lazarus, and even though He knew that He was about to raise Lazarus to life, he wept at his friend's tomb. In today's reading, as Jesus enters Jerusalem so that He can suffer and die to win salvation for all who live there, He cries because most of the people of Jerusalem will never receive the salvation that He will win for them. He cries because in less than forty years, the temple will burn, the city walls will fall, and no resident of Jerusalem will escape alive. They will all be killed, and most of them will suffer in hell forever. And so, our Lord weeps. He has been rejected by the people of Jerusalem. He has come to His own and His own have not received Him. Instead, they are plotting His death. All this might seem a little bit irrelevant. All of us were born about two thousand years after the destruction of Jerusalem. What do the Lord's words about an ancient Israelite city have to do with us? They actually have a lot to do with us. There are millions alive today who will suffer the same fate that many in Jerusalem suffered, and for the very same reasons. Our Lord comes to us today with a harsh and unyielding word of warning. Not all who say “Lord, Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven. In fact, Jesus says in our reading, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.” The people of Jerusalem were probably shocked by the Lord's Words. They were the last people who would expect to have “the things that make for peace” hidden from them. They had the temple. They had the sacrifices. It was in Jerusalem that the Word of God was read, studied, and proclaimed every day. It was to the people of Israel that all of God's Old Testament promises had been given. The people of Jerusalem were obedient to God's Law. They had well cared for and happy families. They were an example of good and decent living for the whole empire. But Jesus wept over Jerusalem. He wept because though they heard the Word of God, they didn't believe it. Because the people of Jerusalem did not believe the holy and saving Gospel, the things that make for peace were hidden from them. There is no spiritual life apart from the Gospel, and so Jesus wept. He wept because though the people of Jerusalem had received all of God's promises, they'd denied them. He wept because though they took care of their families and appeared to live good and virtuous lives, Jerusalem had rejected the Word of God that it heard every day. The people of Jerusalem had replaced the worship of the true God with a religion that they had made up on their own. They had replaced God's offer of grace and mercy with a religion where they justified themselves by their own works. Though they prayed using God's own Words when they sat down to supper, the people of Jerusalem did not recognize God when he walked among them. They murdered Jesus, the very God whom they should have received as the Anointed One, their Savior. It is impossible to overemphasize how important our Lord's Words in Luke 19 are. The people of Jerusalem knew the Word of God better than many of us do. They claimed that they believed it. The rich even had the Word of God in their homes. The people of Jerusalem called themselves Israelites, and they thought that they worshiped the God of the Old Testament. But claiming something doesn't make it so. Saying that you worship the God of the Bible doesn't mean that you actually do. Calling yourself a Christian doesn't mean that you actually know your Savior. Millions of unbelievers study the Word of God every day and even try to live their lives according to it. Some of these unbelievers will even say that they believe that Jesus is their Savior. But unless the Jesus whom you trust is the Jesus who is revealed in the Scriptures, you do not have the salvation that He has won for you on the cross. Our world presents us with many different versions of Jesus, but none of the world's versions of Jesus are the real one. None of them are God, the second person of the Trinity, who took on human flesh so that He might bear all of your sins to the cross, die in your place, and win life and salvation for you. The world's versions of Jesus are false. They are counterfeit. If you were to go on a city street and ask a thousand people who Jesus is, you would get a lot of different answers. Most of them would be false and counterfeit versions of Jesus that Satan has devised to send people to hell. Some would say that Jesus is just a good moral example. Some would say that Jesus is a myth and never really existed. Some would say that Jesus was a renegade rabbi was born after a Roman soldier raped a Jewish peasant girl. Some would say that he was one of the greatest of the prophets. Some would say that Jesus is one of many good spiritual examples to follow. Though some of these answers sound like they might have some truth in them, none actually have anything to do with who Jesus actually is. None of these answers are describing Jesus as He is revealed to us in the Holy Scriptures. The situation of the people of Jerusalem in today's Gospel reading is even worse. The people of Jerusalem thought that they did believe in God as He is revealed in the Scriptures. They thought that they knew what the Messiah would be like and what He would do. They could describe God in ways that sounded biblical. That's because in today's Gospel reading Jesus is addressing those who had actually heard who God revealed Himself to be in the Scriptures. Many of them could probably describe what the Old Testament said about God in some detail. But in the end, their knowledge of the Old Testament didn't save them. It didn't save them because though they had heard about the God of the Old Testament, they didn't believe in Him. It is for exactly this reason that Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Jerusalem was filled with people who should have recognized who Jesus was and believed in Him, but they didn't. They worshiped false gods that existed only in their imaginations. And so, in today's world the same situation exists. Many claim to be Christians and study the Word of God, but do not believe in the God who is revealed in the Scriptures. In this area, the most common examples of this are Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. Though Mormons have wonderful families and study the Bible, they teach that Jesus is Satan's brother and that our goal is to become a god. Nowhere can you find these teachings in Scripture. In fact, Mormonism's goal of becoming a god is exactly the temptation that Satan used against Eve in the Garden of Eden. Though Jehovah's Witnesses also tend to have obedient children and also study the Word of God, they deny the Trinity, teach that Jesus is not true God, and they do not believe that Jesus died on a cross to win forgiveness for all of your sins. Until Jesus returns, Satan will always attack Lord's church by telling lies about Him. The world will continue to be filled with groups that try to make you believe in a false Jesus who is not your Savior. But we must not respond to these groups with hatred. Our struggle is not against flesh and blood. It is not against Mormons and Jehovah's Witnesses. Our struggle is against Satan who has deceived them. Jesus did not hate the people of Jerusalem. He loved them. He wept over them. When they drove the nails into His hands and feet, He said, “Father, forgive them.” Today we live in a world filled with people who think they are being faithful to God but are being deceived for Satan. As the Lord loves them, so must we. The members of these cults are living in death. They have not received the riches of salvation that Christ has for them. Unless they hear the Gospel and believe it, they will suffer in hell forever. When representatives of these groups come to your house, do not send them away empty handed. Give them Jesus. Tell them of all that your Savior has done for you. Let them know that they are loved by God and by you. Mormons, Jehovah's Witnesses, and members of other cults are sinners for whom Jesus died. When our Lord went to the cross, He went there because He loved you, me, and all people. He desires to give His gifts to them just as He has given them to you. Our Lord desires that all be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. Jesus has taken the cup of His Father's wrath and drunk it to the very dregs. He has done all that is necessary for your salvation and the salvation of your neighbor. Come, people loved by God, come to the feast! Receive the riches of life and salvation that Christ has won for you on the cross. The table is ready. All is finished. All is prepared. Your Savior loves you. In the Name of the Father, and of the + Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in faith in Christ Jesus. Amen. Rev. Charles R. Lehmann Pastor, Saint John's Lutheran Church, Accident, MD http://www.stjohncove.org ___________________________________________________________________________ 'CAT 41 Sermons & Devotions' consists of works that are, unless otherwise noted, the copyrighted property of the various authors; posting of such gives members of this list implied consent for redistribution _with_ _attribution_ unless otherwise specified by the author, as well as for quoting or use in a congregational setting _with_or_without_attribution_. Note: This list's default reply is to the *poster*, NOT the list. Do *not* reply to the list with your comments, but to the poster. Subscribe? Send ANY note to: sermons...@cat41.org Unsubscribe? Send ANY note to: sermons-...@cat41.org Archive? <http://www.mail-archive.com/sermons@cat41.org/> For more information on this or other lists offered by Confess And Teach For Unity, you can contact the CAT 41 list administrator at: Rev. Fr. Eric J. 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