Determined to Save – February 28, 2019

At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Luke 13:31-35

Determined to Save

A young man gets bullied by a classmate at school. It seems that every day this bully finds a new way to humiliate him. But then one day the tables turn. As he walks down the hallway, he sees the bully getting bullied. He is faced with a choice: either come to the defense of the bully or don’t. Does that bully deserve the help that young man could give? We might be inclined to say no. It seems like the bully is finally getting what’s coming to him. He’s getting his just desserts.

It’s a concept that has grown popular today: karma. “What goes around comes around.” If you do something bad, something bad should happen to you in turn. If you hurt someone, you should be hurt. People should get what they deserve.

But that is not how the Son of God operates. In Luke 13, we see Christ’s familiar foes, the Pharisees, telling him how Herod wanted to see him dead. Was there truth in their words? Maybe. But that didn’t deter Jesus from doing the work he came to earth to do. He would continue to teach people God’s truth, no matter who opposed him. He would continue his work as the promised Savior, even though his very own people would reject him. Why? Because he was determined to save.

When Jesus would go to Jerusalem, he would die, and he would do it not just for people who believed him. He would die on the cross for every sinner. He would die for the Pharisees. He would die for Herod. He would die for all people. That means he died for you too. We don’t deserve God’s grace. We don’t deserve what Jesus did for us. But that didn’t deter him. The Bible says that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Jesus forgives your every sin. By that same grace, God gives you heaven through faith in Christ. Thanks be to God that our Lord Jesus was determined to save us!

Prayer:
Dear Jesus, I’m a sinner and don’t deserve anything from you. But you still died on the cross for me to save me from sin and death. Increase my faith in you. Keep me from rejecting your grace. Make me a grateful recipient of your love so that I may be yours forever. Amen.