Category Archives: Holy Week

Benjamin Robert Haydon - Christ's Entry into Jerusalem, 1814 - 20

Luke 19 – Keys to Impacting the World

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In chapter 19, we find Jesus earthly ministry coming to a close. The chapter begins with him passing through Jericho. We are told that the Chief Tax Collector, a man named Zaccheus, wanted to see Jesus. Unfortunately, there was a small problem with then plan. We are told that “he was small in stature.” (v 4, NASB) In other words, Zaccheus was to short to see Jesus over the crowd.  Zaccheus, however, had a plan. He climbed a tree so that he could see. To his surprise, however, as Jesus walked by, he looked up in the tree and told Zaccheus to come down because He was going to stay at his house.

We are then told that “When they saw it, they all began to grumble, saying, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a man who is a sinner.'” (v 7) It is not exactly clear who the “they” is, but I am not sure that really matters. This is one of those things that we can get caught up in, and miss the real point. They saw Jesus’ actions of staying with a sinner as unacceptable for a teacher of the law. But they missed the point. Jesus was not going to spend time with them to lower to their level, but to help elevate them to his level. In other words, Jesus knew that the only way to truly impact the lives of others was to be involved in their lives.

We are quickly told that Jesus was right in doing so, and his actions did impact the life of Zaccheus. It tells us that Zaccheus declared, “half of my possessions I will give to the poor, and if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I will give back four times as much.” (v 8) Jesus tells them that this is why he is there. He had “come to seek and to save that which was lost.” (v 10) He was not there to simply tell the truth, but to become involved in people’s lives to show them the way.

As they were drawing nearer to Jerusalem, it seems that those around began to believe “that the kingdom of God was going to appear immediately.” (v 11) Apparently, they had heard enough to understand that the Kingdom of God was at hand and to believe that Jesus was the Messiah. The logical next step was to believe that since Jesus was heading to Jerusalem, he must be about to inaugurate the Kingdom.

He told the parable of a nobleman who was about to set out upon a journey. Before he leaves, he calls 10 servants and issues each of them a set amount of money, telling them to “Do business with this until I come back.” (v 13)  When he returned, he once again called each of them too Himself. Each of the early servants reported how they had been able to use the money and now had, even more, to return to him. The nobleman praised them, telling them that, “because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority.” (v 17)

When he finally came to the last servant, the story was quite different. This man had nothing but the original money he had been entrusted with. He told the nobleman that he knew he was a shrewd man. As a result, he had hidden the money so he would not lose it. The nobleman was so angry he ordered the one taken away from the last servant and given to another. The point is that if we do not use the gifts God has given us, they will be taken away.

Now Luke brings us to the climax of Jesus’ earthly ministry. As he approached Jerusalem, he sent two of his disciples on ahead to find a colt that he could ride into the city. When they returned, Jesus climbed on the colt and proceeded on. As he went, many of the people would laying their cloaks on the ground in front of him.

Suddenly, the crowd began to cry out,” Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (v 38) The Pharisees asked Jesus to rebuke those who were saying this. “Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” (v 40) 

We then see a different side of Jesus. Luke tells us that when He saw the city, He wept. He wept because he knew the fate that was to befall Jerusalem.

It is interesting that immediately Luke gives us yet another side of Jesus. As Jesus entered the temple and saw the business that was taking place, he became angry. I think we do have to note that his anger was not personal for him, but for the disrespect that was being shown for the righteousness of God. We are told that he drive them from the temple, saying, “It is written, ‘And My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a robbers’ den.”

Finally, Luke tells us that Jesus was in the temple daily teaching from then on. This will come to be significant later on, that Jesus did not hide, but stayed in the public eye. During this time, the priest and scribes tried to find a way to destroy him, but they could not, “for all the people were hanging on to every word He said.” (v 48)

My takeaways from this chapter are: 1) To reach people, we need to do more than share words, we need to be involved in their lives. 2) We need to use what God has given us. 3) We need to declare God to the world. 4) We need to become zealous for the righteousness of God. And 5) if we are going to impact the world, we can not hide but must be out in the world.

 

Old Rugged Cross

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On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For ’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I’ll share.
So I’ll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

Words and Music by George Bennard, 1913

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.
John 19:17 – 18

he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on a cross.
Philippians 2:8

For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!
Romans 5:10

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
Mark 10:45

And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Hebrews 10:10

Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Romans 8:17

May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.
Galatians 6:14

When I was very young, before I can even remember, I was given a little blue teddy bear. It is something that, to my memory, I always had. I called him Boo Bear. (The attempt of a small child to say Blue.) A name he retained even after I had learned to say it properly. I kept him with me all the time. He was one of those things that was so loved that he eventually lost most of his fur. At one point, when I was a little older, I stitched new eyes on him, though I honestly do not remember his original eyes.

It has been a long time since I was a small child. But even today, if look on the top shelf of bookshelf, there he sits. Something that I cherish. Despite the wear and tear that is evident when you look at him, he is still something special. I know I am not alone in cherishing something so dear from my childhood. But imagine having this same cherished connection with something that is despised by everyone. Something that represents torture, suffering, shame and even death. How could someone have such cherished thoughts of something like this. Yet as Christians, we find ourselves right there. The most brutal form of execution devised by man is cherished by those whom it has touched. This is the message of George Bennard’s “Old Rugged Cross.”

The hymn begins, “On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross, The emblem of suffering and shame; And I love that old cross where the dearest and best For a world of lost sinners was slain.” It is a poetic description of the events some two thousand years ago. The events described in John 19. As we look at verses 17 – 18 we read, “So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.” They crucified him. This was the very purpose of the cross. Something we so easily forget today as we see people wear it for jewelry or when we look upon the beautifully designed cross hanging at the front of the church.

We don’t stop to remember that this cross was perhaps the ugliest thing imaginable to the eyes of the people of that day. It was used for the execution of criminals. Philippians 2:8 tells us that he “died a criminal’s death on a cross.” So how can we cherish this thing? How can it be so dear to our hearts?

The hymn continues, “O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world, Has a wondrous attraction for me.” And it does have an attraction that is great, an attraction that pulls us to the one who died upon it. For as Romans 5:10 tells us, “. . . while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son. . . ” You see, it is not the cross itself, but was accomplished upon that cross that draws us to it. “For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above To bear it to dark Calvary.” Christ himself, came to earth ”to give his life as a ransom for many.” (Mark 10:45)

Yes, “’twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died, To pardon and sanctify me.” It is in his death that I find forgiveness. It is through his blood that I am sanctified and made holy. Hebrews 10:10 tells us, “. . . we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ. . .”

So this cross, which should be despised, becomes cherished. It is not something we run from, but it becomes the representation of what we hold most dear. This is why Bennard writes, “To the old rugged cross I will ever be true; Its shame and reproach gladly bear, Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away, Where His glory forever I’ll share.” This is what we are told in Romans 8:17 where we read, “Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” Through His death and resurrection, we receive new life and will dwell with him forever.

So the cross, for all its dark and loathsome meaning, has become our sign of hope. Hope as we look forward to the day that we will receive the crown of glory that He has promised to all who believe. It is in the cross alone that we can boast of our salvation. (Galatians 6:14) So it this hope that we hold on to and join with others declaring “I will cling to the old rugged cross, And exchange it some day for a crown.”

Read more about, “Old Rugged Cross.“