Choose Your Battles / Based on Luke 19:28-40 / Delivered March 20, 2016

Choose Your Battles

Based on Luke 19:28-40

Delivered on March 20, 2016 – Palm Sunday

Delivered to the Christian Community Home residents in Hudson WI

Luke 19:28-40

 19:28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
 19:29 When he had come near Bethpage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples,
 19:30 saying, "Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
 19:31 If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' just say this, 'The Lord needs it.'"
 19:32 So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them.
 19:33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, "Why are you untying the colt?"
 19:34 They said, "The Lord needs it."
 19:35 Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
 19:36 As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road.
 19:37 As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen,
 19:38 saying, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!"
 19:39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, order your disciples to stop."
 19:40 He answered, "I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out."

The gospel of Luke contains a very well-known story.  Jesus riding the colt into Jerusalem.  I’ve heard the story since my youth, and often thought about how some people were disappointed because they thought Jesus would be a leader to bring down Rome.  They were being short sighted.  They were only focused on a small patch of earth.  Jesus came to bring down sin for the entire planet.  They were worried about their generation and their children’s generation.  Jesus came to provide a way to God for all of eternity. 

I want to explore three ideas:

Obedience independent of understanding
Seeing beyond your personal battles
Praise in the midst of struggle

First idea that I experienced in the scripture today was to have obedience independent of understanding.  Jesus asked them to go steal a colt that had never been ridden.  The disciples knew there was a price on Jesus head.  He’s been getting in trouble for doing positive things like healing others because he did it on the Sabbath which was against the commandment “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”  With this request he’s apparently going after “Thou shalt not steal” as his next commandment to break.  Some would say he’s only borrowing it, but he doesn’t tell his followers to ask permission.  That would have made me feel very uncomfortable, yet they did not pause and ask for justification.  Instead we see in verse 19:32 "So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them."

To be there at all was dangerous.  Peter had tried to talk him out of heading toward Jerusalem, but then affirmed he was ready to die with him.  Traveling beside him now meant they were all ready to die with him.  They didn’t understand his decision, but obeyed anyway.  Their level of trust is more amazing given their lack of understanding.  He was their teacher and leader.  They had followed him for three years.  He had earned their obedience.

This is the obedience a good parent expects of their children when facing danger.  It’s fine to take time and explain the ‘why’ of a command when the situation is relaxed, but it can be crucial for a child to obey without a pause when an order is given during a dangerous time.  This was a dangerous time and no doubt they could all feel it.  It called for obedience independent of understanding.

Seeing beyond your personal battles – is my second topic.

There was unrest in Jerusalem.  They were occupied by the Romans and treated like second class.  Not quite as bad as slavery was in Egypt in the Old Testament, but still not what they wanted for their life.  They wanted a warrior king to defeat the Romans and restore their lands to the tribes.  The followers cried "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”  believing this was Jesus plan. They were echoing the praise in Psalm 118 “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord” and added in the title “king” to make the meaning clear.  Riding on the colt or donkey was also a part of a prophesy for the coming messiah.  In just a few days the plaque above his head on the cross will read “King of the Jews” to mock those honoring him this day.  It is true there was a battle ahead, but it wasn’t the one the people thought.

I work in a corporate setting.  When we identify something that didn’t go according to plan, before we design a plan to fix it, a root cause analysis is done.  If you don’t get down to the real problem, the root of the problem that caused the issue, you will not prevent it from happening again.  Sometimes you see something wrong that is only a symptom of a bigger issue.  You then get into a loop of fixing the same symptom over and over without resolving the core or root cause of the problem that would stop it from happening again.

Yes, the people were in a rough situation, but it was not the root cause of their failure to thrive.  There would be multiple issues that made life hard.  The root of the issue was separation from God because of sin.  Rome was not the enemy Jesus was riding to meet.  He had a bigger battle plan.  He was about to lay down his life to pay the price for sin once and for all, and pave the way for restored relationship to God.  For all of eternity.  For all people.

The people saw the battle of the day.  God was dealing with the root cause.  We need to see beyond our initial thoughts of what the battle is. 

Finally, to find praise in the midst of struggle.

When the Pharisees told Jesus to order his disciples to stop singing it was most likely out of fear.  The Roman presence was high during the festival and their request may have been to keep the people safe.  Jesus responded “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

This was the promised one coming into the city to fight a battle beyond what anyone there could see.  All of creation would be part of the praise.  We sing King of Kings and Lord of Lords because that is his title for his battle won over sin and death.

The rest of the story is also well known to most of us.  He celebrates the Passover with his followers, then goes into the Garden of Gethsemane.  There his path is set.  Though he prays for the task to be lifted his obedience of ‘not my will but thine’ is what shines through.  He’s taken that night, a night we call Maundy Thursday, and stands before the Roman authorities exchanging words about what truth is and whether or not Jesus really is a king.  On Friday he is killed.  He’s killed as a threat to the Roman rule.  We know today that wasn’t the battle he was fighting.  He fought the true battle by becoming a sacrifice for us.  As he dies the veil in the temple that separated the place God dwelt from the space the people gathered was torn in two.  It was a symbol his death removed our separation from God.  Three days later the praise rings out once again.  Victory over sin and death has been accomplished.  The battle was won.

That’s this next week in a paragraph.  Our lives now are continuing to create the story.

Do we act when Jesus asks? Do we trust and obey?

I don’t hear commandments from God as a voice from a burning bush.  Jesus has never knocked me off a horse and told me directly what he wanted me to do.  Yet I do feel the gentle tugs that lead me to follow his teaching.  Coming here and speaking with you is a result of responding in obedience to those gentle tugs.

If you go inside and listen to your heart you may feel gentle tugs too.  We have his words to guide us, Love the Lord your God with all you heart mind and strength and love your neighbor as yourself.  How you display love to the world is your act of obedience.  If you feel moved to do a kind deed, do it without knowing why it is needed.  If your heart is focused on love the spirit will guide you.  You don’t need to know the details.

Are we sometimes shortsighted and miss the bigger picture?

We all have our personal battles.  At times we may be frustrated because it feels God is not responding to our prayers.  Ponder the idea that you may be focusing on a symptom and not the root cause.  This is not to discourage you to come to God in prayer with your struggles.  God’s asks us to bring our full selves to him in prayer.  We are told we can come to Him with anything and should know we are heard and loved.  God cares about our details.

God’s love is actively at work in our world.  Scripture reveals often the core battle is restoring our relationship to God and to each other.  That restored relationship may not take away the struggles we face, but it can transform them from something that weakens us to something we gain strength from.

What is our response to Jesus sacrifice – even in the midst of struggle? 

We are blessed that we live in a country where we can gather together today without fear of arrest or harm.  But there are days we still face fears of different kinds.  Do not let fear or any other emotion prevent you from offering praise.  May we shout Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!  Today and every day.

Amen.