3-13-22 Grace-Tucson Sermon

Pastor Tim Patoka

Crushed – Shortcuts are Crushed by Determination March 13, 2022 Determined to Go to Jerusalem Luke 13:31-35 1) On the Path of Danger 2) On the Path of Rejection

The long way, or the shortcut…which one would you take? Probably the shortcut, especially if it saves you something! We’re quick to take common sense shortcuts like when your phone’s navigation tells us a route that takes half the time. But are we still willing to take a shortcut if it’s sinful? Would you cheat on a test if you knew you’d get a failing grade? Would you blame someone else for the subpar performance you yourself did? How about stealing something that no one will ever notice missing? We know that the answer should be “No.” However, that doesn’t mean we’ll actually say “No.” Jesus himself was at such a crossroads when the Pharisees warned him about Herod’s murderous desires. Either continue on his way to Jerusalem and remain in danger or go elsewhere to save his own skin. Jesus did not take the sinful shortcut away from Jerusalem.

Rather, he was determined to go to Jerusalem on the paths of danger and rejection and crush every sinful shortcut along the way.

1) On the Path of Danger Jesus needed to go to Jerusalem so he could be our Promised Savior. He would accomplish that by his sacrificial death on the cross and resurrection from the grave which were both located right next to Jerusalem. As Jesus journeyed to Jerusalem, he found himself in a bit of a pickle. Behind him was King Herod wanting to kill him and presented a real threat up north in Galilee. In front of Jesus was the city of Jerusalem that had the historic practice of killing prophets and stoning those whom God sent to her. As long as Jesus remained on his path to Jerusalem, he was surrounded by danger to his very life.

The only way that Jesus could have escaped this dangerous pickle was to live a quiet life far away from Herod and Jerusalem. Supposed you were in Jesus’ sandals, would you choose to remain en route to Jerusalem and in harm’s way? What would you do if our state’s governor had it out for you personally or if you expected a city’s residents to fatally mistreat you? We would likely take whatever sinful shortcut there was to save our own skin!

But that’s not what Jesus did. Jesus knew that if he abandoned his journey to Jerusalem, he would be disqualified from being our Savior – even if it was for the honorable reason of selfdefense! But ironically, such dangers were a necessity for Jesus to be our Savior. For it’s only by dying on the cross and rising from the grave nearby Jerusalem that he could be our Savior.

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Crushed – Shortcuts are Crushed by Determination March 13, 2022 Jesus continued on the danger-filled path to Jerusalem because he was determined to reach his goal. And he wasn’t going to change anything along the way! As he told that sly fox Herod, Jesus would continue to draw the public’s attention by driving out demons and healing the sick. He would be given a Messiah’s welcome to Jerusalem when the Palm Sunday crowds quoted Psalm 118(:26) to him saying, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!”

(Luke 13:35) He would carry on his task until he accomplished it by rising from the dead on the third day. And no amount of danger could ever tempt Jesus to take a sinful shortcut away from being our Savior.

Pastor Tim Patoka

2) On the Path of Rejection There’s another reason why Jesus was so determined to go to Jerusalem. And that’s because of his love for sinners like you and me. Jesus compares his love for us to how a mother hen gathers her baby chicks under her wings. There are a couple of reasons why mother hens do this – first is to protect them from dangers and secondly to care for them by keeping them warm. In the same way, Jesus wishes to lovingly gather us under his wings to protect us and to care for us as only he can.

However, Jerusalem’s inhabitants were not willing to be gathered under Jesus’ wings. In fact, Jesus would face widespread rejection from them! And it’s not just Jerusalem’s inhabitants who were this way. It’s all sinners, including ourselves, before we come to faith. Long before Jesus entered Jerusalem, he knew that he was going to face widespread rejection by the very people he wished to gather under his wings.

If you were Jesus, would you continue on your way to Jerusalem just so you could be rejected? To have your heart torn in two by the same ones you so dearly love? Or would you take the sinful shortcut away from Jerusalem so that you would never get hurt? It’s hard to say what we would do because heartache is often the worst ache. Yet Jesus did not take the sinful shortcut. Because if he did, he would never be able to gather sinners under his wings.

Once again, Jesus is determined to crush every sinful shortcut that would take him away from his goal. So he journeyed to Jerusalem on the path of rejection out of love for unwilling sinners like you and me. To hear the crowds that welcomed him on Palm Sunday saying, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 13:35 later fulfilled in Luke 19:38) later reject him when they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify him!” (Luke 23:21) To see his disciples scatter to the four winds when he was arrested. To even be rejected by his Father in heaven while he hung on the cross! Jesus was determined to face it all because of his love for unwilling sinners like you and me.

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Crushed – Shortcuts are Crushed by Determination March 13, 2022 The Holy Spirit has since conquered our sin-filled hearts with his gift of faith and converted us to be willing children of God. We are therefore now gathered under Jesus’ wings.

Under his wings, Jesus protects us from the guilt of our sin with his forgiveness and from the dangers around us with his almighty protection. Under his wings, Jesus cares for our bodies with his provision of daily bread and for our souls with his life-giving Word. And it’s all because of his love for us.

Pastor Tim Patoka

Concluding Encouragements Jesus was determined to go to Jerusalem on the paths of danger and rejection so he could be our Savior and gather us under his wings. He was determined to crush every sinful shortcut that came up that would have taken him away from accomplishing his goal. And he did not stop until he finished what God had laid out before him.

God has also laid out a path before us, but it doesn’t lead to Jerusalem. Rather, it leads to our home in heaven with his Word guiding our thoughts, words, and actions along the journey.

But you and I know that we will have many sinful shortcuts come up along the way – shortcuts that will save us from pain and hardship, rejection and heartache, and much more. Will we take those shortcuts at the expense of God and his Word? Or will we remain on the fraught-filled path to heaven?

I pray that we remain as determined as Jesus did on his path to Jerusalem when he crushed those sinful shortcuts so he could be our Savior and gather us under his wings. I pray that we are as determined to remain on the fraught-filled path to heaven without any detours by sinful shortcuts. But I also know that it won’t be easy to crush what our sinful nature so desperately wants. When you find yourself at that crossroads, remember whose wings you are gathered beneath – Jesus whose determination brought him to Jerusalem so he could save you from your sins. Remember what Jesus gives you beneath his wings – priceless blessings like forgiveness, preservation, and love.

Then ask yourself, is it better to take that sinful shortcut and leave Jesus’ wings or to crush that sinful shortcut and remain under his wings? It’s far better to remain under his wings.

Therefore, let us be determined to remain beneath his wings as we journey to heaven and crush every sinful shortcut that comes up along the way. Amen.

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