Sunday
03/17/19 - Sidney UMC
Sermon Title: “Persecuted”
(“The
road to the cross” Series – Part 2 of 7)
Old Testament
Scripture: Psalm 27
New Testament
Scripture: Philippians 3:17-4:1
Gospel Lesson:
Luke 13:31-35
Welcome again my
friends, my brothers and sisters in Christ, on this the Second Sunday in Lent.
This season that we are called to give up, give away, to love, to care, and
above all else to grow closer to Jesus Christ. This season of Lent, should not
be a season of suffering, but a season of humility, faith, generosity, charity,
and love. As I said last Sunday, I am giving up pride for Lent, as I seek to
grow closer and closer to Jesus Christ. I am hoping with God’s help, to become
more humble.
Last week, for those of you that braved the elements, you
know that we started a sermon series called, “The road to the cross”. In this
sermon series, I am seeking to have us all understand more, the very human part
of Jesus. Historically, the church has believed that Jesus was fully God and
fully human on earth, but I believe that sometimes we need to connect more with
Jesus’ human side. This is because Jesus’ human side connects to our own humanity.
In our Lenten book study that we have on Mondays and
Tuesday called, “He Chose the Nails,” by Rev. Max Lucado, the first lesson that
we have done is entitled:
“He Chose to Be One of Us”
(He Chose the Nail, Max Lucado).
Sometimes a title can say so much. In this first lesson in
our Lenten book study, Pastor Max Lucado is saying that God saw fit to have his
only begotten son become one of us. This means that Jesus, God, took on flesh,
and that he would experience what we experience. This means that God saw fit to
come down into our mess. This should be humbling for us to be sure, but this
also allows us to see the human side of Jesus, not just the divine side.
In Jesus’ humanness, what did he encounter? What did he
experience? Did he laugh? Did he cry? Did he suffer? In the first session of
our Lenten study as I said, we looked at how God “Chose to Be One of Us”. Does Jesus get us or understand us? Does
Jesus know what our lives are like? Is he a savior that can be personal and
that understands what we feel and what we experience? Well my answer to this is
yes!
So just what did Jesus experience and encounter on “The road
to the cross” where he would be crucified and killed on Good Friday? There are
certainly so many things that Jesus experienced and encountered, and in this
sermon series, I want to talk about just some of the examples of the human part
of Jesus Christ.
Last Sunday in the first week of this sermon series, I
talked about how Jesus was “Tempted and Tried” in the flesh. Specifically, in
our gospel lesson from Luke 4:1-13 from last Sunday, Jesus was “Tempted and
Tried” in many ways (Lk. 4:1-13, NRSV). Jesus had just had the glorious moment
of his baptism by his cousin John the Baptist in the Jordan River, and then he,
filled with the Holy Spirit, went into the wilderness for 40-days (Lk. 4:1-2,
NRSV).
For those that remember from last Sunday, in this reading
from the gospel of Luke 4:1-13, Jesus resisted devil for 40-days. Jesus was
hungry, and resisted food, he resisted wealth, riches, and fame, and refused to
jump off the temple and dishonor God (Luke 4:1-13, NRSV). Jesus would not jump
off of the great temple in Jerusalem simply because the devil “dared” him to do
it.
In the human part of Jesus, I would say that last Sunday we
say a resilient, strong, brave, and a tough Jesus. He stood toe to toe with
evil. He experienced hunger, temptation, and in general was “Tried and Tempted”.
Jesus didn’t back down, and the devil fled from him. Jesus Christ, God in the
flesh, was no wimp, as last Sunday he survived 40 brutal days of being “Tempted
and Tried”.
While all throughout the gospels, the devil was constantly
tempting and trying Jesus, Jesus also had many people that sought his downfall,
here on earth. This is why my sermon for today, which is the second part of my “The
road to the cross” series, is called “persecuted”.
Has anyone here ever felt judged? Has anyone here ever felt
persecuted? Or even hated? I don’t mean that you disagreed with someone about
something, I mean the fact that you had a different opinion meant that someone hated
you. It’s not the same as disagreeing with a family member about politics at the
Thanksgiving dinner table, I mean this is hostile.
This sort of the “persecution” is getting death threats,
being told you are unloved, and that you in general are a terrible and an awful
person. Jesus, was “persecuted,” and was “persecuted” from the time he was baptized
in the Jordan River by his cousin John the Baptist, until he breathed his last
breath on the cross.
So some of Jesus’ “persecutors” didn’t just disagree with
him, but they sought his downfall, his death. It’s one thing to disagree, it’s another
to want to hurt and to harm someone else. Jesus was “persecuted”. Imagine what
it would be like to have people seeking your downfall daily, and maybe even
your death.
In our reading from Psalm 27 for this morning once again,
we have a Psalm where King David is no doubt feeling “persecuted”. In fact, in
just re-reading the first two versus of Psalm 27, it says once again:
“The Lord is my
light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I
be afraid? When evildoers assail me to devour my flesh—my adversaries and foes—they
shall stumble and fall”
(Ps. 27:1-2, NRSV).
The
Psalm continues with King David proclaiming that amidst strife, suffering, and
yes “persecution,” God will be with us. In fact, this Psalm ends once again by
saying:
“Wait for the Lord; be
strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Ps. 27:14, NRSV).
“Persecuted,”
King David felt “persecuted”. The “persecution” that Christ experienced though,
was on a much higher level.
In our reading
from the Apostle Paul’s epistle or letter to the Philippians for this morning,
the Apostle Paul also speaks about suffering and persecution. Specifically, the
Apostle Paul talks about those who once again:
“live as enemies of the cross of Christ” (Phil. 3:18, NRSV).
The Apostle
Paul is discussing people that are against Jesus, his cross, and the church. The
Apostle Paul encourages us to look toward heaven, and not be consumed with the
things of this earth (Phil. 3:17-4:1, NRSV). Or as the great Rev. Billy Graham
once said:
“I
never saw a U-Haul behind a hearse” (https://www.azquotes.com/quote/1439463).
In this scripture from the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians,
he is clearly emotional about this reality of “persecution” and selfishness
against the followers of Jesus Christ. Once again, the Apostle Paul tells the Philippians
that he is writing to them:
“even with tears”
(Phil. 3:18b, NRSV).
All throughout
the scriptures, we have people that suffer, that struggle, and are persecuted.
Let’s look again though at the one who was the most persecuted, Jesus Christ.
In looking at our gospel lesson from Luke 13:31-35, it says once again:
“At that very hour some
Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill
you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and
performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet
today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible
for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the
city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often
have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood
under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And
I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in
the name of the Lord’”
(Lk. 13:31-35, NRSV).
In
this gospel lesson, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem. In Jerusalem, the capital
of Judea or Israel, is where the Roman Governor Pontius Pilate is, and also the
Jewish King, King Herod. As Jesus is on his journey to Jerusalem, our gospel reading
once again picks up at this point this morning.
What
I have always found interesting about this scripture, is that the Jewish
Pharisees, or the religious leaders, warn Jesus. Now remember, these are some
of the same Pharisees that try to trip Jesus us, condemn him, shame him, and
etc. Yet in this gospel lesson, these Pharisees warn Jesus that King Herod
wants to kill him.
One
could ask, “But Pastor Paul, why would the same Pharisees that chanted on Good
Friday ‘crucify him, crucify him; now want to help Jesus?” The best answer that
I can give for this, is that it wasn’t yet Jesus’ time to die. Also, the
Pharisees weren’t bad people, many of them just didn’t like Jesus or what he
taught and represented.
What
I also love about this gospel lesson, is that once again, Jesus fires right
back at the Pharisees. The Pharisees tell Jesus that King Herod wants to kill
him, and Jesus says once again regarding King Herod:
“Go and tell that fox
for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and
performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. Yet
today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible
for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’ (Lk. 13:32-33, NRSV).
Jesus is
saying that he has no fear of King Herod, and that he must go to Jerusalem,
because that is where his mission will come to an end. At his cross on Good
Friday, Jesus will give up his life for us, in Jerusalem. Jesus is telling the
Pharisees, I am not worried about King Herod, I am worried about fulfilling my
mission of loving, healing, forgiving, and dying for the sins of the world in
Jerusalem.
Jesus then
concludes this gospel lesson once again, by lamenting on all of the prophets of
old, from the Old Testament that were persecuted and even killed. Jesus says
once again:
“Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often
have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood
under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you. And
I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is the one who comes in
the name of the Lord’”
(Lk. 13:31-35, NRSV).
Jesus on earth
was “tried and tempted,” and he was “persecuted”. I can’t imagine what it was
like to be Jesus from age 30-33 when he died on the cross. From age 30-33,
Jesus was “persecuted” everywhere he went. Can any of us here identify with what
it feels like to be “tried and tempted,” or identify with being “persecuted”?
If you can, then Jesus gets you, and get where you are coming from.
Jesus on earth
was truly God and was truly man, but in his humanness, he experienced what we
do, and so much more. He was “tried and tempted,” and today he was “persecuted”.
He gets you. He gets me. He is our savior that came among his people, that
understands his people, and because of this, we can better understand our savior.
Amen.
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