WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:03.100 If you could turn up that passage in Luke's Gospel that was read for us earlier. 00:00:03.100 --> 00:00:05.860 It's on page 878 in the Black Church Bibles. 00:00:05.860 --> 00:00:08.080 I'm going to look at that together. 00:00:08.080 --> 00:00:16.100 I think it's fair to say that it's a bit of a mixed picture 00:00:16.100 --> 00:00:16.100 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:32.000 in different directions. 00:00:32.000 --> 00:00:38.000 On the one hand, it's fair to say that at this moment there is definitely more people are interested. 00:00:38.000 --> 00:00:44.000 Secularism has been found wanting and people are open to the claims that Jesus makes. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:49.000 It's certainly been my experience in conversation with my friends who aren't Christians, 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:55.000 people that I know who for all kinds of different reasons don't follow the Lord Jesus. 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:59.000 There is definitely a willingness to have more conversations about Him. 00:00:59.000 --> 00:01:05.000 And high profile people are doing the same and because of that the interest kind of gathers. 00:01:05.000 --> 00:01:08.000 You may have come across podcast land. 00:01:08.000 --> 00:01:15.000 Out there in podcast land, the talking heads, lots of high profile people are starting to talk about Jesus 00:01:15.000 --> 00:01:22.000 and ask questions about Him and engage a little bit more than we saw 5, 10, 15 years ago. 00:01:22.000 --> 00:01:26.000 The Diary of a CEO podcast had a Christian on recently 00:01:26.000 --> 00:01:30.000 and they engaged on real questions about the real matters of life. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:32.000 It was fascinating. 00:01:32.000 --> 00:01:37.000 And last year, of course, Joe Rogan, top of the list on the podcast, most listened to podcast. 00:01:37.000 --> 00:01:41.000 He was lamenting the state of the world and as part of his answer, he said, quote, 00:01:41.000 --> 00:01:45.000 we need Jesus, like for real. 00:01:45.000 --> 00:01:49.000 And we've seen that here in this church, people just turning up. 00:01:49.000 --> 00:01:50.000 No church background. 00:01:50.000 --> 00:01:52.000 They don't own a Bible. 00:01:52.000 --> 00:01:54.000 No particular issues or crises in their life. 00:01:54.000 --> 00:01:58.000 It doesn't seem that there's anything that's driving them to ask these questions. 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:00.000 They just want to know more about Jesus. 00:02:00.000 --> 00:02:03.000 If that's you this evening, you're the person that I'm talking to. 00:02:03.000 --> 00:02:13.000 Wherever you stand on this discussion about who Jesus is and what He's come to do and His significance in the world, 00:02:13.000 --> 00:02:18.000 if you're a skeptic, if you're a critic, if you're dragged along here by someone else and you're just being polite, 00:02:18.000 --> 00:02:21.000 you're the person I'm speaking to this evening. 00:02:21.000 --> 00:02:23.000 There is definitely more interest. 00:02:23.000 --> 00:02:29.000 However, on the other hand, there is still hardness and negativity towards Christianity. 00:02:29.000 --> 00:02:35.000 The sort of hardness and negativity that has marked Western thought really since the Enlightenment. 00:02:35.000 --> 00:02:39.000 I've got a friend locally where I live and he'll often say to me, 00:02:39.000 --> 00:02:41.000 how are you getting on, Reuben? 00:02:41.000 --> 00:02:42.000 How are the tooth fairies? 00:02:42.000 --> 00:02:43.000 All still good? 00:02:43.000 --> 00:02:45.000 That kind of thing. 00:02:45.000 --> 00:02:50.000 I've got friends and they'll say, look, I'll try and talk to them about the truth of Easter, 00:02:50.000 --> 00:02:53.000 the truth of the history of Good Friday and Easter Sunday. 00:02:53.000 --> 00:02:55.000 And they'll say, I don't care if it's true. 00:02:55.000 --> 00:03:00.000 I don't want anything to do with a joyless religion. 00:03:00.000 --> 00:03:05.000 Here we are on Palm Sunday, 2026, and the picture is mixed. 00:03:05.000 --> 00:03:14.000 Critics, skeptics, some people are interested, and then there are still those who are following Jesus. 00:03:14.000 --> 00:03:16.000 Christians who love to follow Jesus. 00:03:16.000 --> 00:03:18.000 So the picture is mixed. 00:03:18.000 --> 00:03:23.000 Well, it was the same on that first Palm Sunday that we have recorded in Luke chapter 19. 00:03:23.000 --> 00:03:24.000 19. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:28.000 Jesus comes into Jerusalem in fulfillment of the Old Testament. 00:03:28.000 --> 00:03:35.000 So all of this bit of the Bible being fulfilled in these pages at this point in the New Testament. 00:03:35.000 --> 00:03:37.000 And some people are delighted. 00:03:37.000 --> 00:03:39.000 Some people are celebrating. 00:03:39.000 --> 00:03:40.000 Have a look. 00:03:40.000 --> 00:03:42.000 Luke chapter 19, verse 36. 00:03:42.000 --> 00:03:46.000 As he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road. 00:03:46.000 --> 00:03:48.000 People took their cloaks off and they put them on the road. 00:03:48.000 --> 00:03:51.000 It's a way of saying, you can trample over me. 00:03:51.000 --> 00:03:54.000 You are of so much higher value than me. 00:03:54.000 --> 00:03:55.000 We are not worthy. 00:03:55.000 --> 00:03:56.000 It's that kind of statement. 00:03:56.000 --> 00:03:57.000 37. 00:03:57.000 --> 00:04:09.000 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, 00:04:09.000 --> 00:04:15.000 Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest. 00:04:15.000 --> 00:04:17.000 They see Jesus for who he is. 00:04:17.000 --> 00:04:23.000 They see him as God's promised king, the one that their whole history had been pointing to. 00:04:23.000 --> 00:04:26.000 And here he is among them and they bow down and they worship him. 00:04:26.000 --> 00:04:29.000 They are delighted in Jesus. 00:04:29.000 --> 00:04:36.000 And again, if you look, verse 48, he's teaching the people and they absolutely love it. 00:04:36.000 --> 00:04:39.000 All the people were hanging on his words. 00:04:39.000 --> 00:04:43.000 Later on that evening, they said, it was unbelievable. 00:04:43.000 --> 00:04:47.000 As he spoke, I could have listened all day, all night. 00:04:47.000 --> 00:04:49.000 I couldn't get enough of it. 00:04:49.000 --> 00:04:52.000 Some are delighted, but that's not true of everyone. 00:04:52.000 --> 00:04:54.000 Look at verse 39. 00:04:54.000 --> 00:04:59.000 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd, that's some of the religious leaders, they said to Jesus, 00:04:59.000 --> 00:05:02.000 Teacher, rebuke your disciples. 00:05:02.000 --> 00:05:06.000 Tell these people that are celebrating and having such a good time to shut up. 00:05:06.000 --> 00:05:09.000 Then verse 45, we get to the temple. 00:05:09.000 --> 00:05:12.000 The temple is the place where God is to be worshipped. 00:05:12.000 --> 00:05:15.000 It's been turned into a marketplace. 00:05:15.000 --> 00:05:19.000 It seems turning a church building into an edgy commercial enterprise isn't a new thing. 00:05:19.000 --> 00:05:23.000 And to top it all off, the religious leaders will do whatever it takes to get them to the church. 00:05:23.000 --> 00:05:25.000 Whatever it takes to get this Jesus out of the way. 00:05:25.000 --> 00:05:26.000 Look at verse 47. 00:05:26.000 --> 00:05:36.000 The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him. 00:05:36.000 --> 00:05:40.000 Two Palm Sundays, separated by centuries. 00:05:40.000 --> 00:05:43.000 And yet the way people feel about Jesus hasn't changed much. 00:05:43.000 --> 00:05:48.000 We're gathered here this evening and it's not that different over the centuries. 00:05:48.000 --> 00:05:50.000 The question is, what do you make of this? 00:05:50.000 --> 00:05:54.000 Which crowd are you in? 00:05:54.000 --> 00:06:03.000 In fact, I guess a better question to ask, a more important question to ask is, what does Jesus make of this? 00:06:03.000 --> 00:06:07.000 What does Jesus make of the responses that people have to him? 00:06:07.000 --> 00:06:08.000 God's king has come. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:12.000 He has come to bring salvation and rescue from sin. 00:06:12.000 --> 00:06:14.000 That is what this bit of the Bible is claiming. 00:06:14.000 --> 00:06:17.000 Because that's actually the thread that runs through the whole Bible. 00:06:17.000 --> 00:06:19.000 The whole Old Testament and New Testament. 00:06:19.000 --> 00:06:20.000 Here is God's king. 00:06:20.000 --> 00:06:23.000 He has come to deal with our biggest problem. 00:06:23.000 --> 00:06:26.000 He has come to put our broken world to rights. 00:06:26.000 --> 00:06:29.000 He is the one, therefore, that provokes these responses. 00:06:29.000 --> 00:06:34.000 How does he feel about this mixed response? 00:06:34.000 --> 00:06:36.000 Well, we see how he feels. 00:06:36.000 --> 00:06:40.000 Or more accurately, we hear how he feels in verse 41. 00:06:40.000 --> 00:06:42.000 It is the most striking thing about this story. 00:06:42.000 --> 00:06:44.000 Can you please look at verse 41? 00:06:44.000 --> 00:06:45.000 This is astonishing. 00:06:45.000 --> 00:06:52.000 When he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it. 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:56.000 He came to all of this rejection. 00:06:56.000 --> 00:06:57.000 Some are celebrating. 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:58.000 Some are rejecting. 00:06:58.000 --> 00:06:59.000 And he weeps. 00:06:59.000 --> 00:07:01.000 The word translated literally is, 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:03.000 he wailed. 00:07:03.000 --> 00:07:06.000 As he drew near to the city, 00:07:06.000 --> 00:07:09.000 the city that was the center of God's dealings with his people, 00:07:09.000 --> 00:07:10.000 marked as it was by the temple, 00:07:10.000 --> 00:07:13.000 as the great sign of God's presence in their midst, 00:07:13.000 --> 00:07:16.000 he finds rebellion and rejection. 00:07:16.000 --> 00:07:19.000 And he cries out. 00:07:19.000 --> 00:07:20.000 Not in anger. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:25.000 Not in some sentimental kind of way. 00:07:25.000 --> 00:07:30.000 His response to this unbelief is compassion. 00:07:30.000 --> 00:07:32.000 That's what the sense of the word is. 00:07:32.000 --> 00:07:33.000 He wept with compassion. 00:07:33.000 --> 00:07:36.000 And that's the first point I want us to see this evening. 00:07:36.000 --> 00:07:37.000 Jesus' compassion. 00:07:37.000 --> 00:07:40.000 We see this in the words then that break through the tears in verse 42. 00:07:40.000 --> 00:07:41.000 Verse 42. 00:07:41.000 --> 00:07:47.000 Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace. 00:07:47.000 --> 00:07:49.000 Peace. 00:07:49.000 --> 00:07:54.000 Peace sounds good, doesn't it? 00:07:54.000 --> 00:07:56.000 But it doesn't feel achievable. 00:07:56.000 --> 00:07:59.000 Certainly not in any kind of lasting way. 00:07:59.000 --> 00:08:01.000 When we look at our lives, when we look at our culture, 00:08:01.000 --> 00:08:05.000 when we look at the way things are in our experience, 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:09.000 the idea of peace, it feels like something that is beyond our grasp. 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:14.000 Now, it's true that in the developed world, we've never had so much. 00:08:14.000 --> 00:08:18.000 But yet, we've never been so restless. 00:08:18.000 --> 00:08:19.000 We're anxious. 00:08:19.000 --> 00:08:22.000 Many of the traditional causes of anxiety, of course, 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:28.000 the things that historically have been the cause of depression, anxiety, 00:08:28.000 --> 00:08:30.000 that kind of thing, they're in decline. 00:08:30.000 --> 00:08:32.000 Poverty, poor health, those kinds of things. 00:08:32.000 --> 00:08:34.000 But there are triggers all over the place. 00:08:34.000 --> 00:08:38.000 And the prescription of anti-anxiety medication has skyrocketed. 00:08:38.000 --> 00:08:43.000 And to make matters worse, the age of people that are being medicated with this sort of medication 00:08:43.000 --> 00:08:44.000 is dropping all the time. 00:08:44.000 --> 00:08:46.000 We're anxious. 00:08:46.000 --> 00:08:48.000 And we're angry. 00:08:48.000 --> 00:08:53.000 Of course, the 24-hour news cycle is designed to keep us angry and on edge 00:08:53.000 --> 00:08:57.000 because if you can have an anxious and angry population, you can control them and manipulate them. 00:08:57.000 --> 00:09:02.000 But there is plenty going on that makes us cross. 00:09:02.000 --> 00:09:07.000 It seems, as we look around, that people's fuses just seem to be getting shorter and shorter. 00:09:07.000 --> 00:09:12.000 I went across London on the tube this morning, and I was sitting at the end of the carriage 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:17.000 looking down on the parallel benches, and a guy got up from this side, and he went to get off. 00:09:17.000 --> 00:09:19.000 He looked all very innocent to me. 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:23.000 He got up and he walked past and he clipped somebody's foot on the way past, and they were into it. 00:09:23.000 --> 00:09:25.000 It was a full-blown row. 00:09:25.000 --> 00:09:26.000 He just clipped a shoe. 00:09:26.000 --> 00:09:27.000 He even apologized. 00:09:27.000 --> 00:09:28.000 No! 00:09:28.000 --> 00:09:30.000 It blew up. 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:31.000 That's not uncommon. 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:34.000 We see that kind of thing all the time. 00:09:34.000 --> 00:09:40.000 And then, of course, social media just turbocharges the whole thing. 00:09:40.000 --> 00:09:41.000 We're restless. 00:09:41.000 --> 00:09:42.000 We're anxious. 00:09:42.000 --> 00:09:43.000 We can't switch off. 00:09:43.000 --> 00:09:45.000 It's survival of the fittest out there. 00:09:45.000 --> 00:09:50.000 And any piece that we think we can find is always just fleeting. 00:09:50.000 --> 00:09:52.000 Why is it like this? 00:09:52.000 --> 00:09:55.000 Why is life like this? 00:09:55.000 --> 00:09:57.000 No one seems to be able to answer, actually. 00:09:57.000 --> 00:10:00.000 When we look out there, when we listen to the people in our culture, it just seems to 00:10:00.000 --> 00:10:06.000 me that the presumption is if we can get more of the right stuff, we'll be okay. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:11.000 But the thing we know is the more of the right stuff that we get, whatever the right stuff 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:14.000 is, the people that are selling it, of course, tell you what the right stuff is, but the more 00:10:14.000 --> 00:10:17.000 we get of that doesn't really seem to work. 00:10:17.000 --> 00:10:32.000 The man I once heard say, we're still climbing the wall of worry. 00:10:32.000 --> 00:10:33.000 We're anxious. 00:10:33.000 --> 00:10:34.000 We're angry. 00:10:34.000 --> 00:10:35.000 We're restless. 00:10:35.000 --> 00:10:36.000 We're worried. 00:10:36.000 --> 00:10:37.000 Why is that? 00:10:37.000 --> 00:10:39.000 Why can't we find a solution? 00:10:39.000 --> 00:10:41.000 The Bible can explain it. 00:10:41.000 --> 00:10:48.000 You see, the lack of peace in our experience is because, fundamentally, we're not at peace 00:10:48.000 --> 00:10:51.000 with the God who made us. 00:10:51.000 --> 00:11:00.000 One theologian has said this, we're not at peace with others because we're not at peace 00:11:00.000 --> 00:11:03.000 with God. 00:11:03.000 --> 00:11:06.000 That summarizes the answer. 00:11:06.000 --> 00:11:13.000 That is the only answer to the restlessness, the anxiety, the anger that we feel. 00:11:13.000 --> 00:11:19.000 Every single one of us was created for a relationship with God, the God who made us. 00:11:19.000 --> 00:11:24.000 And every single one of us, by nature, has turned our back on that relationship. 00:11:24.000 --> 00:11:29.000 We've taken all of the gifts that He's given us, life and breath and friends and fun and all 00:11:29.000 --> 00:11:35.000 the things that we enjoy, and we've taken them, all given generously by God, and like a brattish 00:11:35.000 --> 00:11:41.000 child, we've snatched and we've not said thank you. 00:11:41.000 --> 00:11:43.000 There's been a bit more sun out recently. 00:11:43.000 --> 00:11:45.000 The weather has taken a bit of a turn, it seems. 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:47.000 Maybe gone back again, I don't know. 00:11:47.000 --> 00:11:48.000 But the sun comes out. 00:11:48.000 --> 00:11:52.000 The minute the sun comes out, the creams are out. 00:11:52.000 --> 00:12:05.000 And they're down by the sun, standing outside, in an ice cream van, saying, I want a 99. 00:12:05.000 --> 00:12:06.000 I want a 99. 00:12:06.000 --> 00:12:10.000 And the mother said, come on Milo, come on. 00:12:10.000 --> 00:12:12.000 We live near Chiswick. 00:12:12.000 --> 00:12:15.000 I don't know, that's how it is down there. 00:12:15.000 --> 00:12:17.000 Come on Milo, we're going home. 00:12:17.000 --> 00:12:20.000 And Milo, bald and bald, stamped his feet. 00:12:20.000 --> 00:12:22.000 It was an astonishing thing to see. 00:12:22.000 --> 00:12:23.000 So his mum did what? 00:12:23.000 --> 00:12:25.000 She bought him a 99. 00:12:25.000 --> 00:12:26.000 There you go, darling. 00:12:26.000 --> 00:12:28.000 And even that wasn't enough. 00:12:28.000 --> 00:12:32.000 He grabbed it and it was as if he shoved his face into it as fast as he can, just stuffed 00:12:32.000 --> 00:12:34.000 it in his mouth without a word. 00:12:34.000 --> 00:12:35.000 And we think about that. 00:12:35.000 --> 00:12:37.000 I want it, I want it, I want it. 00:12:37.000 --> 00:12:39.000 You get it and you stuff it in your face and you don't say anything. 00:12:39.000 --> 00:12:42.000 There's something not right about that. 00:12:42.000 --> 00:12:49.000 And yet, truth is, we're all Milo when it comes to God. 00:12:49.000 --> 00:12:52.000 That's what the Bible means by sin. 00:12:52.000 --> 00:12:57.000 Give me what I want on my terms, God. 00:12:57.000 --> 00:13:00.000 And so understandably, that has led to hostility between us. 00:13:00.000 --> 00:13:03.000 That has led to a lack of peace. 00:13:03.000 --> 00:13:11.000 And yet, Jesus tells us here in Luke chapter 19, that he is a sinner. 00:13:12.000 --> 00:13:13.000 Hostility. 00:13:13.000 --> 00:13:15.000 Peace with God. 00:13:15.000 --> 00:13:17.000 Peace with God. 00:13:17.000 --> 00:13:18.000 What he wants. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:26.000 The people didn't want it. 00:13:26.000 --> 00:13:36.000 Again and again, as Jesus has taught them, as he has shown them in his miracles who he is, 00:13:36.000 --> 00:13:41.000 and they've ignored it and they've rejected him, and now they're plotting to destroy him. 00:13:41.000 --> 00:13:45.000 And in the face of all of this, his heart breaks. 00:13:45.000 --> 00:13:52.000 And I want to say to you this evening, that Jesus holds out that same compassion to you. 00:13:52.000 --> 00:14:00.000 However you have lived up to this point, Jesus comes to you with compassion and the offer of peace. 00:14:00.000 --> 00:14:07.000 And maybe you're saying, okay, fine, well, shrug your shoulders. 00:14:07.000 --> 00:14:13.000 And you say, well, look, I'm not the man or woman that I wish I was, but at least I'm not like them, whoever them might be. 00:14:13.000 --> 00:14:18.000 The person that you think is the worst version of whoever it could be. 00:14:18.000 --> 00:14:20.000 Well, I'm not perfect, but I'm not them. 00:14:20.000 --> 00:14:24.000 And because of that, you don't think you need Jesus. 00:14:24.000 --> 00:14:32.000 Well, you might not be as bad as them, whoever they are, but as far as Jesus is concerned, well, that's actually neither here nor there. 00:14:32.000 --> 00:14:36.000 You can always find someone who's worse than you. 00:14:36.000 --> 00:14:38.000 If that's the standard, you're fine. 00:14:38.000 --> 00:14:43.000 But that's not the standard, because you're not evaluated according to them. 00:14:43.000 --> 00:14:47.000 You're evaluated according to how you've treated God and his gifts in your life. 00:14:47.000 --> 00:14:57.000 And when your life is lived on your terms in God's world, when your life is lived like Milo, there's an eternity between you and God. 00:14:57.000 --> 00:15:04.000 Maybe you're coming at this from another direction and you're saying, you don't know what I've done. 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:07.000 You don't know what I've done. 00:15:07.000 --> 00:15:10.000 The God of heaven won't have compassion on me. 00:15:10.000 --> 00:15:13.000 You're right, I don't know what you've done. 00:15:13.000 --> 00:15:16.000 I didn't become a Christian until I was an adult. 00:15:16.000 --> 00:15:18.000 I know how bad things can be. 00:15:18.000 --> 00:15:20.000 Plus, don't forget this. 00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:27.000 Jesus wailed because of the rejection of people who wanted to kill him. 00:15:27.000 --> 00:15:34.000 And yet, if they had humbled themselves, he would have shown them mercy. 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:35.000 Look at verse 42 again. 00:15:35.000 --> 00:15:43.000 Would that you, even you, even you who want to kill me. 00:15:43.000 --> 00:15:47.000 If you'd known on this day the things that make for peace. 00:15:47.000 --> 00:15:48.000 I want to say this. 00:15:48.000 --> 00:15:54.000 However you conceive of yourself, Jesus meets you with compassion. 00:15:54.000 --> 00:15:56.000 And you need that compassion. 00:15:56.000 --> 00:15:59.000 He weeps over rebellious Jerusalem. 00:15:59.000 --> 00:16:04.000 And that same broken hearted posture is how he meets you. 00:16:04.000 --> 00:16:07.000 It is an astonishing thing. 00:16:07.000 --> 00:16:10.000 Despite taking all that he has given you. 00:16:10.000 --> 00:16:14.000 Despite the worst version of Milo that there could ever be. 00:16:14.000 --> 00:16:15.000 Turning your back on him. 00:16:15.000 --> 00:16:16.000 Demanding what you want. 00:16:16.000 --> 00:16:17.000 Getting it. 00:16:17.000 --> 00:16:18.000 Shoving it in your face. 00:16:18.000 --> 00:16:19.000 No thanks. 00:16:19.000 --> 00:16:21.000 He wants you to come to him for peace. 00:16:21.000 --> 00:16:26.000 And he meets you with compassion. 00:16:26.000 --> 00:16:30.000 It's too late for the Pharisees. 00:16:30.000 --> 00:16:31.000 The old order of Israel. 00:16:31.000 --> 00:16:33.000 Would that you had known the things that make for peace. 00:16:33.000 --> 00:16:37.000 But, now they're hidden from your eyes. 00:16:37.000 --> 00:16:40.000 They have missed their chance. 00:16:40.000 --> 00:16:44.000 But it's not too late for you this evening. 00:16:44.000 --> 00:16:46.000 Turn to the Lord. 00:16:46.000 --> 00:16:47.000 Ask him for peace. 00:16:47.000 --> 00:16:49.000 And he will have compassion. 00:16:49.000 --> 00:16:53.000 And the battle that rages at the level of your soul. 00:16:53.000 --> 00:16:55.000 That leaves you restless and anxious and angry. 00:16:55.000 --> 00:16:56.000 It will cease. 00:16:56.000 --> 00:17:00.000 The peace of knowing the love of God for you will flood your life. 00:17:00.000 --> 00:17:03.000 Give yourself over to Jesus. 00:17:03.000 --> 00:17:05.000 And can I say? 00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:07.000 Do it quickly. 00:17:07.000 --> 00:17:09.000 Because just as it was for Israel. 00:17:09.000 --> 00:17:11.000 This offer of peace won't be held out forever. 00:17:11.000 --> 00:17:15.000 Don't mistake Jesus' compassion for weakness. 00:17:15.000 --> 00:17:17.000 Because as we read on. 00:17:17.000 --> 00:17:18.000 Here's the second thing. 00:17:18.000 --> 00:17:19.000 More briefly. 00:17:19.000 --> 00:17:21.000 Here's the second thing I want you to see. 00:17:21.000 --> 00:17:23.000 We also hear his warning. 00:17:23.000 --> 00:17:24.000 Jesus' warning. 00:17:24.000 --> 00:17:26.000 He says to these people that are rejecting him. 00:17:26.000 --> 00:17:27.000 You had your chance. 00:17:27.000 --> 00:17:28.000 But now, verse 43. 00:17:28.000 --> 00:17:32.000 The days will come upon you when your enemies will set up a barricade round you. 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:33.000 And surround you. 00:17:33.000 --> 00:17:34.000 And hem you in on every side. 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:36.000 And tear you down to the ground. 00:17:36.000 --> 00:17:37.000 You and your children within you. 00:17:37.000 --> 00:17:40.000 And they will not leave one stone upon another in you. 00:17:40.000 --> 00:17:45.000 He promises to meet their hard hearts with judgment. 00:17:45.000 --> 00:17:47.000 It is a terrifying thought. 00:17:47.000 --> 00:17:49.000 And he goes to the temple. 00:17:49.000 --> 00:17:50.000 He turns over the tables. 00:17:50.000 --> 00:17:51.000 He denounces their leaders. 00:17:51.000 --> 00:17:55.000 He's acting out there symbolically what will happen when the greater judgment comes. 00:17:55.000 --> 00:17:57.000 Here's the thing. 00:17:57.000 --> 00:18:00.000 All that he's saying here will happen. 00:18:00.000 --> 00:18:04.000 Happened as he promised when Jerusalem was destroyed in AD 70. 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:07.000 A matter of a couple of decades after he says this. 00:18:07.000 --> 00:18:09.000 Not a stone of the temple was left. 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:12.000 The Roman emperor Titus sacked the city. 00:18:12.000 --> 00:18:14.000 And that's not just a niche historic fact. 00:18:14.000 --> 00:18:16.000 I want to tell you that is. 00:18:16.000 --> 00:18:19.000 It shows us that Jesus keeps his word. 00:18:19.000 --> 00:18:24.000 So then when we read later in the New Testament in Acts 17. 00:18:24.000 --> 00:18:27.000 That God has fixed a day on which he will judge the world. 00:18:27.000 --> 00:18:28.000 Not just this group. 00:18:28.000 --> 00:18:29.000 But the whole world. 00:18:29.000 --> 00:18:30.000 In righteousness. 00:18:30.000 --> 00:18:33.000 By a man whom he has appointed. 00:18:33.000 --> 00:18:35.000 Which man is that? 00:18:35.000 --> 00:18:37.000 Do we know which man it is that he has appointed? 00:18:37.000 --> 00:18:38.000 Yes we do. 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:39.000 He goes on. 00:18:39.000 --> 00:18:43.000 And of this he has given us assurance to all by raising him from the dead. 00:18:43.000 --> 00:18:45.000 Who has he raised from the dead? 00:18:45.000 --> 00:18:48.000 This same Lord Jesus that first Easter Sunday. 00:18:48.000 --> 00:18:52.000 God has promised a much bigger judgment even than AD 70. 00:18:52.000 --> 00:18:56.000 On the last day for all who reject him the way the Pharisees do. 00:18:56.000 --> 00:18:59.000 And just as he kept his word about Jerusalem. 00:18:59.000 --> 00:19:01.000 So he will keep his word about the last judgment. 00:19:01.000 --> 00:19:05.000 And we know he'll keep his word because of the empty tomb on Easter Sunday. 00:19:09.000 --> 00:19:11.000 Do you like all that stuff about compassion? 00:19:11.000 --> 00:19:14.000 You're okay with that. 00:19:14.000 --> 00:19:15.000 You can tolerate that. 00:19:15.000 --> 00:19:16.000 But this sounds a bit much. 00:19:16.000 --> 00:19:18.000 You didn't come out this evening. 00:19:18.000 --> 00:19:20.000 You're saying because you wanted to hear about judgment. 00:19:20.000 --> 00:19:21.000 That's a bit heavy. 00:19:21.000 --> 00:19:22.000 I don't like it. 00:19:22.000 --> 00:19:24.000 Well I want to say this. 00:19:24.000 --> 00:19:28.000 You actually want a God who acts in justice like this. 00:19:28.000 --> 00:19:32.000 If someone walked into your house and mistreated your property. 00:19:32.000 --> 00:19:33.000 They would feel your wrath. 00:19:33.000 --> 00:19:34.000 And so they should. 00:19:34.000 --> 00:19:36.000 That's completely right and proper. 00:19:36.000 --> 00:19:37.000 If you abuse somebody's stuff. 00:19:37.000 --> 00:19:39.000 You should expect them to judge you accordingly. 00:19:39.000 --> 00:19:41.000 Well God is no different. 00:19:41.000 --> 00:19:43.000 Or if you come at it the other way. 00:19:43.000 --> 00:19:46.000 If there's no accounting for the way that we have lived in God's world. 00:19:46.000 --> 00:19:49.000 It doesn't ultimately matter how you live. 00:19:49.000 --> 00:19:50.000 It doesn't matter how you live. 00:19:50.000 --> 00:19:51.000 It doesn't matter how I live. 00:19:51.000 --> 00:19:53.000 I can treat you how I like. 00:19:53.000 --> 00:19:55.000 And you can do the same with me. 00:19:55.000 --> 00:19:56.000 My father. 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:57.000 He was a decent man. 00:19:57.000 --> 00:19:58.000 He worked hard. 00:19:58.000 --> 00:19:59.000 He treated his family well. 00:19:59.000 --> 00:20:00.000 He was very kind. 00:20:00.000 --> 00:20:03.000 And he was very generous to all kinds of people. 00:20:03.000 --> 00:20:05.000 Across the cemetery. 00:20:05.000 --> 00:20:09.000 Matter of meters away from where he is buried. 00:20:09.000 --> 00:20:11.000 Are the graves of terrorists. 00:20:11.000 --> 00:20:14.000 Who gave their lives to killing and destroying other people. 00:20:14.000 --> 00:20:18.000 If there is no final judgment. 00:20:18.000 --> 00:20:21.000 If there is no justice in the world. 00:20:21.000 --> 00:20:24.000 It doesn't matter which one of those two lives you have lived. 00:20:24.000 --> 00:20:26.000 Because no one will have to give an account. 00:20:26.000 --> 00:20:29.000 Can you see? 00:20:29.000 --> 00:20:30.000 We want justice. 00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:32.000 When there's an injustice in the world. 00:20:32.000 --> 00:20:33.000 We're outraged. 00:20:33.000 --> 00:20:34.000 Of course we are. 00:20:34.000 --> 00:20:37.000 There's something about that in the depths of who we are. 00:20:37.000 --> 00:20:38.000 We want to see justice. 00:20:38.000 --> 00:20:40.000 This is true justice. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:44.000 We want to know that wicked people didn't get away with their crimes. 00:20:44.000 --> 00:20:46.000 And hard. 00:20:46.000 --> 00:20:48.000 Shocking as it is to hear. 00:20:48.000 --> 00:20:50.000 This is why what Jesus promises here. 00:20:50.000 --> 00:20:52.000 In this warning. 00:20:52.000 --> 00:20:53.000 Is good news. 00:20:53.000 --> 00:20:54.000 The question for you. 00:20:54.000 --> 00:20:56.000 The question for us all. 00:20:56.000 --> 00:20:58.000 Will you heed the warning? 00:20:58.000 --> 00:21:04.000 The heart of the Lord Jesus is full of compassion. 00:21:04.000 --> 00:21:06.000 For all who will turn to him. 00:21:06.000 --> 00:21:08.000 And receive the peace. 00:21:08.000 --> 00:21:10.000 The peace with God that he has come to bring. 00:21:10.000 --> 00:21:13.000 And he can make this offer to you. 00:21:13.000 --> 00:21:15.000 Because of where he's headed. 00:21:15.000 --> 00:21:18.000 You see Palm Sunday is the start of his final week. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:21.000 A week that will take him to the cross of Good Friday. 00:21:21.000 --> 00:21:22.000 And on that cross. 00:21:22.000 --> 00:21:25.000 We don't see a victim of a corrupt regime being killed. 00:21:25.000 --> 00:21:32.000 We see the Son of God taking the judgment that we deserve in himself. 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:34.000 So that we don't need to. 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:43.000 The King who comes on Palm Sunday in the name of the Lord. 00:21:43.000 --> 00:21:46.000 Is the King who suffers to bring you peace. 00:21:46.000 --> 00:21:53.000 Will you grasp the one who makes for peace? 00:21:53.000 --> 00:21:57.000 Peace with God that works its way out in your life. 00:21:57.000 --> 00:22:02.000 So that you can live without the frantic, the anxious, the angry spirit that marks so many of us. 00:22:02.000 --> 00:22:07.000 In the midst of this mixed picture. 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:09.000 About opinions of Jesus. 00:22:09.000 --> 00:22:10.000 Will you settle it. 00:22:10.000 --> 00:22:14.000 That you will join those who worship him rather than reject him. 00:22:14.000 --> 00:22:17.000 Come to Jesus for peace. 00:22:17.000 --> 00:22:19.000 There is nowhere else to go. 00:22:19.000 --> 00:22:21.000 You can come to him now. 00:22:21.000 --> 00:22:23.000 In your seat. 00:22:23.000 --> 00:22:25.000 Cry out to him in your heart. 00:22:25.000 --> 00:22:27.000 And he will meet you with compassion. 00:22:27.000 --> 00:22:31.000 Come back on Friday to hear more on Good Friday morning. 00:22:31.000 --> 00:22:32.000 Come back next Sunday. 00:22:32.000 --> 00:22:34.000 Easter Sunday morning and evening. 00:22:34.000 --> 00:22:35.000 Come back any given Sunday. 00:22:35.000 --> 00:22:38.000 We are here with the same message of this Jesus. 00:22:38.000 --> 00:22:40.000 As he walks off the pages of the Bible. 00:22:40.000 --> 00:22:41.000 Come back. 00:22:41.000 --> 00:22:44.000 Come to the Christianity Explored course that we're running as well. 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:48.000 Missed opportunities can haunt you. 00:22:48.000 --> 00:22:50.000 Remember Blockbuster? 00:22:50.000 --> 00:22:53.000 Remember the DVD stores? 00:22:53.000 --> 00:22:57.000 When Blockbuster were flying high, they were worth a fortune. 00:22:57.000 --> 00:23:02.000 The CEO famously turned down the chance to buy Netflix for a mere 50 million pounds. 00:23:02.000 --> 00:23:03.000 Dollars maybe. 00:23:03.000 --> 00:23:04.000 I don't know. 00:23:04.000 --> 00:23:06.000 50 million dollars. 00:23:06.000 --> 00:23:07.000 Netflix. 00:23:07.000 --> 00:23:09.000 It was the new kid on the block. 00:23:09.000 --> 00:23:12.000 The CEO didn't think there was a future in something called streaming. 00:23:13.000 --> 00:23:15.000 Today Blockbuster. 00:23:15.000 --> 00:23:16.000 That's right. 00:23:16.000 --> 00:23:17.000 It's bankrupt. 00:23:17.000 --> 00:23:21.000 Netflix is worth over 150 billion. 00:23:21.000 --> 00:23:24.000 We all have our stories of missed opportunities. 00:23:24.000 --> 00:23:29.000 The religious establishment in Israel missed an opportunity that cost them way more than 00:23:29.000 --> 00:23:31.000 150 billion dollars. 00:23:31.000 --> 00:23:33.000 It cost them their eternity. 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:35.000 I want to say this to you this evening. 00:23:35.000 --> 00:23:37.000 Don't make the same mistake. 00:23:37.000 --> 00:23:41.000 Let's pray. 00:23:41.000 --> 00:23:42.000 Let's pray. 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:42.000 00:23:42.000 --> 00:23:43.000 Let's pray. 00:23:43.000 --> 00:23:44.000 Let's pray. 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:44.000 00:23:44.000 --> 00:23:45.000 Let's pray. 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:45.000 00:23:45.000 --> 00:23:46.000 Let's pray. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:47.000 Let's pray. 00:23:47.000 --> 00:23:48.000 Let's pray. 00:23:48.000 --> 00:23:49.000 Let's pray. 00:23:49.000 --> 00:23:49.000