We have become unaccustomed – and uncomfortable – with the idea of Jesus bringing judgement. There are some old images that we do well to forget, but not the truth that Jesus is both Saviour and Judge.
As Jesus enters Jerusalem we see how our compassionate judge laments as He announces the consequences of our sin:
As [Jesus] came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, ‘If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.’
Luke 19:41-44 NRSV
God is committed to showing us the path of humility, reliance and servanthood – the very character traits of the same Godhead Who is Creator and LORD of all. We see God’s character perfectly revealed Jesus and whom is the eternal likeness of the Father, and in Triune God there is no Christ-unlikeness at all.
Jesus sees in the Holy Spirit that His Father’s Kingdom and His rule of Peace will be rejected. We, who have been given the destiny to even judge angels, instead judge ourselves: the harshest sentence we can receive is to be given what, in our sinful state, we insist we truly want.
The harshest sentence we can receive is to be given what, in our sinful state, we insist we truly want.
Jerusalem was destroyed only half a lifetime later as the striving for security though military and political maneuvering eventually yielded a devastating harvest.
Rejecting the Prince of Peace and His Kingdom does not mean choosing war and the possibility victory and conquest over others; it means choosing death and destruction for ourselves.
The call of Holy Week is to examine ourselves for any trace of our withholding an area of our life for our own lordship, which leads only to destruction, and to follow instead Jesus’ steps through death to life.
May we turn our hearts to Jesus’ prayer “Not my will, but Yours, be done”.
Anders Litzell, Chaplain, 2022-04-11
Photo credit: AP Photo/Felipe Dana (Kharkhiv, Ukraine)