Christ's Compassion for the Condemned, Part 2

If you got your Bible, turn to Luke chapter 13. We're in the last two verses of this wonderful gospel. Two verses that explain to us more about the person and the plan of God. Who He is, what He did, and what He's going to do. These two verses are packed with all kinds of theological truth that will help us come to grips with what God does and how it is He does it. It unveils for us the heart of God. So many times we misunderstand God's heart and therefore we don't understand His plans, but these two verses help us understand the heart of Almighty God.

Let me read them to you, set them in your mind, and then we'll begin our time together this morning. Verse number 34, Luke chapter 13, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her. How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it. Behold, your house is left to you desolate, and I say to you, you shall not see me until the time comes when you say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Our Lord is concerned that we know Him. He wants us to understand Him. Way back in the book of Exodus, in the third chapter, when God was going to deliver His people from Egyptian bondage, the Lord God says to Moses through a burning bush, I have seen the affliction of my people.

I have heard their cry, and I'm going to come down, and I'm going to deliver them. Our God was going to make sure Israel knew that He was a delivering, saving, redeeming, rescuing kind of God. And so Moses says, who shall I say sent me? What is your name? He says, you tell them that I Am is sending you. Those four Hebrew consonants that make up the name of God, that help us understand who He is. And then He says these words, God says to Moses, this is my memorial name that is to be remembered from generation to generation.

In other words, from this day forward, everybody shall know that I am a Redeemer. That's why my memorial name is so important to me, because I want to be known as a Redeemer, a Rescuer, a Savior. That's who I am. And so Moses goes through the whole process. He goes to Egypt. He goes to Pharaoh. And you know the story. I mean, you've seen the movie, right? You know the story. You read it in Scripture. And the whole aspect of the 10 plagues, and that 10th plague being the Passover, became very significant.

Because that 10th plague, where the death angel would pass over the homes of those who had taken the blood of the lamb and put it on their doorpost, and then would slay all those who didn't, that is the Egyptian firstborn. Well, Israel was delivered in a supernatural kind of way. And they were to experience something from God, because He told them now that this Passover will become a memorial that is to be practiced from generation to generation. Why? Because the memorial of Passover is a reminder of the name of the God who delivered them, the saving power of God.

And that's why Passover is so important to Jewish people. They understand that God is a delivering kind of God. And so God tells Moses, you tell them, this is how you do the Passover. Let me prescribe it for you, because I want you to do this from this day forward on a regular basis, so that all the succeeding generations will know who I am and know what I did.

So Israel was led out of bondage, and they found themselves at the brink of the Red Sea, and Pharaoh's army coming down upon them, and God opened the sea, and they walked through on dry land, and Pharaoh's army was destroyed by that water. But Israel escaped once again by the power of God. And Israel was able to see firsthand the exciting power of Almighty God at work in their lives. The finger of God, the mighty hand of God was seen by Israel, and they were able to experience something unlike any other generation has experienced.

And they began to make their journey to the land a promise. And yet soon after that, they became disobedient, rebellious. They would learn to distrust God. They would involve themselves in immorality, idolatry, unbelief, and their sins were many, and their sins were constant. God became angry and said, this generation 20 years and older shall not enter my promised land. So they wandered for 40 years, a journey that would take them maybe seven days. They journeyed for 40 years until that generation 20 and older would all die off.

And when that finally took place, they found themselves on the east side of the Jordan River in a place called the Plains of Moab.

And Moses would speak to them. He would give what is commonly called the reiteration of the law, the book of Deuteronomy. He would reiterate the law to them once again to show them their responsibility, their requirements to follow the law of God. And so as they all stood in the Plains of Moab, the east side of the Jordan River, just north of the Dead Sea, for those of you who have been to Israel, you understand where that location is. And they stood there awaiting to hear one more time the law of God.

And so in the book of Deuteronomy, the 26th chapter, Moses reiterates to them the requirements of the law. You're about to enter the promised land. You're about to embark on the land that God promised to Abraham, to Isaac, to Jacob. It's our land. And in Deuteronomy 26, this is what is said. Verse number 16. This day, the Lord your God commands you to do these statutes and ordinances. You shall therefore be careful to do them with all your heart and with all your soul. Moses says when you embark on this land, when you do these commands, you're not to do them superficially or hypocritically.

You're to do them with all your heart, with all your soul. I want you to be behind this thing 100%. You have today declared the Lord to be your God and that you would walk in His ways and keep His statutes and commandments and His ordinances and listen to His voice. You've made that declaration already. Moses is at the end of his ministry, at the end of his life, he's soon about to die. He says you've made a declaration, you've made a commitment. The same thing their fathers did at Sinai when they made a commitment, but soon broke that commitment.

He said you have made a commitment to follow the commands of God, the statutes of God, to listen to His voice. Key word, to listen to what God says.

Talked about that last week, talked a little bit about it on Wednesday night. The key to any relationship with God is learning to listen to His voice. And you've made that commitment, you've made that declaration, you're going to listen.

Verse 18, and the Lord has today declared to you to be His people a treasured possession as He promised you and that you should keep all His commandments and that He shall set you high above all nations which He has made for praise, fame and honor and that you shall be a consecrated people to the Lord your God as He has spoken. God's going to do a mighty work in your life. He's going to elevate you above all the nations of the world. You are His treasured possession. Chapter 27, verse number 1, then Moses and the elders of Israel charged the people saying, keep all the commandments which I command you today.

And then something significant was going to take place. And listen to what the text says. Verse 4, so it shall be when you cross the Jordan, you shall set up on Mount Ebal these stones as I am commanding you today. You shall coat them with line. Moreover, you shall build an altar to the Lord your God, an altar of stones, and you shall not wield an iron tool on them. You shall build the altar of the Lord your God of uncut stones, and you shall offer on it burnt offerings to the Lord your God, and you shall sacrifice peace offerings and eat there, and you shall rejoice before the Lord your God, and you shall write on the stones all the words of the law very distinctly.

I want you to put line on these stones and I want you to write very clearly, very distinctly all the words of the law of God. I want you to write them down. And it says in verse 9, then Moses and the Levitical priests spoke to all Israel saying, be silent and listen.

Oh Israel, this day you have become a people for the Lord your God. You shall therefore obey the Lord your God and do his commandments and his statutes, which I command you today. And then he says, when you cross the Jordan, verse 12, thee shall stand on Mount Gerizim to bless the people. Verse 13, and for the curse, thee shall stand on Mount Ebal. The Levites shall then answer and say to all the men of Israel with a loud voice. In other words, there are going to be two mountains close side by side, one Mount Gerizim, one Mount Ebal.

Gerizim represents blessing, Ebal represents cursing. You're going to put six tribes on Gerizim, six tribes on Ebal and the Levites, the priestly tribe will stand in the middle. And they're going to begin to speak. And as they speak, you will respond. This was a graphic illustration of the way Israel's life was to be. This becomes a pivotal point in the history of Israel. They embark the promised land. They get into the promised land. They are to have this great graphic illustration of their commitment to God.

Six tribes on one mountain, six tribes on the other, one representing blessing, other representing cursing. And then the Levites will say, verse 15, cursed is the man who makes an idol or molten image, an abomination to the Lord, the work of his hands of the craftsman and sets it up in secret. And all the people shall answer, amen. So be it. So the priest will say, cursed is this and cursed is that, cursed is this and cursed is that, cursed if you do this, cursed if you do that, cursed if you do this.

And all the people say, amen. So be it. So be it. So be it. And in this great amphitheater like experience that would echo throughout the valley. Quite a, quite a tremendous illustration of their commitment. Verse 26, cursed is he who does not confirm the words of the law by doing them. And all the people shall say, amen. So be it. They would yell it across the valley. And then to 28, now it shall be, if you will diligently obey the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments, which I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth.

And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you. If you will obey the Lord, your God, and down through verse six, blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed, blessed. These will be your blessings. If you break the law, you'll be cursed. If you obey the law, you will be blessed. He says then down in verse 13, and the Lord shall make you, this is chapter 28, and the Lord shall make you the head and not the tail. And you only shall be above and you shall not be underneath. If you will listen to the commandments of the Lord, your God, which I charge you today to observe them carefully and do not turn aside from any of the words, which I command you today to the right or to the left, to go after other gods or serve those gods.

Back in Genesis chapter 26, Genesis chapter 27, Genesis chapter 28, are all this, these blessings and cursings that will come upon a people if they listen or don't listen to the voice of their God. The problem with Israel is that they refuse to listen.

They would follow in the four steps and the steps of their forefathers and they would not listen. In spite of their commitment, in spite of this, this graphic illustration that would symbolize their commitment to God, they refused to listen to God and they would continue to sin. They would continue to fear man and not fear God. They would embark on the promised land and they would defeat the citizens of Jericho. And yet, one man would violate the law of God. And again, a graphic illustration of death upon him in front of everybody and his family because he disobeyed and did not listen to the words of God.

But Israel would embark on the promised land and yet they would continue to rebel, continue to live in unbelief, continue to distrust the true and living God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. They refused to believe what God would say to them and they feared the occupants of the land and thus they went further and further away from God. All that to say is that God would send them messengers. He would send them prophets. He would send them judges. He would tell them about the error of their way and they would not listen.

They refused to listen. And so when you come finally to Luke chapter 13 in the New Testament, God having sent his messengers now sends his son, the Messiah.

Everything that the messengers spoke about and pointed to was now finally here and they refused to listen to the words even of the Messiah which would lead our Lord to say these words in Luke chapter 13 verses 34 and 35.

Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her. At this time they were under Roman oppression. Rome had ruled in the land. Rome was in charge and they refused to listen to God. And the Lord God says, your house is left to you in ruins.

Now note, this wouldn't be the first time they heard this. This would not be the first time that they heard this.

This is old news to Israel, not new news to Israel. Because way back when they built Solomon's temple and Solomon dedicated the temple to the Lord back in 1 Kings chapter 8, the Lord God said these words. He said in verse 6, but if you or your son shall indeed turn away from following me and shall not keep my commandments and my statutes which I have set before you and shall go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will cut off Israel from the land which I have given them and the house which I have consecrated for my name.

I will cast out of my sight so Israel will become a proverb and a byword among all peoples and this house will become a heap of ruins. This house will become desolate. Everyone who passes by will be astonished and hiss and say, why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house? And they will say, because they forsook the Lord their God who brought their fathers out of the land of Egypt and adopted other gods and worshiped them and served them, therefore the Lord has brought all this adversity on them.

God told them. This temple in the Solomon, Solomon's temple was so beautiful. And the Lord God says, listen, if you go another way and you serve other gods, this house of mine will become desolate, a house of ruins, desolate.

Well, you know the history of Israel. They turned their back on God and God kept warning them and warning them and warning them. So the Babylonians came in, destroyed that temple, plundered that city and took Israel captive for 70 years. And God promised, He said, listen, if after those 70 years, you're going to seek me and you're going to seek me, you're going to find me and you'll return back to the land. And that's exactly what happened. After 70 years of captivity, they learned to get idolatry out of their system and they returned back under the leadership of Nehemiah when they built the wall around the city.

And then under Zerubbabel, when they went to rebuild the temple again, and it wasn't nearly as beautiful as Solomon's temple, but again, it was a temple and they went back to Israel. But what happened is that the Jewish nation continued to live in sin and disobedience and the Greeks came in and plundered that city and temple again under the direction of Antiochus Epiphanes. You can read about it in the book of Daniel where he sacrificed and slaughtered a pig on the altar. And the house again was ruined.

It was desolate. In fact, God called it Ichabod, the glory of the Lord has departed. It departed from the Solomon's temple. It departed again under the second temple under Zerubbabel.

And by the time you come to Luke chapter 13, you have the Herodian temple. And God says, your house is left to you desolate.

It's left in ruins because it's no longer my father's house. It is your house. In fact, you can define the history of Israel by looking at the temples and the destruction of those temples throughout their history to understand that they refused to listen to the voice of God. They refused to obey the commands of God. They just kind of did their own thing. And God says, this is what happens to those who do their own thing.

I abandoned them. The glory of the Lord departs. The beauty of God is gone. And so when the Lord says, your house is left to you desolate in ruins, it's like a prophecy. It's going to be destroyed. In fact, over in Luke 21, this is what it says in Luke 21, verse number 20. But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then recognize that her desolation is at hand. That's a prophecy concerning what took place in 70 AD, that that would be the desecration of the temple and the destruction of the temple on the Temple Mount by the Roman governor Titus when he came into Israel and plundered that city.

And that would be the destruction of the third temple. And they're going to build another temple. It's called the fourth temple. All the garments are prepared. All the furnishings are done. They are ready to go. As we speak at this very moment with the rebuilding of the new temple, when the anti-Messiah comes, they think they're going to build it for Messiah, but they're going to build it for the anti-Messiah. It will be the fourth temple, but you will note that that fourth temple will experience what is called the abomination of desolation when the anti-Christ sets himself up as God to be worshiped as God.

And that fourth temple will be destroyed so that the fifth temple will be built by the Messiah. According to Zechariah chapter six, verses 12 and 13, the branch, the Messiah, the Lord, our righteousness will build his temple. It will be the most beautiful of all temples. He will build it himself because it will be his house. All that to say is that our Lord comes in Luke 13 and says, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. Oh, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent her. Oh, I wanted to gather you together as a hen gathers her brood, but you would not come.

You simply would not come. And what you have here is the pathos of God, the great compassion of God. This is the heart of God. That's why we have three points in your outline, his pathos, his punishment, and his promise. Because it tells us about the heart of almighty God. It tells us about his relentless pursuit of his people in spite of their rebellion, in spite of their unbelief. He, he, he pursues them with a passion because in the depths of his heart, he is a God of great compassion, great mercy, great love, great pathos.

That's who he is. He comes after them once again that they might understand truly his heart. Listen, God is never, never indifferent to those who perish. Let me help you understand the heart of God this morning because sometimes I think we, we, we miss him.

He comes and he, he acts this, this abandonment on his people. And it's been some 2000 years through this whole process. And, and like I said last week, when you're, when you're in the wrath of abandonment, you don't know it. You don't know it. That's what makes it so devastating. You think you're still in favor with God, but he's abandoned you. He's, he's left you to your own devices. He's left you alone. And you don't want to ever be in that place to be left alone by God because there is virtually no hope if you're left alone because you can't come to God unless he brings it to himself.

He abandoned his people. Your house is left to you in ruins. It's left desolate. It's left empty. I'm no longer there. This is your house. It's not my house. But in all that you see the great pathos of God because he's never indifferent to those who are perishing. The Bible says in the Old Testament, God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked.

He never does. He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked. The Bible says, Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets.

The phrase, the city is in italics. It's not in the original because Jerusalem is more than just a city. It's a nation of people. Jerusalem represents the whole nation itself, not just the city, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her. The nation was guilty. Remember back in Luke 11, turn back there with me, if you would, just for a moment, please. Luke 11, remember what the Lord God said? Verse 49, for this reason also the wisdom of God has said, I will send to them prophets and apostles and some of them they will kill and some they will persecute in order that the blood of all the prophets shed since the foundation of the world may be charged against this generation from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah who perished between the altar and the house of God.

Yes, I tell you it shall be charged against this generation. In other words, God says, look, this generation right now, the one I'm speaking to is going to bear the guilt of all the succeeding generations or excuse me, all the previous generations.

Why? Because this generation that I'm speaking to has an accumulation of all of Israel's wealth, spiritual wealth. This generation I'm speaking to has the whole Old Testament. They have the whole accumulation of the law and with that they have the accumulation of all the warnings that God gave throughout the history. So they know what God expects. Of any generation in Israel, the one that Jesus spoke to knew exactly what Jesus expected, what the Lord God expected. They knew what God expected because they have the entire Old Testament.

They have a history of evidence of warnings and judgment that have come upon them. Plus they had John the Baptist, the greatest man who ever lived, who came and pointed to the Messiah. Plus they had the Messiah standing right in front of them. Every prophet, every messenger came, spoke about the arrival of the Messiah. He's there. He's right there. And so this generation will bear the curse of all the previous generations because they had the most evidence. They had the most amount of spiritual wealth.

They had what others never had. They had it all. And they rejected their Messiah. They turned their back on their Messiah. And in spite of that, in spite of that, God says, Oh, I wanted to gather you together.

Oh, I so desperately wanted to bring you in, put you under my wings, protect you, give you safety, give you love, give you salvation. Oh, I wanted to gather you together, but you would not come. You would not come. He feels the pain because he suffers with those who have rejected him. That's the heart of God. We don't get that. People reject the Messiah. We don't feel pain on the inside because they rejected our Messiah, but he feels the pain. He has the compassion because he suffers with them. And one of the great truths of the Old Testament portrayed throughout all the Old Testament is the compassion of God.

He's long-suffering. He's merciful. He's compassionate. Way back when the glory of the Lord had passed before Moses, he defined himself as a compassionate, loving, merciful, forgiving God. And all throughout the Psalms, that's what they said. Oh, we thank God for his loving kindness, his compassion, and his mercy, because that's the kind of God he is. And so when our Lord came, he looks in Mark 1 upon a leper, he feels compassion for the man who is leprous. In Matthew 9, when he looks over the multitude, he sees them coming to him.

He sees them as sheep without a shepherd. They have no leadership. They have no direction. They have no godly influence in their lives. And he felt compassion for them. He felt pain for them because they were so far removed from coming to him. That's the way God is. A compassionate, loving, kind, merciful God. This is his heart. Oh, I wanted to gather you together. I wanted to protect you. Protect them from what? Think about it. As a mother hen, and this would be an image that would be very vivid to those in Israel.

And it just simply is reminded of how a mother bird gathers together her little chicks and protects them. And what is God saving them from? What is God protecting them from? What is the God of compassion saying to Israel? He is saying, I wanted to protect you from me. I wanted to save you from me. See, because the God of compassion is also the God of wrath. Remember back earlier in Luke 13, when the man asked the question, are there many being saved? Saved from what? Saved from the God of compassion, who is also the God of wrath.

See, God saves man, listen carefully, from himself, so they don't experience his wrath. I wanted to protect you from me. I wanted to save you from me. I wanted to love you so much, and yet you would not come. The imagery back in Deuteronomy 32 speaks of it this way. Verse number 9, for the Lord's portion is his people. Jacob is the allotment of his inheritance. He found him in a desert land and in the howling waste of wilderness. He encircled him. He cared for him. He guarded him as a pupil of his eye, like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young.

He spread his wings and caught them. He carried them on his pinions. He guided them. He protected them. That's what God did. That's the imagery of God in the Old Testament. He says, that's what I wanted to do for you. He's telling them, I'm God. I'm God in the flesh, and I want to save you from me. But, he says, you were unwilling to come. You didn't want my salvation. The text says, and you would not. The phrase have it is not in the original. It's in italics. Just simply, you would not. I wanted you.

You would not. I wanted to protect you. You didn't want protection. I wanted to save you. You didn't want salvation. I wanted to love you. You didn't want to love. You didn't want my love. I wanted to forgive you. You didn't want my forgiveness. You did not want it. They refused his kingdom. They refused his salvation. They refused his forgiveness. They refused his love. And this becomes a very, listen carefully, important aspect to understanding the heart of God that so many times we miss. This is what God wanted to do.

And this is what they didn't want him to do. Why? Why? Don't they want salvation? Don't they want forgiveness? Don't they want a Redeemer? Don't they want someone to love and to care and protect them? Don't they want that? No, they don't. In fact, Paul, quoting Isaiah in Romans 10 verse 21 says, but as for Israel, he says all the day long, I have stretched out my hands to a disobedient and obstinate people. God says, let me tell you what I've done.

I have stretched out my hand over and over again all day long. My hand is out for Israel all day long. It's there. And I want to protect them. I want to save them. And they are a stiff neck, obstinate people. They don't want my salvation. They don't want it. In all reality, that's the way it is with every single sinner that's ever lived. They are people who resist what God wants to give them. They are people who they do not want it. This text tells us, listen carefully, that every human being is 100% responsible to God.

Every human being is responsible to God. The Bible never teaches fatalism. The Bible never teaches absolute determinism. The Bible never teaches double predestination. The Bible teaches election. It does teach predestination. It does teach calling. It does teach choosing, okay? But it never teaches absolute determinism or fatalism. If you go to hell, it's all on you. You would not come. You won't be there because you would not come. And that's what the Bible teaches. This becomes so crucial because we have a hard time wrapping our hands around how it is God saves some and not others, right?

How some are, quote, elected, some are predetermined to salvation, and others are not. And you can never ever say and say it truthfully that God chooses some to go to heaven and chooses others to go to hell. That is a theological error so gross and so misconstrued. It does not represent the truth of scripture of the heart of God. Let me explain it to you this way so you understand it.

In Luke chapter 14, or John 5, I'm sorry, John chapter 5, verse number 40, let me start there. Listen to what it says. Verse 39, you search the scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life, and it is these that bear witness of me, and you are unwilling to come to me that you may have what? Life. Why does an unbeliever die in his unbelief? For one reason and one reason only according to what the Bible says.

You will not come to me that you might have life. You are unwilling to come. You don't want to be there. That's why in 2 Thessalonians chapter 1, verse 68, that when the Lord God returns, he pours out his retribution on people, number one, who do not know God, and number two, who will not obey the gospel of God.

See that? It's all on them. They will not obey God, and they will not obey the gospel of God. People perish simply because they will not come. That's why the Bible says, whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

They will not call. They don't want to call, and so that's very important for us to understand, because this is the heart of God being explained to us as to why Israel was left to their own devices. Why? Because they will not come. Luke 14, we'll be there in a couple of weeks. Turn there with me if you would please. Luke 14, verse 16, a certain man was given a big dinner, and he invited many, and at the dinner hour he sent his slave to say to those who had been invited, this is all about Israel and their previous invitation, they had all been invited to the great feast, but they all alike began to make excuses.

The first one said to him, I have bought a piece of land. I need to go out and look at it. Please consider me excused. Another one said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I am going to try them out. Please consider me excused. Another one said, I have married a wife, and for that reason I cannot come. Figure that, I don't get that one, but I guess because when you get married, you know, your wife's involved in the decision-making process, and she didn't want to go, so you're not going either. And then it says, and the slave came back and reported this to his master.

Then the head of the household became angry and said to the slave, go out at once to the streets and lanes of the city and bring in here the poor and crippled and blind and lame. And the slave said, master, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room. And the master said to the slave, go out into the highways along the hedges and compel them to come in that my house may be filled. For I tell you, none of those men who were invited shall taste of my dinner. Israel was invited. They were the pre-invited guests to the great wedding feast, according to Matthew 22, made all kinds of excuses, excuses that we think don't matter much, but to them they did.

You go into the highways and the hedges, compel them to come in, that's the church. That's how we receive the gospel. Israel rejected that gospel. We received that gospel. And so people come because they want to come. Listen, God has never saved anybody apart from human will. Never has, never will. It doesn't mean that my human will overrides God's sovereignty. But the fact of the matter is that God never saved anybody without the act of the human will. Now I don't, I don't understand that. I can't reconcile that.

The Bible does say to as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God who were born not of the will of the flesh nor the will of man, but by the will of God. Now I don't, I can't reconcile that in my mind, but guess what? I don't have to. I don't have to reconcile that. It's not up to me to determine who's saved and who's not saved. God's got it reconciled. God's done all that stuff. He's in charge. Salvation is, is, is, is his business. My job is just to present the gospel to people, but remember you can't let the sovereignty of God's elective process destroy the perception of a compassionate God who weeps over people who will not come.

Why weep over people who will not come unless they had the opportunity to come, right? The tears would be meaningless. They'd be ridiculous. It'd be stupid for the Lord God of the universe to weep over those who will not come unless, unless they weren't willing to respond to what he offered, which makes his tears genuine, truthful, not hypocritical. He's not there saying, well, didn't choose you, can't come. Sorry. Bye. You're burning forever. No, that's not what, that's not the way it was. Because when man doesn't come, it's because he's unwilling.

When man does come, it's because God granted him the faith to believe. The election process of God are, are beyond any human comprehension. Once you begin to try to wrap your hands around it, you're going to be frustrated. You're going to be confused. You can't. All you gotta do is believe what the Bible says.

That's it. Just believe what the Bible says and you're okay. And these people weren't willing to come. Remember what Stephen said in Acts chapter seven, Acts chapter seven, Stephen said this verse 51, you men who are stiff necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit. You are doing just as your fathers did. You are resisting the Holy Spirit. You will not come. You are unwilling to repent. You don't want what he offers. This is not what you want. You resist the Holy Spirit of God.

You don't want salvation at all. In fact, in Luke 1944, it says, we will not have this man, the Messiah rule over us. We won't have it. We just won't have it. That's why Jesus says in Matthew 11, come unto me, all you that labor and I'll give you rest.

So the prophet in Isaiah device says, hold to everyone who thirsts. Come, come. That's what revelation 22, the spirit, the bride say, come, come, come. It's the invitation that's offered to all men for God who died for all men. They might experience a salvation that he himself offers. Men are compelled to come yet they don't. So the question comes, why don't they come? Why don't they respond? And you can ask a hundred different people and get a hundred different answers. But let me tell you what Jesus says, because that really is the only answer.

Why is it people don't come when called? John three, verse number 19. And this is the judgment. The light has come into the world and men love the darkness rather than the light for their deeds were evil. Why doesn't man respond? He loves darkness. He loves the sin. He does not love the light. Verse 20 for everyone who does evil hates the light. He hates the light. He hates the son of man. It says, and does not come to the light lest his deeds should be exposed. He doesn't want his sin exposed. Let me say it to you this way.

Book of Acts terrifies it a little bit better for us. Book of Acts, third chapter. Peter's preaching the second sermon.

He says in verse 14, would you disown the Holy and Righteous One and ask for a murder to be granted to you and put him to death, the Prince of life, the one whom God raised from the dead, a fact to which we are witnesses. Verse 19, repent therefore and return that your sins may be wiped away in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord. Now is your chance. Repent, return, come back. And this is what it says in verse number 26. For you first, God raised up his servant and sent him to bless you.

Listen carefully. By turning every one of you from your wicked ways. God wants to bless you. How does God want to bless you? He wants to turn you from all of your wicked ways. Man doesn't come because he doesn't want to be turned from his wicked ways. He loves his sin too much. He doesn't want to deny himself, take up his cross and follow Christ. Doesn't want to do that. He loves his sin. He loves darkness rather than light. He doesn't want his sin exposed. And Peter says, here's the blessing. This is what you got.

This is what you get. You get the Messiah, the servant. And he came to turn you from your wicked ways. So you read chapter 4, what happens? The people are irate. They want to throw them into prison. They cannot speak those words any longer. See that? That's why the tears of God begin to fall. Oh Jerusalem, Jerusalem. The city that kills a prophet. Stones those sent to her. Oh how I wanted to gather you together. Oh I wanted to bring you in. I wanted to protect you. I wanted to love you. I wanted to forgive you.

I wanted to save you. You wouldn't have it. You just wouldn't have it. And the tears of God begin to flow because, because he came to save man from his sin. And man loves his sin so much that he will not turn and follow a Savior who will forgive him of his sin. That's the biblical answer. See well maybe I didn't present the gospel strong enough or maybe I didn't say it right. No, no, no, that's not it. That's not it. No. Here's the reason. People don't get saved. They love their sin. They want their sin.

They're going to hang on to their sin. They hate the light. It exposes their sin. They want to continue to hide their sin. They want to camouflage their sin. They don't want it exposed. They don't want to turn from their wicked ways. They want to remain in their wicked ways. But if they do, they will perish forever. And that's why our Lord, His compassion is so incredibly great. The sinner is responsible for coming to Christ. He is. And when he stands before the great white throne of judgment, he will stand there 100% responsible for not coming to Christ.

If you come to Christ, it's only because He draws you. He chooses you. He decides to save you. And that's all on Him. But if you don't come, it's all on you. That's what the Bible teaches. You can't get around that. You can't say it any other way than that, because that's what the Scriptures say. That's why Simeon said in Luke chapter 2, to Mary, when he held the baby in his arms, because this child, some will rise, but many will fall, simply because he becomes the sword that divides and separates.

That's the pathos of God. Which leads us to the punishment of God. And this all comes together, and we'll see it more next week. But this is His punishment. He says, you would not come. Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I'm done. I've done everything. I've given you everything. We saw it last week in Romans 3 and Romans 9. I've given you everything. You would not come. I'm out. Your house, Ichabod, the glory of the Lord, departs. It's no longer my house. It's your house. It's left to you desolate.

This punishment is a prophecy that would happen in 70 AD, under the Roman governor Titus, when he came in and plundered the city and killed 1.1 million Jews. It was a horrible, horrible, horrible thing. Josephus says that you couldn't even recognize anybody who ever lived there. It was so devastated. They plundered the city, killed women, killed children. It was a devastating thing, but just simply because they would not listen to the words of their Messiah, they would not. There's an illustration of this way back in the book of Isaiah, 5th chapter, helping you understand a little bit more about how God operates.

Isaiah 5, verse number 1. Let me sing now for my well beloved a song of my beloved concerning his vineyard.

My well beloved had a vineyard on a fertile hill. He dug it all around, removed its stones, and planted it with the choicest vine. And he built a tower in the middle of it and hewed out a wine vat in it. Then he expected it to produce good grapes, but it produced only worthless grapes. God the Father is speaking to his Son, the well beloved, helping Israel to understand all that God did for them. He made it a perfect environment, perfect conditions for them to grow and to flourish. And they didn't.

Instead of producing good grapes, they produced bad berries. Instead of flourishing for God, they went against God. He did everything possible for them. He dug around the tree, he planted the vineyard, he made it just perfect to protect it from the environment. He did everything possible for his people. And they did not produce good grapes, but worthless ones. Verse 3, And now what happens to Jerusalem and men of Judah? Judged between me and my vineyard, what more was there to do for my vineyard that I have not done in it?

Is there anything else I could have done? Anything else? No. Not at all. Why then I expected it to produce good grapes, did it produce worthless ones? If I did everything I could do so that you could produce good grapes, why is it you produced worthless grapes? Let me tell you what I am going to do to my vineyard.

I will remove its hedge. It will be consumed. I will break down its wall. It will become trampled ground. And I will lay it waste. It will not be pruned or hoed. The briars and thorns will come up. Destruction. I will also charge the clouds to rain no rain on it. For the vineyard of the Lord, of the host, is the house of Israel and the men of Judah his delightful plant. Thus he looked for justice, but behold bloodshed. For righteousness, but behold the cry of distress. The prophet Isaiah would explain to the nation what God was going to do.

He was going to destroy their temple, destroy their land. He did. The Babylonians would come in. We know that from later on. It says, excuse me, verse 24. Therefore as the tongue of fire consumes stubble and dry grass collapses into the flame, so their root will become like rot and their blossom blow away as dust. Why? For they have rejected the law of the Lord of hosts and despised the word of the Holy One of Israel. Same thing. It's always about the word of the Lord. It's always about whether or not you listen or you despise his word.

It all comes down to one simple thing. I will not listen to what God says. I will not. And your refusal to listen is a demonstration of a stiff neck and a hard heart. That was Israel. You despised the word of the Lord. You hated it. On this account, the anger of the Lord has burned against his people and he stretched out his hand against them and struck them down. Excuse me. Israel knows this history. They know this in Luke 13. They knew what took place in Israel under the Babylonian captivity. They knew what took place when the Greeks came in under Antiochus Epiphanes and the temple was destroyed again.

They knew that. They had the history of their own refusal to believe. And the Messiah comes. He offers himself and they refuse once again to listen to his words. You go back to Deuteronomy 26 and 27. God says, cursed if you do this, cursed you will be if you do this, cursed you will be if you do this, but blessed you will be if you do this.

They chose cursing instead of blessing. That's what they chose. And because they chose cursing instead of blessing, they are cursed to this day. Until there is a promise, a promise that God gives in these verses about the future of Israel, a beautiful promise about their salvation. But in the meantime, today, there are Jews who get saved, but the nation itself has been cursed by God simply because they would not listen to his voice. They despised his word. They rejected what he said and would not believe.

They would not come when called because they love their sin. They love their idolatry, their immorality. They love their unbelief, their wicked ways. They love their sinful attitudes. They loved that more than they loved being turned from their wicked ways. What's the Lord God say? Be not deceived. God is not mocked. Whatsoever man sows, that shall he also reap. They sowed cursings and they reap cursings. If they sowed blessing, they would have reaped blessings, but they did not. And they chose to go another direction.

The word for us today is to realize that God has called each and every one of you. I trust that you've responded to his word. If you haven't, there's only one reason you haven't responded. Just one. You love darkness rather than light. You love your sin more than you love a Savior who will save you from that sin. And I beg of you today that today is your day of your salvation. You need to give your life to Christ today so that you don't experience his abandoning of your life so you're left to ruins.

Let me pray with you. Father, thank you for today and the opportunity we have to study your word. Thank you for the history of Israel. The lessons that you give us are overwhelming. You've taught us much about this nation, what they did and did not do, that we might learn from all their sin and all their cursings. That we might experience the blessing of God. I pray, Father, that none here today would leave unwilling to come to you. That Lord, through your spirit, you would draw them to yourself.

They might experience the blessing of Almighty God. Truly, Lord, you are a great God and worthy to be praised for your wonderful saving work in our lives. And there is a promise given to Israel that one day they will say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. What a great future for them. What a horrendous present for them today. But we ask that you would do a mighty work in our lives that we might proclaim the gospel of truth so more people will come to saving faith. We ask in Jesus' name.

Amen.