Find Joy in the Journey | Luke 19
The journey that we're going to be talking about today is the journey of life. Life is a journey that each one of us is on. Our journey began in the mind of God before we were even conceived.
Psalm 139:16 (ESV) "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book were written, every one of them, the days that were formed for me, when as yet there was none of them."
God envisioned you before He created you. Not only did God plan your creation, He planned out every day of your life, all before you were conceived in the womb of your mother.
Psalm 139:13 (ESV) "For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother's womb."
God oversaw your growth and development while in your mother's womb. No baby is a mistake, no baby is an accident. Each and every one is created with love by our heavenly Father.
Psalm 139:14 (ESV) "I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well."
Each person has been created by God in a wonderful way. This is true no matter what defect or condition a person is born with. There are no perfect people, each of us has various weaknesses that God uses to make us dependent on Him. Each and every person is created in the image of God.
To be created in the image of God means that we are like our heavenly Father. We have the capacity to love God and people. We have the ability to serve God and others. Each person is created to seek after and find God in their journey of life.
Acts 17:26-27 (ESV) "And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us."
Not only did God choose your mother and father, He chose everything else about you. God chose where and when you would be born. God's ultimate purpose in creating you and every person is that they should seek after God. Those who diligently seek after God will find Him. Those who find God will discover eternal life and will be a child of God forever.
The Journey of Jesus
Today, we're going to look at a journey of Jesus, whose life span was a short 33 years long. The journey of Jesus we're going to talk about today will help us understand our journey in life. Just as Jesus faced difficulties and hardships in life, so will we. Yet, as we follow Jesus in our journey of life, we can find joy in the journey.
Recognize the King
Luke 19:30-31 (ESV) "saying, 'Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here. If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' you shall say this: 'The Lord has need of it.'"
In our passage today, Jesus is on a journey to Jerusalem for the Passover. This is Jesus' last journey in his earthly life as it will end with His crucifixion. On this journey, he sent two of his disciples to go on ahead of the rest of the group. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus knew where they could find the colt. Obviously someone else owned the colt, but Jesus told the disciples what to tell the owner.
The two disciples found everything just as Jesus had said. When they spoke to the owner, he allowed them to take the colt. Just as God had prepared the way before Jesus on his journey, so God has prepared the way before you on yours.
Luke 19:35-36 (ESV) "And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road."
Why did Jesus ride into Jerusalem on a donkey's colt? The answer is found in an Old Testament prophecy in Zechariah 9:9, which says:
Zechariah 9:9 (ESV) "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey."
Zechariah prophesies that the coming King, the Messiah would come toward Jerusalem riding on a donkey colt. Jesus did not come on his journey to Jerusalem on a stallion, as a conquering king. He came in humbly mounted on a donkey.
The other Passover pilgrims came toward Jerusalem walking, but Jesus came on the donkey to fulfill the prophecy. Why did the people spread their cloaks on the road in front of Jesus? This was a way to honor Jesus as King as had been done previously for other kings.
Luke 19:37-38 (ESV) "As he was drawing near---already on the way down the Mount of Olives---the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, 'Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'"
Jesus was not coming on this journey alone. He was surrounded by a large crowd of disciples, followers of Jesus. They began to have a worship service, rejoicing and praising God. They praised God for all the miracles, the mighty works that they had seen Jesus and His disciples do. They clearly praised Jesus as the King who comes in the name of the Lord. Jesus' disciples recognized that Jesus was indeed the true King, the King of the entire world.
Luke 19:39-40 (ESV) "And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples.' He answered, 'I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.'"
In the crowd were some Pharisees, who were not Jesus' disciples. Rather than praising God, they tried to correct Jesus and His disciples. Jesus replied that the praise was fitting and appropriate. The people were recognizing their King.
Embrace His mission
Luke 19:41-42 (ESV) "And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, 'Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.'"
As Jesus drew near to the capital city of Jerusalem, He began to weep. He wept because Jerusalem would not recognize Him as King. Rather than having peace, their future would hold that exact opposite. Jesus wept because of His compassion for the lost, who would reject Him.
Jesus' mission in life was to seek and save the lost. Yet, even though many in Jerusalem had heard Jesus and seen His miracles, they still did not believe. Through the Holy Spirit, Jesus looked ahead to the tragic result of Jerusalem's unbelief.
Luke 19:43 (ESV) "For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side."
The Roman army would come and set a siege around the city of Jerusalem. This would happen in 40 years, in 70 AD. God's judgment came upon Jerusalem for failing to recognize their Messiah, King Jesus.
Luke 19:44 (ESV) "and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation."
The Roman army would completely devastate Jerusalem and destroy the temple. They would kill hundreds of thousands of the Jews of the city. Why? Because they did not know the time of their visitation. You see, Jesus the very Son of God taught them and did mighty miracles within the city. In other words, the time of their visitation was the heaven coming to earth in the ministry of Jesus. Yet, the majority of Jews refused to believe in Him. Jesus was deeply sorrowful at the coming judgment.
So, let's talk in more depth about what we can learn about embracing Jesus' mission. Through His ministry and in this passage, Jesus' heart was moved with compassion for the lost and the broken. Rather than condemn them, He spent His entire life reaching out to them in love. And now, even though He knew many were rejecting Him, He still loved them. God calls us today to embrace Jesus' mission of reaching out to the lost and broken in our world.
God calls us to be filled with Jesus' compassion for the lost. We must never give up reaching out to them, even when they turn against us. Our thoughts and actions must be filled with Jesus' love, rather than judgment. Let's pray that the Holy Spirit would fill each one of us with Jesus' compassion for the lost and that that compassion would motivate us to reach them in new ways. In order to do that, we must...
Pursue Holiness in Life
Luke 19:45 (ESV) "And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold..."
Jesus now entered the temple in Jerusalem, His sorrow turning to righteous anger. At this time in history, the temple authorities had allowed all kinds of merchants to set up stalls within the temple courts. At these stalls, the traders sold sacrificial animals, supplies, and all kinds of things. The temple grounds had become a marketplace for making money.
Luke 19:46 (ESV) "saying to them, 'It is written, 'My house shall be a house of prayer,' but you have made it a den of robbers.'"
The purpose of the temple was first and foremost to be a house of prayer. A house of prayer is a place where people pray and hear from God. Rather than God's purpose being realized at the temple, Jesus says it had become a den of robbers. Not only were all kinds of buying and selling going on, the merchants were cheating people to make more money. The entire purpose of the temple had been destroyed.
Luke 19:47-48 (ESV) "And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words."
Rather than selling, Jesus spent time in the temple teaching those who wanted to learn from Him. But we learn that the Jewish leaders weren't listening to Him. Rather, they were seeking to kill him. So, let's look at how what happened in the temple applies to us today in our journey of life.
In the Old Testament, the temple was the place where God's presence was. However, after Jesus' death, God's presence was no longer in the temple. The New Testament teaches us that each of Jesus's followers is a temple where the Holy Spirit dwells. So, we are to be houses of prayer in our individual lives and when we gather together as a church. That means that we are to learn to be continually in communication with God through prayer. Just as the power of God worked through Jesus' life, so it can work through our lives as we grow in prayer. But what hindered the temple of Jesus' day from being a house of prayer? It was the greedy pursuit of money, which had become an idol.
We are to pursue holiness in our lives. Holiness is a focus on God and His kingdom throughout every aspect of our lives. Any idol, anything which distracts us from pursuing God is sin. As we walk free from sin and pursue holiness through prayer, God works in and through us. As we pursue holiness in life, we can embrace and carry out our mission to reach the lost around us. As Jesus drove out the money lenders, so we must ask God to help us drive out any sin in our lives. We must pursue holiness in life to see God's miracles.
Conclusion
Jesus' journey toward Jerusalem gives us some important insights for our lives. God desires for you to find joy in your life journey. Joy in life begins by recognizing and submitting to Jesus as King. As you learn to embrace Jesus' mission in life, He will fill you with compassion for the lost around you. The power of God comes into your life through prayer. As you pursue holiness in your life, your prayers will become more powerful and effective. Answered prayer will increase your joy in the journey. May each of us grow closer to Jesus as we follow in His steps.
