"Truth That Cannot Be Silenced"            2010

Luke 18:31-43      Luke 19:28-40

 

Luke 18:31-43 (NRSV)

A Third Time Jesus Foretells His Death and Resurrection/ Jesus Heals a Blind Beggar Near Jericho

31 Then he took the twelve aside and said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written about the Son of Man by the prophets will be accomplished. 32For he will be handed over to the Gentiles; and he will be mocked and insulted and spat upon. 33After they have flogged him, they will kill him, and on the third day he will rise again.’ 34But they understood nothing about all these things; in fact, what he said was hidden from them, and they did not grasp what was said. 35 As he approached Jericho, a blind man was sitting by the roadside begging. 36When he heard a crowd going by, he asked what was happening. 37They told him, ‘Jesus of Nazareth* is passing by.’ 38Then he shouted, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 39Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet; but he shouted even more loudly, ‘Son of David, have mercy on me!’ 40Jesus stood still and ordered the man to be brought to him; and when he came near, he asked him, 41‘What do you want me to do for you?’ He said, ‘Lord, let me see again.’ 42Jesus said to him, ‘Receive your sight; your faith has saved you.’ 43Immediately he regained his sight and followed him, glorifying God; and all the people, when they saw it, praised God.

 

Luke 12:28-40 (NRSV)  Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem

28 After he had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 When he had come near Bethphage and Bethany, at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of the disciples, 30saying, ‘Go into the village ahead of you, and as you enter it you will find tied there a colt that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31If anyone asks you, “Why are you untying it?” just say this: “The Lord needs it.” ’ 32So those who were sent departed and found it as he had told them. 33As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, ‘Why are you untying the colt?’ 34They said, ‘The Lord needs it.’ 35Then they brought it to Jesus; and after throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it. 36As he rode along, people kept spreading their cloaks on the road. 37As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, 38saying, ‘Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven!’ 39Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’ 40He answered, ‘I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.’

 

According to CNN,

            "On Monday, Google began redirecting its Chinese users to its Hong Kong site, which offers uncensored search results."[1]

 

Google, the Internet giant of search engines,  discontinued

            cooperating with the censorship policies and practices

                        that the Chinese government had required from Google

                                    in trying to silence voices and websites of opposition.

 

    Trying to silence rival voices of the opposition isn't a new thing.

Long before China, even before Jesus had began his ministry,

            opponents against God's purpose   tried to censor and silence

                        the truth, the gospel message and mission of Jesus Christ.

 

When Jesus was born, afraid that his throne might be threatened,

            King Herod, intending to prevent any possible rival future king,

                        ordered the murder of every baby boy born in Bethlehem.

 

And of course throughout his ministry of teaching, healing, and mercy

            Jesus was in constant conflict with the religious authorities

                        who were relentless in trying to discredit and silence him.

 

In the book of Acts beginning with stoning of Stephen

            it tells about persecution coming from the religious leaders

                        as they tried to crush the spread of the Christian message

                                    and to silence the early apostles from preaching.

 

Later on,  the Roman emperors Nero and Diocletian in particular

            outlawed Christianity, and attempted to destroy the church

                        with terrible and brutal acts of inhuman persecution.

 

Over the centuries, and continuing on   down through to our own times,

            many have tried to disprove, discredit and silence Bible truth,

                        denying miracles, healings and even Jesus Christ himself.

 

April 8, 1966, a Time magazine cover article declared, "God is dead",

            as radical philosopher-theologians

                        claimed that modern people don't need God anymore,

                              and many of them predicted the demise of Christian faith.

 

Starting in the 1960's, the judges and courts began ruling against

            prayer, or Bible reading, or any mention of the Christian God

                        in schools, the workplace, in public or government …

                                    … eventually even against posting the 10 Commandments.

 

Throughout history there have been countless attempts to silence

            the proclamation of the grace and Good News of Jesus Christ.

 

Its remarkable if you think about it, how intense those efforts,

            how hard many have tried   to force Christians to keep quiet…

               … and yet,

                        the opponents have never been able to silence the gospel…

            … always the truth, the good news continues to be proclaimed…

… perhaps like a flower

            that grows tenaciously between cracks of a city sidewalk.

 

The world's powerful have never  been able to silence the gospel,

            and will never    be able to destroy or silence the gospel,

                        for the good news will be heard - Jesus will be proclaimed

                                    and the coming kingdom of God will be announced ----

 

              -- as Christ continues his triumphant entry into human hearts.

 

In our first Scripture passage, Jesus explains to his disciples

            exactly what was going to happen to him in Jerusalem,

                        but they didn't get it, they couldn't see it.

 

The author of Luke loves to use irony and contrast in story-telling.

            The disciples are clueless, but passing through Jericho,

                        a blind man     is able to see   who Jesus really is.

 

vs. 38  Then he shouted, ‘Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!’

 

"Son of David" is an Old Testament title for the long promised Messiah-

            and it is a truthful declaration of who Jesus really is.

And so how do those around respond to hearing the truth?     vs. 39

            Those who were in front sternly ordered him to be quiet;

 

To the world, this blind man was insignificant and unworthy,

            but Jesus does notice, cares about him, and heals him.

                        Through faith in God's mercy   his eyesight is restored,

                                    and the man follows Jesus, giving glory to God.

 

It’s the blind man   who can see who Jesus really is and his mission,

            and as he cries out proclaiming that truth, giving glory to God,

à it's those who do not see, who refuse to see  who try to silence him…

                  … which sets the pattern we also see in the Palm Sunday story.

 

The triumphant entry story begins with Jesus and his disciples,

            as they're gathered near Bethany, the outskirts of Jerusalem.

Jesus instructs two of the disciples to bring him a colt.

            Jesus obviously knows where it is, and what will be said,

                        telling the disciples to answer, vs. 31    "The Lord needs it"

 

The Greek uses a personal pronoun, the word  "its", - 'it belongs to'

            so more careful, literal translation, "Its Lord       needs it" -

                        "the one it belongs to,     needs or requires it"

 

I don't think Jesus has previously purchased a donkey,

      but it is a theological claim; a description of our call to serve.

                        We belong to God, our time & talents are all a gift from God;

                                    and therefore, it all belongs to God, who 'needs' it.

 

Why sing in the choir? Because my gift from God   belongs to God,

            and that's what the Lord 'needs' from me.

Why serve as a deacon or elder or teacher or helper?           

            Because my gift, my life from God   belongs to God,

                        and that's what the Lord wants from me, and needs to be done.

 

Why help out with Salt and Light, Sunday School, PW, soup kitchen…

            Because my gifts, my life, they all come from God, belong to God,

                        and that service is what God wants, and will welcome from me.

 

Why come to worship, why greet a visitor, why give, why tithe,

            why visit the sick, why pray for someone, why serve in any way?

 

            Because my life, my all is a gift from God and belongs to God,

                        and that is what God wants and desires from me.

It is God's purpose to bless us, and God has so arranged it,

            for our relationship with God to give us joy and peace,

                        and that happens when we use our gifts, our time, our lives

                                    to glorify God by serving as the Lord shows us needs.

 

"Why are you untying that colt?"               "Its Lord    needs it" 

            These are all the same question.     They are all the same answer.

 

And just as Jesus knew all about the colt,

            so when he came into Jerusalem that day

                        he was already fully aware of all that would transpire.

                                    Jesus was in charge,   not his enemies     who killed him.

 

In the next scene of the story,  the disciples put Jesus on the colt,

            and in celebration the people throw down their cloaks

                        for it is the coming of the promised king - God's anointed.

 

It is the pattern of a royal procession coming joyfully into the city

            following the rituals announcing peaceful arrival of a new king

                        it's the triumphant entry into the king's royal city…

…  vs. 38

            "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven"

 

            This is a two-part theological declaration about who Jesus is,

                        and it is a statement about the coming Kingdom of God.

 

Part one, Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!

            these words are taken from Psalm 118,

                  which is a royal psalm that celebrated the coming of the king.

 

And riding the colt pointed back to the prophecy of Zechariah, 9:9

             Rejoice greatly, O daughter Zion!  Shout aloud, O daughter Jerusalem!  Lo, your king comes to you; triumphant and victorious is he, humble and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

 

Second part, "Peace in heaven and glory in the highest heaven"

            familiar words, point back to the birth of Christ,  Luke 2:13-14 

                        And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying, ‘Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace among those whom he favors!’

 

The author of Luke    is saying

            we should interpret the Palm Sunday entry just like Christmas,

                 for both are God's gift to us, God coming to us, to humankind,

                                    and both are the ultimate expressions of God's love.

 

And just as in the Luke 2 narrative about the birth of Christ,

            so there is the opposition to the entry of Jesus into Jerusalem.

 

            As Herod had sought to stifle and silence   by murdering babies

                        so some of the Pharisees sought to stifle and silence

                                    by urging Jesus to silence the praise and celebration.

vs. 39  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, ‘Teacher, order your disciples to stop.’

            Meaning,  "Rabbi, rebuke them and tell them they are wrong."

 

In response Jesus said, vs. 40

            "He answered: I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out"

                        despite any human opposition - the good news will be heard.

            Here the stones have more understanding what is going on

                        than the religious authorities…

           … maybe they would understand better, had they had rocks in their heads.

 

God's enemies will never be able to silence the voice of good news

            not at Jesus' birth when Herod murdered  baby boys in Bethlehem

                nor God's purpose that the religious leaders tried to prevent.

 

The gospel message will never be silenced

            and if the disciples and followers of Christ cannot speak,

                  then expect the stones to start shouting, the heavens proclaiming

                             for the good news will be heard, the gospel shall prevail.

 

So today:            our call

            is to be like the shouting followers of the triumphant entry

                our task is to announce the coming King and that Jesus is Lord…

                … for we are God's beloved children, precious to our King,

                        called and equipped to bring that Good News to all the world.

 

 

Three statements that offer three lessons we need to hear: à

 

vs. 31               "Its Lord,   needs it"

            Why love and serve the Lord?

                        Because by grace we belong to the Lord,

                                    and simply put, that is what God desires from us.

 

vs. 38            "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!

                                    Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest heaven"

                        This is our message - the gospel - the Good News.

                                    Holy Week is like Advent and Christmas,

                                                announcing that the Lord has come as promised.

 

vs. 40  "The stones would shout out"

            There is always opposition to the Lord's love and saving purpose

                        and if it we were censored or silenced

                                    then the stones themselves will announce the good news.

 

God's Word - the good news of the gospel will be heard

            the opposition will never succeed in silencing the gospel truth.

                        God's gracious purpose, God's love and mercy will triumph

                                    for God's victory is sure, and God's love never ends.

May we be a people known by our acts of love and works of compassion!

            Let us be creative in finding ways

                        to express the radical love of Jesus, the King of Mercy

                                    to each other, and to our community and families.