See Jesus’ Boundless Love in Action!

2nd Sunday in Lent, 2/21/16
Luke 13:31-35


See Jesus’ Boundless Love in Action!
I. In his determination to die for all
II. In his sorrow over those who reject him
III. In his desire for all to trust him


Since it only happens every four years, I tend to forget the sheer volume of banter between political candidates. Is it worse this year than it’s ever been before? It sure seems that way to me. Every day including Sundays the media follow the candidates like rock band groupies as they crisscross the country. And day after day we hear what each of the candidates states about what he or she would do to address the issues facing our country.

By now, we’ve heard enough. We’re tired of words. We want action.

That applies in other situations of life as well. Probably none more so than between two people who say they love each other. If you hear someone tell you that they love you but you don’t see any corresponding actions of love, you’re left wondering if they really mean it. And when their actions are anything but loving, you quickly become convince they don’t.

The word “love” doesn’t appear in this text from Luke 13. It doesn’t have to. It’s splashed all over these words on this page in the Bible by the actions of our Savior, Jesus Christ. There is only one person who is the perfect lover and Jesus shows it to us this morning. This was a pressure situation unlike any we’ve ever faced, and yet his actions remained filled with love—love for a world full of sinners, so many of whom wanted nothing to do with him.

So, I invite you to see that love in action with me this morning. See Jesus’ boundless love in action!

Part I.

I’m sure it’s happened quite a few times in your life—perhaps even daily—that you face opposition to what you’re trying to accomplish. That’s one of the reasons for promoting the “team concept” in places of employment. Opposition in such environments seems inevitable. When its source is someone who is at the same level as you are, it’s bad enough. But when it comes from above you, it’s probably time for you to make a career change.

Jesus faced daily opposition to his divine purpose for being on this earth. There were days it even came from his band of 12 disciples. On this day as described in Luke 13, it came from one of the most powerful men in Jesus’ life—Herod. Listen to it once again, “At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.’” We get the opposition he was facing, we just don’t know why. Did Herod feel that Jesus was a threat to him? Was he jealous of Jesus for some reason? Did he view Jesus as a trouble-maker? We just don’t know.

And why would the Pharisees warn Jesus? Time and again they were plotting against him; soon they would join the plot to kill him. We just don’t know for sure why they came to Jesus on this day.

The fact is, they did and Herod’s threat was real. If it weren’t, Jesus wouldn’t have replied the way he did. He stated, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” In a word, Jesus defied Herod to stop him from reaching his goal. By calling him a fox, Jesus was asserting that Herod was actually powerless to do anything to Jesus unless Jesus allowed it to happen.

And so his plans would be fulfilled. He was ultimately heading to Jerusalem and not even Satan himself could stop him, let alone a puny puppet king like Herod. God had used the Roman government to fulfill the prophecy about Christ’s place of birth. He would use Herod and the rest of the Roman government to fulfill the prophecy about his suffering and death. And so he marches on, driven by the purest of emotions, his boundless love.

See Jesus’ boundless love in action, in his determination to die for all.

When you face opposition from someone, how often is your reaction, “You know what? I love that person so much I think I’ll offer my life for them”? “Never” would be an honest answer. When Jesus replied the way he did to these Pharisees and Herod in absentia, he was fully aware that he was going to Jerusalem to die for every sinner, the Pharisees and Herod included. And for you and me as well. But we just don’t get that, do we? Instead, we want to evaluate his love for us on the basis of our outward circumstances at the moment. If our life is warm and fuzzy at the moment, then we feel the love. But if not, we doubt his love for us. In fact, in the tragedies of life, we’re convinced he doesn’t. Jesus walked away from this situation still filled with love for every sinner. Don’t take his words for it; see it in action. In his determination to die for all.

Part II.

If you had unlimited, almighty power and it was reported to you that someone was opposing you, in fact, they wanted to kill you, what would you do? I don’t know about you, but I’d grab a bottle of “mean juice,” chug it, and then make my way to Herod’s palace, bust down his front door and show him who’s boss. But not Jesus. His reaction is so atypical.

But not for him. In fact, he knows he’s headed to Jerusalem where the crowds of people will shout for Pilate to crucify him. Most of his closest followers will abandon him. But he goes anyway. Why? First, because that’s his Father’s will. This was the plan ever since God promised the newly sinful Adam and Eve a Satan-crusher. This is the crucifixion God foretold on the pages of the Old Testament. And the amazing thing about it is that Jesus was in full agreement with it. His will was to do the Father’s will. Incredible!

That saving will and plan was not to save as many people as possible. Nor was the object of that plan only good people or nice people. He died for the people directly responsible for nailing him to the cross. Listen to the sorrow in his voice as he states, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” He died for people who wanted nothing to do with him. Likewise he died for the people today who openly and proudly blaspheme him. What would drive him to do that? Only his boundless love for sinners, a love unlike any other the world has ever seen.

See Jesus’ boundless love in action, in his sorrow over those who reject him.

Imagine if Jesus only loved the lovable. Imagine if he lashed out at the people of Jerusalem. Imagine if he shouted in defiance, “Jerusalem, if hell without me is what you want, then that’s what you’re going to get!” Truthfully? You and I would be shaking in our pews this morning. A God who only loves the lovable? I could never be sure that includes me, because I’ve said and done plenty of unlovable things in my life. You too? But this morning we get to see the heart of Jesus, a heart that is filled with sorrow over those who reject him, a heart that is filled with love for the unlovable. That’s what kept him going to Calvary’s cross. He loves you and me so much he couldn’t stand the thought of heaven without us. See Jesus’ boundless love in action and be filled with confidence that you are the object of it.

Part III.

Love rejected. That can be one of the deepest pains a person can experience. You gave it your all. You gave that person your heart, and he or she threw it back in your face. It can make you very bitter and ugly.

So, it wouldn’t surprise us if that’s the way Jesus reacted to the rejection of his boundless love. But there’s no ugliness or bitterness in his voice when he speaks these final words of our text, “I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” We’ll hear those words in four weeks when we celebrate Palm Sunday. But Jesus wasn’t referring to Palm Sunday when he spoke them. In effect, what he was declaring was that he wants heaven for every person. When he speaks of seeing him, he’s speaking about seeing him with the eyes of faith. He’s speaking about his fervent desire for all people—even those who oppose him—to come to faith in him as their Savior.

And when they do, then he wants them confess that faith using these familiar words. He wants to hear their curses turn to words of blessing. He wants them to see all the blessings he has won for them and every other sinner—forgiveness of all sins, life with God in his kingdom, and eternal life in the bliss of heaven. That’s his boundless love in action. He desires all to trust in him.

Have you ever wondered what Jesus wants for you? We’ve all been there. Does he want me to live here or there? Does he want me to take this job or keep the one I have? Does he want me to step in or stay out of it? Jesus doesn’t give us the answer to all those daily questions. Instead, he wants us to keep the big picture in mind. He wants you, from a heart of faith in him, to declare, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” And by God’s grace you do. He’s taken care of his highest desire for you. Won’t he do everything else necessary for you? His boundless love says he will. You can count on it. Watch it in action every day of your life. Amen.