Christ's Compassion for the Condemned, Part 4

Let's pray together. Father, we thank you, Lord, for today and the opportunity you give us to study your word. Truly, Lord, we are a blessed people. We are blessed because we are a part of the kingdom of God that in itself is quite phenomenal. And yet, Lord, we are called children of God. We are called saints in scripture. And we thank you for what you have done by clothing us with your righteousness and allowing us to be a part of your great and glorious kingdom. Today, Lord, as we learn more about you, may our hearts be touched by the greatness of your character.

We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Luke chapter 13 is where we're at. Luke 13 verses 34 and 35. Yes, the same two verses. We've been in the last three weeks. But today we will finish them. And next week we'll go on to Luke chapter 14. And by the year 2028, we will be through the study of Luke. No, that's not true. It'll be before that. I promise. But anyway, two verses I want to set in your mind once again. And today will be the last time we'll talk about them. But you'll understand why we have spent so much time on them once we get into our lesson this morning.

Luke chapter 13, verse number 34 reads, 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. Two verses that explain to us the character and nature of God. All the Bible explains to us who God is and what he does.

But sometimes it's important for us to camp out on a verse or two to understand more about who he is and how he operates in life. Because how he operates with Israel is how he operates with us. Because Israel becomes an example, a model of his faithfulness, his love, his sovereignty, and how it is he deals with those who he calls his own. And so when we look at this, we're able to understand the character and nature of God.

We realize that when we look at Luke 13, 34, and 35, it specifies for us the identity of the Messiah, his compassion.

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. There's great pathos there. There's great compassion that's there. The patience that he demonstrates with Israel is beyond comprehension. And so we understand the identity of Christ by looking at his compassion, his patience, his mercy, his love, his grace, all summed up in what the compassionate character of God is as he demonstrates it to Israel. Oh, how often I wanted to gather you together, but you wouldn't come. You were unwilling to come and be a part of all that I have to offer you.

That tells us a lot about our God. It specifies to us his identity. It ends up magnifying his authority as well because everything is about how he is in charge of everything. It's how he is able to depict for us all that Israel has done and where they will end up being. That is, there's going to come a time where they will be saved. There's a promise that's given. There's a prophecy that's given. There's a punishment that's outlined. That's where they are today. This is where Israel is today. They're in desolation.

God has abandoned them. Ichabod has been written across the country, the state, the nation itself. The glory of the Lord has departed from them, and they don't even know it, which makes it all that much worse. But that's the truth, and that's where they are until they say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. And all this ultimately will amplify the glory of God for it's all about how God operates and everything that God does is for his glory. That's why we talked to you about it on Wednesday night about why the spirit of the Lord would send an evil spirit to terrorize Saul.

It's all about God's glory. It's all about what he gets from it. It's all about how he's put on display, and that's what the whole world's about. It's all about God, his glory, and how it is his purpose is designed to fulfill his ultimate honor. And so we begin to see more about our God by looking at two verses, two very simple verses in Luke chapter 13 that tell us about Christ, that tell us about the past of Israel. It's two verses that truly amplify the story of Israel. And of course, history is God's story anyway, right?

It's his story. And this is the story he's written about Israel, their past, their present, and their future. Their past is the city that's known for killing the prophets and stoning those sent to her. That's what they have done. That's why earlier in the text, Christ says, I got to go to Jerusalem because that's where all the prophets die.

They all are killed in Jerusalem. Why? Because that's where the leadership is. That's where the temple is. That's where the word goes forth. So all prophets go to Jerusalem to preach and to teach, and I must die in Jerusalem. The Lord knows that. He's sovereign. He's in charge. And so this is their past. This is what they're known for. Israel is known for how they kill the prophets and stone those sent to her. They don't want to be known for that today, but that's exactly how Jesus tells them what they're known for.

And then because that's their behavior, he says, I wanted to gather you together. You wouldn't come. And because you wouldn't come, your house now is left in ruins. I'm gone. I've abandoned you to your own devices. I've left you to be punished by your own desires, your own sin. But there's a future. There's a future. And that future simply is, there's going to come a day where you will say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. There's a promise given to Israel, a promise that's important for us to understand.

As we gather together to study the word of the Lord, we come to grips with what it is God has done and what God is going to do. Because when you look at Israel, you have to ask many questions.

Why are they the way they are? Has God abandoned them forever? Will he bring them back in? Will he ultimately save them? Because every Jew understands Abrahamic promise. Every Jew understands Davidic promise. That's all Old Testament stuff. They understand there's a land that's theirs. And what they have today is just a very sliver of the land that really encompasses from the great river Euphrates to the great river of Egypt. So it's a lot more than just what they have today. It encompasses the Arab nations, which if you tell them that, they won't be very happy with.

But that's really the truth based on Genesis 15 and the borders for the land of Israel. They have a land and they are promised to live in peace in that land. They are not yet in that peace. That's why we pray for the peace of Jerusalem. Because when we do that, we are praying for the arrival of the Prince of Peace who brings that peace to Jerusalem. They understand Davidic promise. They understand that they have a king that's going to come and sit on the throne of David and rule on Mount Zion from the city of Jerusalem.

They understand that. They believe that. In fact, if you go back to 2 Samuel 7, you understand that David really truly was the first pre-millennialist in the scriptures.

He understood that there was a kingdom that would come forever and last forever. If you go back to Deuteronomy chapter 7, listen to what the Lord God says.

Deuteronomy chapter 7 verse number 6, Moses says to Israel as he explains to them what God has done, he says, for you are a holy people, verse 6 of Deuteronomy 7, to the Lord your God, the Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his own possession out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth. Listen, sovereign election is not a New Testament terminology. God has always been in the sovereign election. He chose Israel. He didn't choose anybody else. Now you might get upset with that, but that's what God chose.

God can do whatever he wants. He's God. He chose Israel more so than all the other nations of the world. This is who he chose to be his people. It says in verse 7, for the Lord did not set his love on you nor choose you because you were more in number than any of the people. For you were the fewest of all the peoples, but because the Lord loved you and kept the oath, which he swore to your forefathers, the Lord brought you out by a mighty hand and redeemed you from the house of slavery from the hand of Pharaoh, king of Egypt.

Know therefore that the Lord, your God, he is God, the faithful God who keeps his covenant and his loving kindness to a thousandth generation with those who love him and keep his commandments. God is faithful. Luke 13, 34 and 35 talk to us about the faithfulness of God. Will what Christ says happen in verse 35?

Will there be a time where Israel says, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord? If not, then God can't be trusted, but we believe he can be trusted because his word is true. He says back in Deuteronomy 7, I chose you because I wanted to love you. Not because you were a great number, not because of anything you did. I made a commitment to your forefathers. I made a commitment to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I made a commitment and I'm true to my word. If you turn over Deuteronomy chapter nine, the Lord says in verse number four, do not say in your heart, when the Lord, your God has driven them out before you, this is when they go into the promised land because of my righteousness, the Lord has brought me to the promise or to possess this land.

But it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord is dispossessing them before you. It is not for your righteousness or for the uprightness of your heart that you're going to possess their land. But it is because of the wickedness of these nations that the Lord, your God is driving them out before you in order to confirm the oath, which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. No, then it is not because of your righteousness that the Lord, your God has given you this good land to possess for you are a stubborn people.

The Lord God says, listen, you didn't do anything to possess this. You didn't do anything to earn this. For truly you are a stubborn people. You are a rebellious people. You reject the word of the Lord. This is not about you. See, this is about me and the commitment that I have made. See, one of the biggest obstacles we have to overcome in life is that everything in life is about God and not about us. We have a hard time overcoming that. And yet Israel, they too have a hard time overcoming that. And God says, this is not about you.

It's about me. It's about a commitment I made to your fathers. It's about my word. It's about my integrity. It's about my credibility. It's about my believability. It's about my dependability. Either you can trust me, you can depend on me because I'm credible or you can't. But I chose you because I chose to love you. That's what God chose to do. This becomes a great lesson for our marriages because, you know, God loved Israel in spite of their rebellion. He loved them in spite of their rejection.

He loved them in spite of their stubbornness. And as fathers, we have a responsibility. Let's give a Valentine Day message here real quick, okay? Because what is love? It's not wrapped up in a box of chocolates. It's not wrapped up in the gift you give your wife or your husband on Valentine's Day. It's a commitment that says, I choose to love you from this day forward. I made a commitment way back when we stood at the altar. I made a vow. My integrity is on the line. My credibility is on the line.

My dependability is on the line. My believability is on the line. Because if I ever go back and say, you know what? I'm done with you. I lost all integrity. I've lost all dependability. I've lost all credibility. And you can't believe a word I say from this day forward if I say it's over with you. Now, we don't want to say that out loud because people get offended by that. But that's the truth. I mean, either your word can be trusted or it can't, right? Either you're a man of your word or you're not.

You make a vow before God. Yes, before people that are in your wedding. Yes, before your wife. But your vow is before God. And everything about your integrity and your believability and your dependability and your credibility rests on the fact of your commitment to stay with your wife forever till you die. Everything rests on that. And your illustration for that, your example for that is the Lord Jesus. It's not your pastor. It's not your elders. It's not your neighbor. It's not your friends. It's not your parents.

It's not your aunt or your uncle. It's the Lord Jesus Christ. Because we're to love as Christ loved the church. We're to love as Christ himself loves. That's the example. That's the standard. Don't set up another couple or another pastor or another elder or another friend as an example of the standard. They're not the standard. Don't lower the standard by using another couple as an example. Jesus is the standard. Set the bar as high as it can possibly get. Don't lower the bar to make yourself feel better.

Keep the bar as high as it is. It's as high as the heavens. Jesus is a standard. There is no other standard. He's a standard for how you live your life. He's a standard that governs your commitment in marriage. He's a standard that governs your commitment to one another. He's a standard for what it means to live a holy life. He's the standard. Don't try to lower the standard. So Jesus becomes that example. That's your Valentine's Day message for this week. Okay. Love your wife because you choose to love her.

Love your wife. Stay with her no matter how stubborn she is or how rebellious she is. Because that's what God did with Israel. That's what God did with the church. That's what God does with his people. He loves them to the end. Remember John 13 verse number one?

He loved his disciples completely to the end. And that includes Judas, the betrayer of the Lord Jesus. We need to reevaluate our love standard, our love commitment in the church and in the world to make sure we're living to the proper standard that we can follow what Christ has said before. You say, Pastor, that's impossible. You're right. It is. It is. Jesus said without me, you can do what? You got it. Nothing. You can't do it. That's why you need the Lord. You can't do it by yourself. You can't even begin to step out and do what God asked you to do because you can't do it without him.

It's all about Jesus Christ empowering you to accomplish his plan, his desire for your life. Oh, well, back to Deuteronomy chapter nine. He says in verse seven, you have been rebellious against the Lord. He says in verse number 23, and when the Lord sent you from saying, go up and possess the land which I have given you, then you rebelled against him, the command of the Lord your God. You neither believed him nor listened to his voice. Let me say it to you one more time.

I said to you three times on Wednesday night, last three weeks, three times the last three Sunday mornings. And today it's all about learning to listen to what God says.

It's all about listening. Just go throughout the scriptures. People fail because they refuse to listen.

They refuse to listen. It's not that they don't understand. They understand. Oh, believe me, they understand. It's not about understanding. It's not about comprehending. It's about listening and obeying. That's all it is. Listening and obeying. You come, Ecclesiastes five, to the house of God to listen to the voice of God. That's why you're here. You come to listen.

She might receive the marching orders from the king of kings. And the Lord God says you just didn't listen.

That's your problem. And we've seen it over and over again throughout the Old Testament. You just don't listen.

You're stubborn. You're rebellious. You reject what I say. You refuse to listen to what I have told you. Then they repent. He restores them. Then they rebel again. He comes back and says, you didn't listen.

They repent. He restores them. They rebel again. He says, you didn't listen because if you truly listened, you would have obeyed me. You would have kept my commandments. You go all the way back to Deuteronomy 26 and 27. If you listen, blessing. If you don't, cursing. How many people in the church today, even in our church, are experiencing the cursings of God because they refuse to listen to what his word says? That's just so true. You experience God's cursing upon your life because you refuse to listen to what he says.

He says, listen, if you obey me, if you hear my voice and you obey what I say, I will bless you beyond what you can ever imagine. But if at any time you refuse to listen to me and disobey me, reject my word, you will experience the consequences in such a negative way. It'll be the heavy hand of God upon your life. How many people do you know in the church today that are so miserable, so unhappy, so dissatisfied with God and the church and their relationship with him? It's because God's hand is heavy upon them.

They haven't listened. They haven't obeyed. They're stubborn, stiff necked, just like Israel. And God says, there's no blessing for you.

I can't bless you if you're going to rebel against my word. I'm not going to do that. And so it's called, it's called for all of us to stand and listen to what God says.

He says in verse 27, remember thy servants, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. This look at their stubbornness of this people or at their wickedness of their sin.

Otherwise the land may from which they now just bring us may say, because the Lord was not able to bring them up into the land, which he had promised them. And because he had hated them, he has brought them out to slay them in the wilderness. Yet they are thy people, even thine inheritance, who now has brought out by thy great power and thine outstretched arm. Moses prayed, he said, Lord, listen, the nations of the world will mock us. They'll mock us if you destroy this people. Because the Lord is powerful enough to bring them out of Egypt, but he couldn't bring them into the place he promised them.

God's integrity is on the line. See, that's why there's a promise for Israel because God promised them a land. God promised them a king. God promised them a kingdom. God promised them peace. God promised that they would be the praise of the world. God promised that to Israel. The question is, will it happen? There's a number of evangelical churches today that don't believe it will ever happen. They're called people who believe in what is called replacement theology, that the church somehow has replaced Israel, that all the cursings to Israel were true and they received them, but they won't receive the blessings.

The church now has replaced Israel and they get all the blessings. But there's a major problem with that. Simply this, the Bible never says that. And if the Bible never says that, there's a problem with that theology. In fact, the Bible says the complete opposite of that.

And I want to show that to you this morning, because it all adds to what Christ said in Luke 13, 34 and 35. I wanted to gather you together. You weren't willing. So I've abandoned you. You're on your own. Until. Not unless, but until. Until what? Until you see me. Not with a physical eye, but with a spiritual eye. Remember Simeon Luke 2? He said, I have seen the salvation of the Lord. You don't see salvation with a physical eye. You see it with a spiritual eye. He held in his arms the Messiah who was the Redeemer of Israel, the deliverer of Israel.

I've seen the salvation of Israel, the world. I've seen the salvation of it because he held it in his arms. And Israel, there are many Jews today who have seen the salvation of Israel. They have seen salvation because they have come to the saving grace of Christ because they have said in their hearts, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. They recognize Jesus Christ as the Messiah. That's important, right? You need to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. If you don't recognize him as the Messiah of Israel, you can't be saved.

John 20, 30 and 31, tell us very clearly that these things are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that believing in him, you might have life through his name. It all comes to believing that Jesus Christ is the Messiah of Israel. You don't believe that you can't be saved. And there are Jews today who have experienced individual salvation, but Jesus is talking about national salvation. He's talking about the nation being saved as a group within that nation. Each individual makes that profession, but the nation itself is saved.

That hasn't happened yet. Individuals have been saved from that nation because they recognize Jesus Christ as their Messiah and given their life to him. But until they come to a place where they say that Jesus Christ is the coming one, this is important. Remember back in Luke seven, back in Luke seven, John the Baptist asked the question, are you the expected one or are you the coming one? He's in prison. You remember that here he is in prison. He is the forerunner to the Messiah. He's been preaching about Jesus Christ being the Messiah.

He is pointed to the Messiah. Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, right? He is the one who told people that without him, that is the Messiah, the lamb of God, there is no salvation. And now he's in prison. And so he sends some of his disciples to ask Jesus if he's the expected one. In the Greek it's called the Erechomai, the coming one. It's a fulfillment of Psalm one, 1826 and Psalm 40 verse number one.

It's a title for the Messiah, the coming one, the expected one. We sing that song, come thou long expected Jesus, right? It's, it's from Psalm one, 1826. Blessed is the coming one who comes in the name of the Lord. And that's what John the Baptist said over and over again. This is the coming one. He is here. The one who is coming has come. He's here. And that's why he was called the greatest man who ever lived, because he was the prophet of all prophets who had the opportunity to point actually to the Messiah and say, that's the guy.

Everybody else said he's coming. John says he's here. That's the guy. So he was the greatest of all prophets. And so Jesus is that coming one. Jesus would say in Luke 13, 34, 35, that he is the coming one. The crowds would say it on that triumphal entry. Luke 19, turn with me and your Bible to Luke 19.

Verse 37. And as he was now approaching near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with the loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen. Now, what's the problem with that verse? Not that the verse has a problem, but now you know the problem of Israel. They gave praise to God for all the miracles that they saw, but never for the message they heard. See the problem there? I mean, he was a miracle worker and they knew about his miracles.

They never denied his miracles and they praised him because of his power. And I know that Israel, the leaders, they said that that power was demonic. That's how the religious leaders got around the fact that Jesus was able to cause the blind to see and raise the dead. They had to say it was demonic because if not, that means it's from God. That means he's of God. And they could not admit that. So they said he was of Satan and they began praising him on this triumphal entry as he began to descend the Mount of Olives.

And they said these words, blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord. To go back to Psalm 118, this is the expected one, the coming one. So even the multitudes began to proclaim that, that Jesus is that coming one. And then it says in verse number 41, and when he approached, he saw the city and wept over it. Why did he weep? If you had known in this day, even you, and when we get to Luke 19, we're going to tell you that this is the exact day that was prophesied in Daniel 9 about the arrival of Messiah.

This was the exact day. You didn't miss the day. You think you know your Old Testament? You missed the day. This is the day. In this day, even you, the things which make for peace, but now they've been hidden from your eyes. I've abandoned you. You're not going to see salvation. They're now hidden from your eyes. That's why he wept over the city. The compassion of God, the identity of Christ, our Messiah is one who loves and adores his creation. And he wept over the city because he came to give himself for them.

And it says, for the day shall come upon you when your enemies will throw up a bank before you and surround you and hymn you in on every side. That's about the prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and will level you to the ground and your children within you. And they will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not recognize the time or the day of your visitation. This was the day. And if you knew Daniel 9 and the prophecy of Daniel, you would have known that your Messiah, the coming one, the expected one would have arrived on this very day, 173,880 days later.

Say, how do you know that? Well, when you get to Luke 19, we'll explain that to you. This is the day. This is the day. They missed it. And they missed the one they expected. He's the expected one. And you see, you have to understand this because every Jew has a longing in his heart for the arrival of the Messiah. And they missed him when he came. He's already been here. How do we know that? The Bible tells us that. Remember back in the book of Malachi? The book of Malachi, the Old Testament ends, what?

The Old Testament ends with Israel expecting their Messiah. Malachi 3, verse number one, behold, I am going to send my messenger, that's John the Baptist, and he will clear the way before me, and the Lord whom you seek will suddenly come to his temple, will suddenly come.

And he did. He suddenly came to his temple. He suddenly came at his dedication, when Simeon held him in his arms and saw the salvation of the Lord. He suddenly came when he was 12 years old, at his declaration, when he declared that he must be about his father's business. And he suddenly came and John took the two, at his denunciation, when he turned over the, the, the money changers tables and, and ran those people out of the temple saying, why do you make my father's house a den of thieves? Oh, he suddenly came.

He suddenly came at his dedication, his declaration, and his denunciation, because there was a messenger came and paved the way for him to be there. That was John the Baptist. And the messenger of the covenant, that's the Messiah, because he is the one who delivers the covenant, fulfillment of Abrahamic covenant, Davidic covenant, and new covenant. Behold, he is coming, says the Lord. This is the one in whom you delight. The coming one is the one in whom you delight. Why do they delight in him? Haggai chapter two, because he is the desire of the nations.

That's why he is the desire of the nations. He is that long awaited desire. You see that there's nothing else that fulfills the desire of a heart, but Jesus, there's nothing else that gives delight to the soul, but Jesus, nothing else does. Oh, there are things you can buy in places you can go that give you a semblance of, of, of joy in your heart, but it's all superficial. It's Jesus who is the desire of the nations. It's Jesus who is the delight of the soul. And this is the one that Israel waited for.

And when he arrived, they missed him. They missed him. And yet the whole thing about their missing him provided for them their salvation. The sovereignty of God and the plan of God is, is so unbelievable. And yet they're missing them is inexplicable. How did he miss him with all the evidence? And things are now we're hidden from their eyes. But the old Testament was, was waiting for the Messiah. And there's always been a remnant of people who waited at the Christmas season. We always talk about the same remnant, right?

Zacharias, Elizabeth, Mary, Joseph, uh, Simeon, Anna, the Magi, and the shepherds. That's the remnant that were understanding Malachi chapter three and, and, and beholding this one who was the delight of the nations. That was the desire of the nations that they were looking for the Messiah. And the Lord opened their eyes and they saw him. They saw the salvation of the Lord, but there's a promise, a promise that Jesus has said, I've abandoned you until a precise moment in time when you will say, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.

Remember back in the book of Ezekiel, Ezekiel chapter 20, turn there with me, if you would, please. Verse number 33, it's a promise about Israel being restored back to their land. As I live, declares the Lord God, surely with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out, I shall be King over you. And I shall bring you out from the peoples and gather you from the lands where you are scattered with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm and with wrath poured out. And I shall bring you into the wilderness of the peoples.

And there, I shall enter into judgment with you face to face, as I entered into judgment with your fathers in the wilderness of the land of Egypt. So I will enter into judgment with you, declares the Lord God. And I shall make you pass under the rod and I shall bring you into the bond of the covenant. And I shall purge you or purge from you, the rebels and those who transgress against me. I shall bring them out of the land where they sojourn, but they will not enter the land of Israel. Thus you will know that I am the Lord.

As for you, O house of Israel, thus says the Lord God, go serve everyone his idols. But later you will surely listen to me and my holy name, you will profane no longer with your gifts and with your idols. For on my holy mountain, on the high mountain of Israel, declares the Lord God, there the whole house of Israel, all of them will serve me in the land. There I shall accept them. And there I shall seek your contributions and the choices of your gifts with all your holy things. Verse 42. And you will know that I am the Lord when I bring you into the land of Israel, into the land, which I swore to give to your forefathers.

And there you will remember your ways and all your deeds with which you have defiled yourselves. And you will loathe yourselves in your own sight for all the evil things that you have done. Then you will know that I am the Lord when I have dealt with you for my name's sake. There it is again. It's all about the name of Christ. It's for my name's sake. I've dealt with you for my name. I've dealt with you the way I have for my glory, for my honor. And we might not agree with all the ways that God has dealt with Israel over the years, but he's not asking for your opinion.

He's not asking for your advice. He's not asking for your input. He has dealt with Israel the way he's dealt with them for a specific purpose, for his name's sake, for his glory, for his honor. And by the way, he does the exact same thing with you. And if you've got an argument about the way things are going in your life, take it up with God. It's for his name's sake. He's doing it for his glory, for his purpose, for his honor. You can blame the church. You can blame your pastor. You can blame anything you want.

But you know what? Put the blame where blame is due. Blame God, if you so dare, if you want to go down that path. Because he's in charge of everything. He's in control of everything. He's the one you have to answer to. Israel has to answer to him. But he does what he does for his name's sake, for his glory, for his purposes. It's all about him. Over in Zechariah chapter 12, I'm sorry, Zechariah chapter 8, the Lord God says this.

Then the word of the Lord of hosts came saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, I am exceedingly jealous for Zion. Yes, with great wrath I am jealous for her. Thus says the Lord, I will return to Zion and I will dwell in the midst of Jerusalem. Then Jerusalem will be called the city of truth and the mountain of the Lord of hosts will be called the holy mountain. There's coming a day, God says, I am so jealous for Zion.

Zion is a place and Zion is a people. It's both. Mount Zion is a place and the people of Israel are called Zion. And so he says, I'm jealous for my people. I'm jealous for that place. That place is going to be called the city of truth. It's the mountain of the holy one of Israel. I'm jealous for that mountain. God says, I'm going to dwell right there.

I'm going to be on that place. And then it says down in verse, um, number 18, then the word of the Lord of hosts came to me saying, thus says the Lord of hosts, the fast of the fourth, the fast of the fifth, the fast of the seventh and the fast of the 10th months will become joy, gladness and cheerful feasts for those or for the house of Judah. So love truth and peace. Thus says the Lord of hosts. It will yet be that peoples will come. Even the inhabitants of many cities and the inhabitants of one will go to another saying, let us go at once to entreat the favor of the Lord and to seek the Lord of hosts.

I will also go. So many peoples in mighty nations will come to seek the Lord of hosts in Jerusalem and to entreat the favor of the Lord. Thus says the Lord of hosts in those days, 10 men from all the nations will grasp the garment of a Jew saying, let us go with you. For we have heard that God is with you. That's not happening today. I don't see 10 Gentiles on the robe of every Jew saying, take us to your Lord, take us to Jerusalem. That's not happening today, but it's going to happen because God made a covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob called Abrahamic covenant.

It covenant with David for his namesake, for his glory, for his purposes. His integrity is on the line. So when you come to Zachariah 12, the burden of the word of the Lord concerning Israel, verse number one, thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth and forms a spirit of man within him.

Behold, I am going to make Jerusalem a cup that causes reeling to all the peoples around. And when the siege is against Jerusalem, it will also be against Judah and it will come about in that day that I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone for all the peoples. All who lift it will be severely injured and all the nations of the earth will be gathered against it. In that day declares the Lord, I will strike every horse with bewilderment and his rider with madness. God says the coming day where Jerusalem will be under siege.

It's not yet, it's going to happen in the future. Where Jerusalem is surrounded by the armies and Jerusalem will be sieged, but amidst their siege, the Messiah will shield them. He'll protect them. Let's know what it says. But I will watch over the house of Judah while I strike every horse of the peoples with blindness. I'm going to strike them blind. I'm going to protect my people. Then it says up in verse number eight, in the day that the Lord will defend the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And the one who was feeble among them in that day will be like David and the house of David will be like God, like the angel of the Lord before them.

And it will come about in that day that I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. God's going to do something miraculous with Israel. The weak person, the feeble person, he's going to be like a King David when he stood before Goliath, be strong and stable. God's going to do something miraculous in the life of the nation of Israel. Going to make him strong and God's going to protect them. And then it says, listen carefully. And I, who's the I? Back in verse number one, thus declares the Lord who stretches out the heavens, lays the foundation of the earth and forms the spirit of man within him.

Who's that? That's the great God, Jehovah, right? If he asks you today who the I is, it's the great God, Jehovah, the Lord of the universe, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. They can't deny that. And I will pour out on the house of David and on the heavens of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplication so that they, who's that? Israel will look on me. Who's that? That's the I of the verse, right? The Lord God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob whom they have. What's the next phrase?

Pierced. When was God pierced? Ask a Jew, when was God pierced? God's a spirit. You can't pierce the spirit. When was God pierced? They will look on me whom they have pierced and they will mourn for him. Who's that? It's the clearest indication of the deity of Christ in the Old Testament. Jesus is God. The Messiah is God. Can't deny it. You can't get around the grammatical structure of the verse. Now, the Jews will do all kinds of spiritual gymnastics around it, but they can't. They can't get around it.

When was, just ask them, when was God pierced? He's a spirit. He can't be pierced. No one can see him, look upon him, and live unless God becomes man, right? And Isaiah 9, 6 speaks about that, right? And then it says these words, and they will mourn for him as one mourns for an only son and they will weep bitterly over him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn. And then he gives the illustration about Josiah when he was killed in the Valley of Megiddo and how the nation of Israel mourned so greatly over his loss.

It's going to be worse than that day. No more, they'll realize, they'll realize that they crucified their Messiah. Finally, they'll realize that.

And when that happens, when that happens, the Lamb will mourn every family by itself, the family of the house of David by itself, and their wives by themselves. Although the nation mourns, every individual mourns as well because the individuals make up the nation. First, chapter 13, verse number one, in that day, a fountain will be opened for the house of David and for the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for impurity.

In that day, Israel will be saved. In that day, Israel will be saved. That's the fulfillment of Romans chapter 11, where all Israel will be saved. When is that? When the Lord Jesus Christ returns again and they will say, blessed is the coming one who comes in the name of the Lord. He is the coming one. And they will weep over him because they pierced their Messiah. They crucified their Messiah. Verse seven, chapter 13, awake, O sword against my shepherd. God's speaking about his shepherd, my shepherd.

Why? Because the shepherds you have had have led you in the wrong direction. So I'm going to give you my shepherd, my shepherd. Awake, O sword against my shepherd and against the man. It's not the normal word for man. Well, it's not a natural man. It's a supernatural man. It's a powerful man. It's an abnormal man. He says against the man, my associate. In other words, the phrase reads in the Hebrew, my equal. The word associate is a word that depicts one of equal nature and equal character. My associate is my equal.

My shepherd is my equal. The shepherd of Israel is the Messiah. Every Jew knows that. Okay. So the equal is a shepherd. The shepherd is equal to who? The God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Again, a clear depiction of the deity of the Messiah, that the Messiah is God in the flesh. Declares the Lord of hosts, strike the shepherd, which they did and the sheep may be scattered. They will. And I will turn my hand against the little ones and it will come about in all the land because the Lord that two parts in it will be cut off and perish.

But the third will be left in it. What's the third? The see all of Romans 11. That's all that's left. That's all that's left is a third of Israel.

The rest would have died in the tribulation. And I will bring the third part through the fire. We find them as silvers. We find and test them as gold is tested. They will call on my name and I will answer them. And I will say, they are my people. And they will say, the Lord is my God. That is the salvation of Israel. Turn to Isaiah 62. Look at me for a moment.

This is what the Lord God is looking for. When he says, you will not see me until you say, blessed to see you comes in the name of the Lord. When he says that, this is what he's looking for. This is his anticipation. Tip of 62 of Isaiah, verse number one, for Zion's sake, I will not keep silent.

And for Jerusalem's sake, I will not keep quiet until her righteousness goes forth like brightness in her salvation, like a torch that is burning. You never are quiet about Israel. You never are quiet about Jerusalem. You should be uppermost in your thinking at all times. Even when you vote for the next president, the only thing that matters is not the economy. It's his view on Israel. That's all that matters. What does he say about Israel, their future? What's his stand with Israel? That's all that matters.

Can't divide it. Joel three tells us that he seeks to divide Jerusalem will be destroyed. You can't divide Jerusalem. They'll destroy you. That's a prophecy given to us by the Lord God of Israel. And so he says, and the nations will see your righteousness and all kings, your glory. This is the salvation of Israel. This is the glory of, of, of, of Jerusalem. And you will be called by a new name, which the mouth of the Lord will designate. What name is that? Well, you will also be crowned of beauty in the land or in the hand of the Lord and a royal diadem in the hand of your God.

You'll be called by a new name. You'll be crowned with glory. It will no longer be said of you forsaken for to you, your land will no longer be called desolate, but you will be called. My delight is in her and your land married for the Lord delights in you into him. Your land will be married. No longer you desk right now.

You are right now. You've been abandoned right now. You left your own ruins. Your house is left to you desolate, but this time no longer will you be called desolate. Why? Because we will be one. He says, for as a virgin man marries a virgin, so your sons will marry you. And as a bridegroom rejoices over the bride, so your God will rejoice over you on the walls of Jerusalem. I have appointed watchmen all day and all night. They will never keep silent. You who remind the Lord, take no rest for yourselves and give him no rest until he establishes and makes Jerusalem a praise in the earth.

That hasn't happened yet, but it will because God for his name's sake has made a promise. Verse 11, behold, the Lord has proclaimed to the end of the earth, say to the daughter of Zion, lo your salvation comes, behold, his reward is with him and his recompense before him. And they will call them the holy people, the redeemed of the Lord. And you will be called sought out a city not forsaken. No longer, no longer will that happen. And that's what the Lord is anticipating. That's why when you come to Isaiah 63, Isaiah sees a vision of the Lord coming from, from Bozrah, from Edom and Moab, because he sees the garments of the Lord sprinkled with blood, dipped in blood.

Why? Because the battle begins and the battle is that which initiates Israel's praise in all the land. It's a promise that God's given. Why is it so important to us? It's important to us because God is true to his word. If he's true to his word to Israel, he's true to his word to you and to me. If he ever compromised his word to Israel, we could not trust him. Could we? What would we have to stand on? He, he lied. There is no future for Israel. They had no promises, but he doesn't lie. He's made a promise.

It will happen exactly as he said it would happen because you can count on the Lord Jesus Christ. And whatever you learn from Luke 13, 34 and 35, you learn about God is faithful to, to keep his word. He's true to his word. He is true to his word. I want to gather you together. You would not come. It's over. It's over. I can't bless you. I must curse you because you did not obey my word. He's true to his word when it comes to the curses as well as to the blessings. But there's coming a day when you will say, blessed is the coming one who comes in the name of the Lord.

And that will be your salvation. That day is coming. It's a promise by God. And we who are believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, we can trust him. Isn't it good to know that you can trust the Lord when it comes to your salvation, when it comes to your future, when it comes to your own personal life, you can entrust your family to the Lord God, you're going to trust your business with the Lord God, because he's faithful to do what he's promised to do all that he says. That's the way God is. You can trust him.

Let me pray with you. Father, we thank you for today and the joy of your word and the belief that we have in it. And we rejoice over you because you are our delight. You are the desire of this nation. And we pray, Father, that we would all recognize that today, that there wouldn't be anybody among us today who doesn't see you as the delight of their soul, the desire of their soul, and they would come to a place of repentance and believe in you. For us, Lord, help us to pray for the peace of Jerusalem.

Help us to remember Israel, how you've dealt with them, because that's how you deal with us. And so true you are to your word. Thank you that you're God of truth. And we can trust you when there is no one else that we can count on. Pray this in Jesus name. Amen.