Friday, April 19, 2013

Luke 19:28-44


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 

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