March 4 sermon The Path of Jesus

March 4 Sermon The Path of the Lord
Psalm 27
Luke 12:31-35


What would a journey with Jesus look like? This Lent season for many is a time of giving up. Some will give up sodas or chocolate or some other food. Maybe they will give up spending money on something that has been near and dear to them in the past.

It’s a time for many to think about their own mortality. Just like in Genesis it says “from ashes you came and to ashes you will go.” I was taught that when I am fasting and I start to get those hunger pains, they are a reminder for me to meditate on what Jesus gave up for my sake. Lent is 40 days of walking with Jesus on the path to the finish line.

He is going thru the towns and villages teaching all who would listen, on his way to Jerusalem. So Pharisees come up and warn him, “Get away from here. Harod is looking for you and wants to kill you.” Harod was not an idiot. His people were every where. When you are king, the last thing you want is any sort of disturbance or uprising.

He had already killed John the Baptist who was beginning to get a following. Now this Jesus is making waves.
Some people think all the Pharisees are bad. Actually they were not.
Jesus had some Pharisees learning from him. When the Pharisees in this text come up to him, you notice he does not chastise them like he does in many of the texts.

“Go and tell that fox for me…” ‘Fox’ can have a few different meanings. Cunning and craftiness is probably what Jesus meant in saying this. It could also mean intelligence and destructiveness. When you read about Harod, that definitely sounds like him.

Jesus says he is casting out demons and curing people for the next few days and then he will be finished. While he is alive, Jesus planned to do everything he could for the people. He was not looking for the cross, just walking toward the cross.

He did not stop working just because he knew the end was near. Could he be calling us to do the same? I’ve been asked, “when do you think Jesus will come back?” I think he will come back soon, at least sooner than if you would have asked me yesterday or the day before.

It’s like all those “What If…” questions. What if I lose my job? What if someone in my family dies? What if my car breaks down? What if it rains? What if it doesn’t rain? ‘What if’ can put you in an indecisive limbo, can’t it? OCD kicks in and you walk between your car and the front door 5 times to make sure it’s shut and locked.
Jesus didn’t do “what if”. This is my destiny. This is my calling. The father called me to go to Jerusalem, so that is where I am going. Nothing will happen to me on the way. He made his decision. At all costs (and he knew the costs) I will keep going after the prize.

Like our Psalmist said today, “whom shall I fear? Who shall I dread? My heart will not fear. I will remain confident.”

Jesus probably looks up at this time, looking out in the distance toward Jerusalem, lamenting over a city that is a symbol for all of Israel. He talks like the loving mother. “Oh how I have desired to bring you all together and hold you like a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.”

What a comforting thought. Even though Jesus knows what is about to happen to him and who is perpetrating it, he still wishes to bring all of Israel under his care.

That’s what Psalm 27 is all about….A fearless trust in the Lord. “Teach me your way Lord and lead me on a level path. Do not turn your servant away.” We are able to say the same thing to God. When we feel the “Harod of our time” breathing down our necks, we can call out “The Lord will take me up. Whom shall I fear.”

Jesus was looking toward the future. He was seeing what could be done in the time he was here on earth, fully knowing what was going to happen. He yells out “hey…I’m going to keep healing. I’m going to keep praying. I’m going to keep teaching.

My goal is to bring as many people to the feast table of the Lord as I can during my time on earth. Today I will work for my Father. Tomorrow I will work for my Father. On the 3rd day I will continue to work for my Father. His goal is all I seek. To dwell in his house all the days of my life is what I desire. To be in God’s will….that’s what Jesus was doing. He was going about the business of the Father.

He was prophesying during this exchange. For 3 days Jesus’ body was in the tomb. On the 3rd day his work was finished and he was resurrected. When he is lamenting over Jerusalem, the last thing he says is “you will not see me until you say “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” We will get to that exact time on Palm Sunday in just a few weeks.

How does all this relate to us in the 21st century, and how can we tie all this together for Lent?? We come back to the ‘what if’ questions. What are you worried about?? What takes up your thoughts most of the day? Maybe it’s the kids or grandkids.
You worry about them getting a good education, and having friends that won’t corrupt them. How about your spouse…does he think I’m pretty; does she believe in me and my ability to provide for the family. You worry about your career, health, car, house. Maybe you could have done it differently all these years.

But what does Jesus say? “Do not worry about tomorrow”. The Apostle Paul tells us to run for the prize. This is not a prosperity message. This IS a Good News message. The cross is a prize. On the cross is Jesus. By the blood he has shed on the cross, we are able to come before God Almighty.

For these 40 days of Lent, as you give up whatever God has led you to give up, I want you to meditate on Psalm 27 and set your eyes on the goal ahead as Jesus did. Don’t stop seeking and doing the will of the Lord.

In the day of trouble he will conceal you. Your head will be lifted up. You will shout for joy and sing praises to God. He will lift you up on a rock. One thing we shall seek is to dwell in the house of the Lord all our days. Be strong and let your heart take courage. He is gathering us up like chicks to the hen so we can be together once again.

That’s what communion time is for us. It’s a time to gather around a common Christian table to renew and live again. Join me on page 12 in our hymnals.










































Psalm 27 page 437
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.
Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident.

One thing I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: to live in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to inquire in his temple.
For he will hide me in his shelter in the day of trouble; he will conceal me under the cover of his tent; he will set me high on a rock.
Now my head is lifted up above my enemies all around me, and I will offer in his tent sacrifices with shouts of joy; I will sing and make melody to the Lord.
Hear, O Lord, when I cry aloud, be gracious to me and answer me!

“Come,” my heart says, “seek his face!” Your face, Lord, do I seek.
Do not hide your face from me. Do not turn your servant away in anger, you who have been my help. Do not cast me off, do not forsake me, O God of my salvation!
If my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will take me up.
Teach me your way, O Lord, and lead me on a level path because of my enemies.

Do not give me up to the will of my adversaries, for false witnesses have risen against me, and they are breathing out violence.
I believe that I shall see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!


Luke 13:31-35 page 849
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.’”