Dear Luke,
I think I can explain such a
story. It is odd, I will agree, but I
think there are some helpful things buried among the interactions. I agree with your conclusions about the king
and the length of time he would have been gone for such a journey. I believe this is Jesus trying to teach the
people that he may not return for a long time, longer than they suspect. For those of us who are constantly on watch
for the imminent return of Jesus, this story is a good guard against getting
too caught up in this. Jesus is telling
us to get on with life, with business, in the meantime. I think the word about the delegation to
oppose the king’s rule is probably a harsh word against the Pharisees and
others who fear God’s rule over their lives.
As for the interaction with the
slaves, I’d suggest that Jesus is teaching us to invest ourselves well in life,
in the business of the world, before he returns. God has given us each gifts to use, and we
can’t spend our lives sitting on our hands waiting for Jesus’ return. If we do, we’ll miss out on life and the
opportunities God has set before us.
When Jesus returns, he’ll want to know about the result of our labors
and how well we used our gifts. If all
we have to offer is that we haven’t lost our gifts out of fear of using them, I
believe Jesus will be upset. For those
who have used their gifts well, however, there will be more rewards than they
could ever expect, while those who have nothing to show will lose everything. As for those unfortunate souls who actively
opposed the rule of God, I do believe that there will be destruction for
them. I’m not going to spend my time
contemplating the type of destruction and who exactly will be on that list, for
I trust that knowledge to God, but I think it would be wise to avoid opposing
God’s rule in anything. God always wins,
Luke.
Jesus is teaching all these things
on the way to Jerusalem, trying to get the people a few last lessons before
this hectic final week of his life begins.
It’s still amazing for me to think about the fact that he was teaching
all of this in the shadow of his own death.
I know we haven’t talked about this yet, but it’s drawing near and is no
longer an avoidable topic. We have come
to the place in the story where Jesus enters Jerusalem to the adoration of the
crowd, but he will soon leave the city carrying a cross upon his shoulder. We still have a way to travel before we reach
that point of the story, but it looms large over the remaining section of the
story. It still brings tears to my eyes
to think about, and yet I am continually amazed at the courage and strength
Jesus showed to live this final week of his life knowing what would occur by
the end of it. I would have been quaking
in fear and unable to move if I were in his shoes, and yet he’s busy teaching
and leading the people. My admiration
for the man grows daily.
As the cross loomed large in the
distance, Jerusalem drew even closer. At
Bethpage and Bethany, at the Mount of Olives, Jesus had several disciples go
into the next village and find an unridden colt. It helps to understand that this refers to an
Old Testament prophecy, fulfilling yet another prediction about the
Messiah. Jesus told them that if anyone
inquired as to their purpose while they were untying the colt to bring it to
him, they were to reply simply that the Lord had need of it.
When the colt was brought before
Jesus, some placed their cloaks upon it as a pad, and Jesus sat upon it. Amazingly, others came along and spread their
cloaks on the road for the colt to trod upon as Jesus rode. Jesus was about to descend from the Mount of
Olives, and by this time there was a crowd of disciples surrounding him,
praising God for all the signs of power they had seen Jesus perform. There was joy in the air as they sang with
one voice, crying out to Jesus. They
sang: the king is blessed, because he comes in the name of the Lord. May heaven be filled with peace and glory!
The Pharisees, ever eager to spoil
a crowd that would be praising Jesus, cried out for Jesus to have his disciples
cease this show, but Jesus told them that such a thing was not possible, for if
the people stopped praising God, the rest of creation, even the rocks, would
pick up the hymn.
I’m sure this angered the
Pharisees, compounding their anger at seeing this large crowd praise
Jesus. Many of them had probably
harbored the hope that Jesus would fade from the public eye, hoping someone
else would steal their fickly attention.
Instead, the wave of attention and adoration only gathered steam, growing
larger and more public. They continued
to oppose Jesus, but surely they understood that it would take far more drastic
measures now that Jesus was involved in such open displays of his power and
influence. I cannot even imagine the
hate that was spewed in the shadowy conversations of the Pharisees as they
plotted the demise of Jesus.
Jesus, however, had bigger things
on his mind than the opposition of the Pharisees. Seeing Jerusalem, he openly wept, sad that
the city had not chosen the way of peace, instead opting for another way. The city, Jesus said, was so far from peace
that it couldn’t even see the proper way, and soon Jerusalem’s enemies will
surround the city and crush the inhabitants as well as the city itself. There won’t be a stone left resting upon
another because the city blinded itself to the presence of God within its
walls.
Luke, you can almost hear the
sorrow of Jesus for the city of Jerusalem.
The city was so busy, so caught up in itself and unable or unwilling to
see God in their midst, that it would be destroyed. I can’t interpret exactly what this means,
whether it means physical or spiritual destruction, but I will say that it is a
terrifying though, to imagine the city of Jerusalem leveled flat, without a
single stone tower left. Perhaps if they
realized the consequences of their choices, the people would have gone an
alternative way, but Jesus spent his life trying to show them another way, and
while many listened for a moment, few were wise enough to let God transform
them.
I pray for you, Luke, and for all
who hear these words, that they take them seriously and let God lead them to a
place of faith, to a place of change, that their future may be one of hope
rather than fear, of joy rather than despair, of love rather than
indifference. Jesus came to show us
another way, and that is the way that leads to life.
Sincerely,
Theophilus
No comments:
Post a Comment