Preparing for Worship - March 16, 2025

In most of the readings this week, the people following the Lord are being threatened. In Psalm 4, in David’s case, David has often been in distress, literally, in a tight spot, but the Lord has given him relief, giving him some breathing space so that he could escape his enemies, both King Saul and others. See, for example, Psalm 18, where the introduction says that the Lord had rescued him from the hands of all his enemies, and then David calls Him his Deliverer (18:1). In 18:19, David says, “The Lord brought me out into a broad place; He rescued me.” Psalm 3 speaks of David fleeing from his own son, Absalom, and Psalm 4 is likely talking about the same situation when Absalom turned people against his own father. Read 2 Samuel 15:2-6, and see how David says in Psalm 4, “O men, how long shall my honor be turned into shame? How long will you love vain words and seek after lies?” David says, “How many are my foes… rising against me… and saying of my soul, ‘There is no salvation for him in God.’” Yet David knew that the Lord would be “gracious” to him. By His grace and mercy, the Lord would hear his prayer! For "the Lord has set apart the godly for Himself.” David then pleads with his enemies not to do evil and to stop and think about what they are doing and put their trust in the Lord, as David does, with repentant and contrite hearts (Psalm 51:17). David is confident that the light of God’s face would shine upon him (Numbers 6:22-27) and he would ultimately have real joy and peace and rest in safety in His Lord, as bad as things seemed, at times.

In the Old Testament lesson, Jeremiah 26:8-15, the Lord had commanded Jeremiah to speak strong judgment against Judah and Jerusalem, with destruction coming. The priests and prophets (who should have known better) and many of the people surrounded Jeremiah and said, “You shall die!” because he had dared to speak against their city. Then, officials of the city came and listened to all that was being said. They heard Jeremiah say that he was only speaking what the Lord had told him to say. There was still time for the people to mend their ways and obey the voice of the Lord; then, the disaster would not come. He had to speak these very words into their ears. But if they killed Jeremiah, they were bringing innocent blood upon themselves and their city. (If you read on after this text, Jeremiah was spared from dying, at least at this point.)

In the Gospel lesson, Luke 13:31-35, Jesus was likely in Perea, in Herod’s territory, and some Pharisees warned Him to get out of there and blamed Herod (Antipas) for wanting to kill Him. (See how Herod had treated John the Baptist (Luke 3:19-20 and Matthew 14:1-12) and was superstitiously concerned about Jesus, too (Luke 9:7-9).) Some think that the Pharisees were really trying to scare Jesus into leaving Perea and going to Jerusalem, where they would have more control over Him. Jesus knew that Herod was cunning, like a sly fox, but He was determined to do His Father’s will and continue to battle demonic forces, provide cures for people, and do His prophetic work in the days ahead in Perea until He was brought to His goal, His finishing His course, when he would go and die in Jerusalem. Jesus sorrowed over Jerusalem and its people, its children, and had often wanted and tried to gather its people together and protect them, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings. Many of the people were not willing, though, and resisted the Word and work of Jesus, as had happened so often to God’s prophets and leaders in the past - as we hear in the Old Testament readings today. Jesus warns the Pharisees that their house, their people, and their temple would soon be forsaken because of their rebellion. That was the reality for many in 70 AD, with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple by the Romans and in later troubles.

Finally, in this passage, Jesus says, “You will not see Me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” This is a quotation from Psalm 118:26, and the crowds, including Jews, were shouting these words regarding Jesus on what we now call Palm Sunday, when Jesus rode into Jerusalem, humbly, on a donkey, just days before His suffering and death. (See Matthew 20:1-11. However, Jesus quotes this passage again in Matthew 23:27-29, later that week, just before predicting the destruction of the temple.) Others, therefore, think that Jesus is also predicting that even after the rejection of Him at the cross, there would still always be a remnant of Jews who would eventually be brought to faith in Jesus and call Him “Lord” in the early church and even to this very day. Jesus never gave up on His fellow Jews and knew that some would still and do still receive the eyes of faith and trust in Him as their Savior, too. We pray for that for them and for all people.

Paul, who was one of those Jews who did come to faith in Jesus later in life, after being strongly anti-Christian, writes words of encouragement to fellow believers in Philippians 3:17-4:1. All around them (and us) are “enemies of the cross of Christ.” Their "god” is themselves and their own bellies and shameful earthy things instead of our Lord Jesus. Paul reminds fellow believers (including us) that our true place of citizenship is in heaven. Paul wrote earlier in this letter, “For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain... for to depart and be with Christ is far better” (Philippians 1:21, 23-24). Paul is in prison for his faith as he writes this letter, but expects that he will be set free and be able to “strive side by side for the faith of the Gospel” with the Christians at Philippi and others (Philippians 1:27). He urges the believers, “whom he loves and longs for, his joy and his crown,” to “stand firm in the Lord.” Heaven is their true home, with Christ. When they die in faith, Christ will take them to heaven (John 14:1-6). There is also the promise of the resurrection of their bodies (and ours) by Christ on the last day when their bodies will also be changed to be like His glorious resurrection body. There is much about all this that we cannot fully understand or comprehend, but we know that our future is secure in Christ, in life and death, in heaven, and at the resurrection of our bodies. We have a loving Lord who gave His life for us and who will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:8, Hebrews 13:5-6).