GRINDIT podcast

After the religious leaders failed on their mission to trip Jesus up so they could disclaim who is, they come up with a new tactic: to send in spies. They are going to send some guys in and pretend to be interested in his teachings and when they get the opportunity, they will ask a question that would surely get Jesus to stumble because if he answered a certain way, they could run to the Roman authorities and get him in trouble. However, their scheme failed again because what they didn’t realize is, they had no authority over Jesus whatsoever and if he wanted to, he could speak one word and they would be dead but instead, Jesus showed mercy and he was longsuffering toward them. Why? He was hoping they would see the truth and follow him. We take a look at this word “longsuffering” and what it means and we are forced to answer the question, “Am I longsuffering like Jesus?”

In this episode we take a deeper look at what it was like for Jesus when he was coming into Jerusalem. To do this, we take evidence from an eyewitness who heard and seen it all for himself, John. John tells us how the Pharisees had made a proclamation to all the people that if they saw Jesus, they were to come and report it to them so they could arrest him! These are the ones who should know who Jesus was since they studied and taught the law of God their whole lives yet, they saw Jesus as a freak, a weirdo, and there was no way that guy could be the Messiah. Even though they heard the account of the miracles, even though they could literally go to Lazarus’ house and talk with him about him being dead and in a tomb for four days, how Jesus raised him the grave, they said, “We don’t believe and we have to get rid of this guy!” We do the same thing today; the evidence is all around us, we can go and see artifacts that have been dug up and preserved that back up the authenticity of the Bible, yet we choose to reject Jesus just like the Pharisees and the religious leaders did!

The religious leaders from all over the region have been trying to back Jesus in a corner for three years. They have tried to trip him up so they could prove that he was not the Messiah yet they never accomplished their goal. Therefore, they turned to violence and try to stone him several times. The ones who should have known that Jesus was the Messiah, literally hated God! The very One who they claimed to love and to be serving! And here they are on their turf, the holy city of Jerusalem, Jesus was there, literally to die for the sins of man, to accomplish the will of God, and what they are asking Jesus here is, “Who do you think you are?” And nothing has changed much today! The creation still thinks they are better than the Creator! And Christian, before we slam the religious think about this question, “Am I doing the same they did?” and what I mean by that is: do we trust Jesus or do we question everything he does, everything about him? Even though I know a little bit about the Bible and I say I love God, do I show it by the way I live?

Jesus may have wept over Lazarus but he also wept for Jerusalem. As he approached Jerusalem riding on a donkey, he wept because they had rejected him, the one who could give them real peace and his heart was broken. Then he announces the destruction that would soon come upon them because they had rejected his peace and we can actually look back in history and see when and how this actually happened! We can see pictures of the destruction of Jerusalem that the Romans brought upon Jerusalem, including the destruction of the Temple and that thing still remains a pile of rubble to this day! Even the priests that carried out the sacrifices rejected Jesus who would soon be the sacrificial Lamb. The religious leaders were plotting his death and by the end of the week, they would have succeeded…or at least they thought!

Before Jesus leaves Jericho to continue to Jerusalem, he tells the crowd that continues to follow him a parable about a nobleman who was made king and he had ten servants that he gave some money to so they could invest it while he was gone and benefit the kingdom. Luke tells his readers why Jesus gave the crowd this parable, “He told them a story to correct the impression that the Kingdom of God would begin right away.” The Jews had already tried to make Jesus a king when he fed the 5,000, the problem was they had wrong expectations. Jesus didn’t come to set up an earthly kingdom, he didn’t come to deliver the Jews from the Roman oppression, his kingdom would be a spiritual one, one that would be in a whole different realm, a different place called heaven. Don’t be mistaken like the Jews, the kingdom is already here and you can be a part of it!

Zacchaeus had obstacles to overcome to be able to see Jesus but he didn’t let that stop him. He didn’t listen to the doubters, the naysayers, the haters because he was a hated tax collector. They could have let him through to see Jesus but they wouldn’t because they couldn’t stand the guy. But instead of giving up and going home, Zacchaeus planned. Not only did he plan, he executed his plan and it he got to see Jesus. Not only did he see Jesus, Jesus invited himself to Zacchaeus’ house to eat a meal with him! Who are you listening to? What plans have you given up on because of the doubting words of people around you? Don’t follow the crowd…plan your route and do not deviate from it, and you will be glad you didn’t give up and followed through!

A man comes to the right place, the right person, and asks the right question, his only problem is he doesn’t give the right response. The rich young man comes to Jesus and asks him, “What do I have to do to inherit eternal life?” In other words, “What do I have to do to spend eternity with you?” Jesus tells him and as Jesus is talking the man interrupts and says, “I’ve done that since I was a kid.” Thinking he was in with ease, Jesus looks at him and says, “Good job. Now, go sell all your stuff that you have acquired with your riches, give the money to the poor, then, come and follow me.” The man was sad because he loved his stuff and he didn’t want to part with any of it so he walked away from Jesus…lost. Don’t make the same mistake!

Jesus tells the disciples a story about a Pharisee and a tax collector who are in the Temple together. Two opposite ends of the spectrum represented here. The Pharisee is bragging to God about how faithful he is and what all he has done to show his faithfulness. Then there is the tax collector who won’t even lift is head up as he is praying. He is beating his chest and asks God to have mercy on him because he is a sinner. Jesus said the tax collector was justified before God, not the Pharisee. Why? Because the Pharisee was trusting in himself, his deeds, while the tax collector was trusting God to save him. No matter how many good deeds we do, no matter how many accolades we collect over time, we cannot make it to heaven on our own. We have to rely on God and His Son, Jesus. We must learn some humility, drop our pride, and rely on the Savior to wash our sin away.

Jesus talks to his disciples about prayer so he uses a story about a widow who wanted justice toward her enemy and an judge who didn’t fear God nor does he care anything about people. He keeps refusing to listen to the widow but she is persistent. Instead of giving up, she continues to nag the judge until finally he gives in and she gets justice. Jesus said the judge finally gave in because the widow was getting on his nerves. Then Jesus tells his disciples that God will surely give justice to his chosen people who cry out to him day and night. He asks, “Will he keep putting them off?” Then he answers, “I tell you, he will grant justice to them quickly!” Though it may not always seem like it, God knows what we are going through, and it may seem like He doesn’t care or He is nowhere around, but He is right by our side the whole time. Nothing catches God by surprise and He knows every tear that falls from our eyes. And if we are persistent like this widow and continue to ask God for help, He will come through in His time.

On the way to Jerusalem to die for the sins of man, Jesus goes in a village on the border of Galilee and Samaria. As he passes through he hears some people yelling at him and asking him to have mercy on them. It was ten lepers and they wanted to be healed. They knew Jesus was a miracle worker and that he is their hope so they cry out to him. He doesn’t have a three week long bible study nor does he tell them, “OK, you’re healed.” He simply tells them, “Go show yourself to the priest,” which is what a person with leprosy had to do when the leprosy was gone so they could be pronounced “Clean” and could reenter society again. They didn’t receive their healing until after they started walking and the sad part of the story is only one came back to say “Thank You” and he was a Samaritan! It’s easy for us to run to God when times are hard, but don’t forget Him when your blessing comes and you’re walking on the mountain top! Always be thankful and never forget Jesus and what he has done for you and me.