WEBVTT 00:00:06.480 --> 00:00:08.880 Hello everyone, this is Pastor Benjamin. 00:00:08.880 --> 00:00:12.000 You're listening to Sermon Audio from New City Orlando. 00:00:12.000 --> 00:00:15.439 At New City, we long to see our Father answer the Lord's Prayer. 00:00:15.439 --> 00:00:20.000 For more resources, visit our website at Newcity Orlando.com. 00:00:20.320 --> 00:00:22.079 Please pray aloud with me. 00:00:22.079 --> 00:00:29.839 Eternal God, the grass withers and the flower fades, but your word will stand forever. 00:00:29.839 --> 00:00:36.399 Holy Spirit, help us to love and trust your word through Jesus Christ we pray. 00:00:36.399 --> 00:00:37.359 Amen. 00:00:37.359 --> 00:00:45.359 Please remain standing if you're able for today's scripture reading, which comes from Luke 13, 1 through 9 and 31 through 35. 00:00:45.359 --> 00:00:54.560 There were some present that very time who told him about the Galileans, whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 00:00:54.560 --> 00:01:03.600 And he answered them, Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way? 00:01:03.600 --> 00:01:09.120 No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 00:01:09.120 --> 00:01:19.200 Or those eighteen on whom the tower of Saloom fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:24.480 No, I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 00:01:24.480 --> 00:01:26.480 And he told this parable. 00:01:26.480 --> 00:01:40.000 And he said to his vine dresser, Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:40.959 Cut it down. 00:01:40.959 --> 00:01:42.879 Why should it use up ground? 00:01:42.879 --> 00:01:49.439 And he answered him, Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put manure. 00:01:49.439 --> 00:01:55.519 If then it should bear no fruit next year, well and good, but if not, you can cut it down. 00:01:55.519 --> 00:02:03.040 At that very hour, some Pharisees came and said to him, Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you. 00:02:03.040 --> 00:02:12.879 And he said to them, Go and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 00:02:12.879 --> 00:02:21.759 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem. 00:02:21.759 --> 00:02:28.080 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. 00:02:28.080 --> 00:02:35.280 How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing. 00:02:35.280 --> 00:02:44.240 Behold, your house is forsaken, and I tell you, you will not see me until you say, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. 00:02:44.240 --> 00:02:45.680 This is God's word. 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:46.719 Thanks, babe. 00:02:46.719 --> 00:02:48.400 You can be seated. 00:03:01.120 --> 00:03:08.960 A couple years ago, when I was in seminary, uh, one of my part-time jobs is I was a coach at a CrossFit gym. 00:03:08.960 --> 00:03:16.719 Now I actually had the early shift, so I rolled in pretty early in the morning to get the gym set up and ready to go for the day. 00:03:16.719 --> 00:03:24.879 One morning, uh, a new lady walked into the gym, and it looked like so far she had not been having the best day. 00:03:24.879 --> 00:03:31.520 I walked up to her and greeted her, let her know my name was Justin, and I asked if I could help her. 00:03:31.520 --> 00:03:33.520 She said, Yeah, you can help me. 00:03:33.520 --> 00:03:38.080 I'm actually looking for the coach or the trainer or whoever owns this place. 00:03:38.080 --> 00:03:41.039 I said, Hey, that's actually me. 00:03:41.039 --> 00:03:45.360 You know, I'd love to, I'd love to uh help you out if I can. 00:03:45.360 --> 00:03:57.039 She paused for a moment and she started looking at me from the top of my head, took her time and went all the way down to my toes, and she asked me a question. 00:03:57.039 --> 00:03:59.360 You are the coach? 00:03:59.360 --> 00:04:02.879 I responded, Yes, I am. 00:04:02.879 --> 00:04:04.159 I would love to help you. 00:04:04.159 --> 00:04:06.240 She said, I'm here for a workout. 00:04:06.240 --> 00:04:07.360 Let's see what we can do. 00:04:07.360 --> 00:04:14.719 I had her sign the waiver and I ran her through uh in CrossFit what is known as a baseline workout. 00:04:14.719 --> 00:04:16.079 She did really well. 00:04:16.079 --> 00:04:18.240 She was really fit. 00:04:18.240 --> 00:04:28.319 After she finished the workout, she proceeded to uh let me know how inefficient and how dangerous the CrossFit methodology is working out. 00:04:28.319 --> 00:04:34.480 And then she did the, she she dropped the straw that broke the camel's back. 00:04:34.480 --> 00:04:43.439 She looked at me and with all sincerity said, I bet you couldn't even beat me in a CrossFit workout. 00:04:43.439 --> 00:04:48.560 You see, up to this point, she'd insulted my physique, which I was able to handle. 00:04:48.560 --> 00:04:55.680 She insulted the methodology, which I had heard before, but then she went straight to the heart. 00:04:55.680 --> 00:04:57.839 She went after my pride. 00:04:57.839 --> 00:05:04.879 I think the very words out of my mouth in that moment were that's it, let's work out. 00:05:04.879 --> 00:05:12.560 I proceeded to set up, if you have any uh knowledge or background in CrossFit, a workout known as Fran. 00:05:12.560 --> 00:05:20.240 I'll spare you all of the details, but it is short, quick, and incredibly painful. 00:05:20.240 --> 00:05:23.680 I came out victorious. 00:05:23.680 --> 00:05:30.800 I also lost her as a client. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:36.319 That night, I have never slept so well. 00:05:36.319 --> 00:05:44.800 Knowing me, the CrossFit coach, was better at CrossFit than the lady who had never done CrossFit off of the street. 00:05:44.800 --> 00:05:47.600 Church, do I sound a little silly? 00:05:47.600 --> 00:05:48.959 I hope so. 00:05:48.959 --> 00:06:00.079 Because I don't tell you this story in any way, shape, or form to brag on myself, but I tell you the story because this is often things that we do. 00:06:00.079 --> 00:06:07.519 We compare ourselves to others in order to feel good about ourselves. 00:06:07.519 --> 00:06:09.360 Have you ever done this? 00:06:09.360 --> 00:06:22.399 Maybe in parenting, you feel really great about your own child and your own parenting simply because their child is misbehaving. 00:06:22.399 --> 00:06:33.439 Perhaps professionally, you think you are nailing it and hitting it out of the park in your place of work because your co-worker showed up late. 00:06:33.439 --> 00:06:44.560 Or maybe even morally, you think that you are superior because you didn't vote for the same candidate as they did. 00:06:44.560 --> 00:06:47.120 Do you see how we do this? 00:06:47.120 --> 00:06:52.560 I think it is in human nature to compare ourselves to others. 00:06:52.560 --> 00:06:55.920 And what are we doing in those moments? 00:06:55.920 --> 00:07:06.639 We're not actually looking at our own lives before God, we're looking sideways, and we're calling that righteousness. 00:07:06.639 --> 00:07:14.240 We often justify ourselves before God by comparing ourselves to others. 00:07:14.240 --> 00:07:19.279 If that's you, and I dare to say it is me, you're not alone. 00:07:19.279 --> 00:07:23.120 And even in ancient times, we see this here in the text. 00:07:23.120 --> 00:07:29.600 And I believe this is what the Lord Jesus would have us learn this morning from Luke chapter 13. 00:07:29.600 --> 00:07:36.560 God's mercy is calling you to repent and to come to Jesus. 00:07:36.560 --> 00:07:50.079 That's what we're gonna talk about this morning by unpacking these three points: the way to mercy, the giver of mercy, and the warning in mercy. 00:07:50.079 --> 00:07:55.680 The way to mercy, the giver of mercy, and the warning in mercy. 00:07:55.680 --> 00:07:58.560 Let's go ahead and jump in. 00:07:58.560 --> 00:08:02.480 So, what is the way to mercy? 00:08:02.480 --> 00:08:11.439 This question is relevant and it matters again because often we feel safe before God for all of the wrong reasons. 00:08:11.439 --> 00:08:14.560 We have this false sense of security. 00:08:14.560 --> 00:08:17.839 How does this actually play out in the text here? 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:25.759 Well, in verses one through five, there were apparently two hot takes or two breaking news events of the day. 00:08:25.759 --> 00:08:37.519 The first, it's only recorded here in the Gospel of Luke, but apparently Pontius Pilate had killed some religious pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem to offer sacrifices. 00:08:37.519 --> 00:08:42.240 He took their blood, he mixed it with the offerings, and it was horrible. 00:08:42.240 --> 00:08:49.200 This was to there's no other word for it, this was an abomination before the Lord. 00:08:49.200 --> 00:08:59.600 The people witnessed to this, the people who heard about this, they had experienced suffering by the hands of an oppressor. 00:08:59.600 --> 00:09:02.720 And this is what they come to Jesus with. 00:09:02.720 --> 00:09:06.879 Jesus goes on and says, you know, we'll take that, let's go one more. 00:09:06.879 --> 00:09:11.120 How about a sorrow that you all have recently experienced? 00:09:11.120 --> 00:09:20.000 Apparently the Tower of Saloon, like what likely it was in the southern gate of Jerusalem, fell and killed 18 people. 00:09:20.000 --> 00:09:25.279 And Jesus goes on to use these two current events to teach a lesson. 00:09:25.279 --> 00:09:27.919 And how does Jesus teach? 00:09:27.919 --> 00:09:30.799 He asks good questions. 00:09:30.799 --> 00:09:33.679 You see what he does here in verse 2? 00:09:33.679 --> 00:09:34.879 Do you think? 00:09:34.879 --> 00:09:37.840 He repeats the same question in verse 4. 00:09:37.840 --> 00:09:39.120 Do you think? 00:09:39.120 --> 00:09:44.639 Do you think that they were any worse sinners than you are? 00:09:44.639 --> 00:09:46.639 This is what Jesus does. 00:09:46.639 --> 00:09:54.240 There's a constant invitation where Jesus invites us to question our own assumptions. 00:09:54.240 --> 00:09:57.679 And do you see what's implied here in this text? 00:09:57.679 --> 00:09:59.759 What are you assuming? 00:09:59.759 --> 00:10:03.600 You're assuming that they must have done something worse. 00:10:03.600 --> 00:10:05.919 What are you implying? 00:10:05.919 --> 00:10:07.919 I am not like them. 00:10:07.919 --> 00:10:11.840 And what are you not asking? 00:10:11.840 --> 00:10:14.240 What about me? 00:10:14.240 --> 00:10:25.759 You see, the people of God at this time, they're apparently using someone else's tragedy to justify their own standing before God. 00:10:25.759 --> 00:10:32.639 And I wonder if we are honest, if we do the exact same thing. 00:10:32.639 --> 00:10:49.519 Church, I've noticed in my own heart how quickly I can feel okay about myself, not because I'm looking at my own life before God, but simply because I can think of someone worse off than me. 00:10:49.519 --> 00:10:59.120 If you find yourself in this position, if your heart looks sideways rather than up at God, what do we do? 00:10:59.120 --> 00:11:02.080 Well, Jesus spells it out here in the text. 00:11:02.080 --> 00:11:10.000 We repent personally, we reflect honestly, and then we repent personally. 00:11:10.000 --> 00:11:14.480 Verse 3 and verse 5, Jesus says it one more time. 00:11:14.480 --> 00:11:18.879 Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 00:11:18.879 --> 00:11:23.279 Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 00:11:23.279 --> 00:11:30.240 In some ways, it's an odd answer to those who are victims of both suffering and sorrow. 00:11:30.240 --> 00:11:35.039 Yet Jesus is saying, Don't look outward, but look inward. 00:11:35.039 --> 00:11:40.639 What does it actually mean to repent? 00:11:40.639 --> 00:11:50.480 Briefly, if we look at this word and the way it comes in the Old Testament, we see that to repent, it literally means to turn back to God. 00:11:50.480 --> 00:11:58.399 It's language of someone who is on a journey, and as they're trying to make their way to their destination, they get lost. 00:11:58.399 --> 00:11:59.759 What do they need to do? 00:11:59.759 --> 00:12:04.320 They need to correct course and get back on track. 00:12:04.320 --> 00:12:09.840 By the time we get to the New Testament, it takes a little bit more of an intellectual flavor. 00:12:09.840 --> 00:12:17.440 And the very word that Jesus uses here simply means to change your mind or to think rightly. 00:12:17.440 --> 00:12:26.639 Think rightly about God, think rightly about ourselves and others. 00:12:26.639 --> 00:12:29.360 Do you see what Jesus is doing here? 00:12:29.360 --> 00:12:42.480 He's painting in broad strokes, but he's saying, No one is immune unless we likewise repent, we will experience the same fate. 00:12:42.480 --> 00:12:47.600 You see, repentance, it's not merely something that we do in a single moment. 00:12:47.600 --> 00:12:54.960 Repentance is a lifestyle where we continually go back to the Lord. 00:12:54.960 --> 00:13:05.360 Repentance requires that I stop measuring myself against others and I start seeing myself honestly before God. 00:13:05.360 --> 00:13:19.039 There's uh an old story that a man once approached a Jewish rabbi and he said to him, Rabbi, I so wish to repent, but I don't know what to do. 00:13:19.039 --> 00:13:25.279 The rabbi looks at him and he responds, And when and when you sinned, did you know what to do there? 00:13:25.279 --> 00:13:28.559 The man desperately, yes, but that was easy. 00:13:28.559 --> 00:13:31.360 First I sinned and then I knew what I did. 00:13:31.360 --> 00:13:34.559 And the rabbi says back, exactly. 00:13:34.559 --> 00:13:38.720 Now do the same the other way around. 00:13:38.720 --> 00:13:40.960 Start by repenting. 00:13:40.960 --> 00:13:43.840 You'll know what it means later. 00:13:43.840 --> 00:13:49.840 We repent, we get back on track, we change our mind. 00:13:49.840 --> 00:13:52.639 How do we go about doing this? 00:13:52.639 --> 00:13:54.480 Briefly, three things. 00:13:54.480 --> 00:14:00.320 We see clearly, we think differently, and we respond concretely. 00:14:00.320 --> 00:14:09.360 We go to God in prayer and we ask the Lord to help us see our sin the way that He sees it. 00:14:09.360 --> 00:14:17.519 We go to God in prayer and we say, God, help me to change my mind about this sin that I so desperately wish wasn't there. 00:14:17.519 --> 00:14:20.159 And then we respond concretely. 00:14:20.159 --> 00:14:23.759 We name it for what it is, that is, we confess it. 00:14:23.759 --> 00:14:37.120 We flee from temptation, that is, we do whatever is within our power to remove it, and we bring in community and ask them to hold us accountable. 00:14:37.120 --> 00:14:52.559 Jesus makes it clear here in these first five verses that judgment, it's not for worse people, judgment is for unrepentant people. 00:14:52.559 --> 00:15:02.320 And if you're thinking right now, I hope my spouse or my roommate is listening in church, you're missing the point. 00:15:02.320 --> 00:15:07.519 This isn't about them, this is about you. 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:16.240 But we need to know and we need to remember repentance, it's not the end goal in and of itself. 00:15:16.240 --> 00:15:23.440 Repentance is the door, but Jesus is the destination. 00:15:23.440 --> 00:15:28.480 Jesus is the one who is the giver of mercy. 00:15:28.480 --> 00:15:38.240 So right after Jesus instructs and he teaches and he says that you must reflect honestly and repent personally, he goes on and he tells a story. 00:15:38.240 --> 00:15:42.080 That's today's parable, the parable of the fig tree. 00:15:42.080 --> 00:15:45.360 So what is this parable ultimately about? 00:15:45.360 --> 00:15:51.840 Well, you have uh the owner of a vineyard, and within his vineyard there is a tree, a fig tree. 00:15:51.840 --> 00:15:55.200 And this fig tree is no longer bearing fruit. 00:15:55.200 --> 00:16:00.639 And so the vineyard gives the instruction to the vine dresser cut down the tree. 00:16:00.639 --> 00:16:08.720 It's wasting up space, it's wasting up resources, it is not doing what it was created for. 00:16:08.720 --> 00:16:11.440 And intercedes the vine dresser. 00:16:11.440 --> 00:16:12.720 Give me one more shot. 00:16:12.720 --> 00:16:25.519 Let me care for it, let me tend to it, let me dig deep into the soil to see if we can cause this tree to yet again do what it was always meant to do to bear fruit. 00:16:25.519 --> 00:16:27.679 What is the story about? 00:16:27.679 --> 00:16:38.080 Well, if we really look at it deeply, we can see that this parable ultimately it's a story about the ancient people of God who are not bearing fruit. 00:16:38.080 --> 00:16:45.440 They're not carrying out their calling to be a blessing to the nations the way that God meant them to. 00:16:45.440 --> 00:16:47.200 And it's a warning. 00:16:47.200 --> 00:16:51.679 It's a warning about God's judgment that is coming. 00:16:51.679 --> 00:16:53.679 But it's not just that. 00:16:53.679 --> 00:17:02.799 This is also a story about the vine dresser who both advocates on behalf of the tree and nourishes the tree. 00:17:02.799 --> 00:17:16.079 And so I want to zoom in for just a second, and I want to see in the care of the vine dresser, both his intentional care and his delayed judgment. 00:17:16.079 --> 00:17:24.400 First, we see the vine dresser is willing to intentionally care for this tree that does not bear fruit. 00:17:24.400 --> 00:17:26.880 That's exactly what he does in verse eight. 00:17:26.880 --> 00:17:28.559 First, he advocates. 00:17:28.559 --> 00:17:31.920 And in advocating, saying, No, don't cut it down, not yet. 00:17:31.920 --> 00:17:34.640 Here, let me do this thing first. 00:17:34.640 --> 00:17:38.880 Let me tend to the roots on behalf of the tree. 00:17:38.880 --> 00:17:41.119 Let me dig down deep. 00:17:41.119 --> 00:17:45.279 Let me give it fertilizer so that it may grow. 00:17:45.279 --> 00:17:49.839 Even in verse nine, there's this language that's a Hebrew idiom. 00:17:49.839 --> 00:17:52.640 If it bears fruit again, well and good. 00:17:52.640 --> 00:17:56.960 This is language that implies hope for a future. 00:17:56.960 --> 00:18:03.119 You see, the vine dresser has not completely given up on this barren tree, not yet. 00:18:03.119 --> 00:18:04.559 He hopes for it. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:12.559 He is willful that this tree would once again be restored to bear fruit the way that it was always meant to. 00:18:12.559 --> 00:18:15.279 But he doesn't merely care for it. 00:18:15.279 --> 00:18:18.000 He there is a warning in the text. 00:18:18.000 --> 00:18:20.000 There's delayed judgment. 00:18:20.000 --> 00:18:23.440 Verse 9, wait a year. 00:18:23.440 --> 00:18:32.079 You see, for the people that are first hearing this, they should and we should be hearing the warning in the text. 00:18:32.079 --> 00:18:43.039 Just as God gave his ancient people the time that they don't deserve, so too God gives us the time that we don't deserve. 00:18:43.039 --> 00:18:56.559 You see, in this parable, the tree is spared because the vine dresser is willing to step in, to labor, to tend to, and to take responsibility for it. 00:18:56.559 --> 00:19:02.400 And what is Jesus doing in ancient times, and what is he doing here and now? 00:19:02.400 --> 00:19:08.400 Jesus is saying, That is what I am doing for you. 00:19:08.400 --> 00:19:12.720 You are the tree that has not produced what it should. 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:18.880 And Jesus is saying, I'm the one standing between you and being cut down. 00:19:18.880 --> 00:19:22.240 He doesn't merely ask for more time. 00:19:22.240 --> 00:19:23.920 Jesus enters in. 00:19:23.920 --> 00:19:37.839 Jesus digs down to the roots of our heart, he nourishes and tends to the deep places, he pays the cost, church, so that you might bear fruit. 00:19:37.839 --> 00:19:41.920 He is merciful and he has patience. 00:19:41.920 --> 00:19:47.039 And it is that patience that will take him all the way to Jerusalem. 00:19:47.039 --> 00:19:57.680 And in Jerusalem, the one who gives life will be cut off, so that those who deserve judgment might receive mercy. 00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:00.000 What is this parable about? 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:07.359 This parable is about the vine dresser that was cut down so that the tree doesn't have to be. 00:20:07.359 --> 00:20:10.400 What do we learn here in this text? 00:20:10.400 --> 00:20:11.680 We learn this. 00:20:11.680 --> 00:20:17.119 Jesus is the vine dresser, only he can tend to your soul. 00:20:17.119 --> 00:20:21.440 Do you see how frivolous the comparison that we do? 00:20:21.440 --> 00:20:25.920 We try to tend to our souls by saying, at least I am not that person. 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:29.279 At least I don't have that going on in my life. 00:20:29.279 --> 00:20:32.480 And Jesus is saying, that will not do. 00:20:32.480 --> 00:20:36.799 Only I can give you what you truly need. 00:20:36.799 --> 00:20:45.519 It is only the Lord Jesus that can cause you to bear fruit if you will let him. 00:20:45.519 --> 00:21:06.240 Now I'm taking a guess here for just a moment, but as modern readers of the text, I think this idea that we can be cut off, or to use the language that I've been using here this morning, the idea that we can be judged by God, I would imagine that doesn't necessarily sit well. 00:21:06.240 --> 00:21:16.480 I imagine perhaps as we read we read text like this or parables like this, maybe we feel a little uncomfortable. 00:21:16.480 --> 00:21:21.119 We have to remember comparison, that's not the way of Jesus. 00:21:21.119 --> 00:21:24.640 The warning is in the text and it is real. 00:21:24.640 --> 00:21:30.319 But I don't think the warning is the greatest tragedy that's out there this morning. 00:21:30.319 --> 00:21:43.039 You see, I think the greatest tragedy is not the judgment that Jesus is talking about, but it's that people are able to refuse the mercy that is meant to save them. 00:21:43.039 --> 00:21:50.480 And that's really the last thing that I want to talk about this morning is the warning inherent in mercy. 00:21:50.480 --> 00:21:58.319 See, the scripture reading this morning, it wasn't just verses one through nine, it also jumped ahead to the end of chapter 13. 00:21:58.319 --> 00:21:59.759 Now it probably takes me a little more. 00:21:59.759 --> 00:22:10.480 Time than I have this morning to explain in detail how chapter 13 of Luke is in the middle of his gospel and it comes in the form of a chiastic structure. 00:22:10.480 --> 00:22:14.480 It starts with Israel and it ends with Israel. 00:22:14.480 --> 00:22:18.880 But what do we see here in this text? 00:22:18.880 --> 00:22:22.240 We see that there's a real warning in this mercy. 00:22:22.240 --> 00:22:23.039 Why? 00:22:23.039 --> 00:22:28.640 Because there is a willing savior, but an unwilling people. 00:22:28.640 --> 00:22:33.279 So the story goes on, and Jesus is given a warning himself. 00:22:33.279 --> 00:22:37.440 Hey, Herod is here, and Jesus is actually, you know, quite something. 00:22:37.440 --> 00:22:39.759 He throws quite a bit of shade on Herod. 00:22:39.759 --> 00:22:41.519 Go and tell that fox. 00:22:41.519 --> 00:22:42.480 What's a fox? 00:22:42.480 --> 00:22:47.920 Maybe, you know, you know, of all the animals out there, not really all that dangerous. 00:22:47.920 --> 00:22:51.119 Maybe dangerous to something little, maybe like a rodent. 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:53.839 But Jesus is essentially putting Herod down. 00:22:53.839 --> 00:23:02.160 He goes on and to say, What I am called to do, I must go do this. 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:05.599 Let's go ahead and read again, verse 33. 00:23:05.599 --> 00:23:13.039 Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following. 00:23:13.039 --> 00:23:18.640 For it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem. 00:23:18.640 --> 00:23:21.759 New Testament scholars, they point out this language. 00:23:21.759 --> 00:23:24.079 It's a divine imperative. 00:23:24.079 --> 00:23:26.079 Do you hear Jesus' words? 00:23:26.079 --> 00:23:27.680 I must. 00:23:27.680 --> 00:23:31.119 And then he pairs that with Jerusalem. 00:23:31.119 --> 00:23:34.400 I must be about the work that my father has given me. 00:23:34.400 --> 00:23:40.799 I must go to Jerusalem, for a prophet cannot die away from the city. 00:23:40.799 --> 00:23:46.079 He then goes on and he laments over Jerusalem. 00:23:46.079 --> 00:23:50.079 We may miss it, but it's quite tender language. 00:23:50.079 --> 00:23:51.440 Verse 34. 00:23:51.440 --> 00:23:58.640 How often would I have gathered you together as a mother hen would gather together her chicks? 00:23:58.640 --> 00:24:15.359 This language, it's motherly language, and this isn't the only place in the scripture that the Lord Himself is willing to use motherly language to describe the way that he cares for his people, that he desires their flourishing, he desires their good. 00:24:15.359 --> 00:24:20.880 But what is the conclusion that even here Jesus ultimately draws? 00:24:20.880 --> 00:24:26.480 But you were unwilling. 00:24:26.480 --> 00:24:37.200 Verse 34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. 00:24:37.200 --> 00:24:47.680 How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing. 00:24:47.680 --> 00:24:59.519 I had once heard from a wise man that you should never trust a prophet who does not have a tearful eye. 00:24:59.519 --> 00:25:02.799 You never trust a dry-eyed prophet. 00:25:02.799 --> 00:25:08.319 It's going to be later in his ministry, but Jesus is going to fulfill these very words. 00:25:08.319 --> 00:25:10.880 In 13, he must go to Jerusalem. 00:25:10.880 --> 00:25:13.839 In 19, he enters through the city gates. 00:25:13.839 --> 00:25:17.200 And what is the first thing our Lord Jesus Himself does? 00:25:17.200 --> 00:25:26.559 In Luke 19, 41, he weeps for the city that is now spiritually blind, who will go on rejecting him. 00:25:26.559 --> 00:25:30.000 You see, there's a warning in the text. 00:25:30.000 --> 00:25:35.519 Verse 9, it's not just language that is flora and fauna language. 00:25:35.519 --> 00:25:39.759 It's not merely agricultural, it is covenantal. 00:25:39.759 --> 00:25:43.680 If the tree refuses to bear fruit, let it be cut off. 00:25:43.680 --> 00:25:57.440 The same language that God uses throughout the scripture to describe what it is if we won't repent and if we won't receive and respond to the mercy that He has on offer. 00:25:57.440 --> 00:26:01.920 This was the fate that Jesus warns about. 00:26:01.920 --> 00:26:05.359 Christian philosopher and writer C. 00:26:05.359 --> 00:26:05.759 S. 00:26:05.759 --> 00:26:14.160 Lewis in describing God's ultimate judgment, to use a word that even now perhaps makes me a little uncomfortable. 00:26:14.160 --> 00:26:14.559 C. 00:26:14.559 --> 00:26:14.960 S. 00:26:14.960 --> 00:26:17.519 Lewis talking about hell says this. 00:26:17.519 --> 00:26:24.400 Hell begins with a grumbling mood, always complaining, always blaming others. 00:26:24.400 --> 00:26:27.200 But you are still distinct from it. 00:26:27.200 --> 00:26:31.680 You may even criticize it in yourself and wish you could stop it. 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:35.039 But there may come a day where you can no longer. 00:26:35.039 --> 00:26:40.880 Then there will be no you left to criticize the mood or even to enjoy it. 00:26:40.880 --> 00:26:47.759 Just the grumble itself going on forever like a machine. 00:26:47.759 --> 00:26:53.039 Jesus is merciful, but hear the warning in his mercy. 00:26:53.039 --> 00:26:55.920 If I were to sum it up, it's two words. 00:26:55.920 --> 00:26:58.000 Don't delay. 00:26:58.000 --> 00:27:03.599 Resist or receive, those are the only options. 00:27:03.599 --> 00:27:08.319 Do you hear the words, the tender words of our Lord Jesus Himself? 00:27:08.319 --> 00:27:09.839 He's willing. 00:27:09.839 --> 00:27:14.720 The question this morning is, are you? 00:27:14.720 --> 00:27:17.039 Again, you're not safe. 00:27:17.039 --> 00:27:23.200 You're not okay with God because you're doing better than your neighbor, your coworker, your friend. 00:27:23.200 --> 00:27:25.359 You're not here because you're safe. 00:27:25.359 --> 00:27:29.200 You're here because God is merciful and patient. 00:27:29.200 --> 00:27:35.920 And that patient, even now, is calling you to repent. 00:27:35.920 --> 00:27:50.720 Church, the thing that scares me about this passage is how easy it is to hear all of this and still walk away unchanged. 00:27:50.720 --> 00:28:05.359 So many of us, we've spent our lives looking sideways, measuring ourselves against other people, convincing ourselves that we're okay, because we're not as bad as them. 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:08.160 But Jesus won't let us stay there. 00:28:08.160 --> 00:28:13.680 Remember, Jesus, he is the vine dresser. 00:28:13.680 --> 00:28:18.559 He is the one who has stood between you and being cut down. 00:28:18.559 --> 00:28:28.559 He is the one who has been patient with you, who has labored for you, who set his face to Jerusalem and went there for you. 00:28:28.559 --> 00:28:32.400 And even now, he's not distant. 00:28:32.400 --> 00:28:35.839 But even now, he is calling. 00:28:35.839 --> 00:28:39.920 The question is not whether Jesus will receive you. 00:28:39.920 --> 00:28:43.279 The question is will you come? 00:28:43.279 --> 00:28:45.200 Pray with me. 00:28:45.200 --> 00:28:53.519 So, Father, I pray for all of our hearts now. 00:28:53.519 --> 00:29:02.640 Lord, sometimes in your word there are strong words, words that cut deep, words that go to our heart. 00:29:02.640 --> 00:29:08.640 But Lord Jesus, I pray that this would work good in the lives of your people. 00:29:08.640 --> 00:29:13.359 Because as you cut and you prune, you do it tenderly. 00:29:13.359 --> 00:29:15.839 You do it with merciful care. 00:29:15.839 --> 00:29:21.119 And I pray that that would be our heart's posture towards you. 00:29:21.119 --> 00:29:30.240 Lord, for the ways that we want to self-justify through self-comparison, would we receive your gentle mercy? 00:29:30.240 --> 00:29:36.240 Would we be able to see ourselves honestly before you and before before the Father? 00:29:36.240 --> 00:29:40.880 And may you work even now in the hearts and the lives of your people. 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:46.880 Would your tender mercy work in them that they may bear fruit? 00:29:46.880 --> 00:29:50.400 Cause us to bear fruit only the way that you can. 00:29:50.400 --> 00:29:56.079 We pray all these things in the merciful and powerful name of our Savior Jesus. 00:29:56.079 --> 00:29:57.440 Amen.