RELENTLESS LOVE: He Set His Face On Jerusalem

Palm Sunday Service

March 29, 2021

Luke 9:51-62  (ESV)

A Samaritan Village Rejects Jesus
51 When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. 52 And he sent
messengers ahead of him, who went and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for
him. 53 But the people did not receive him, because his face was set toward Jerusalem. 54 And when his
disciples James and John saw it, they said, “Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven
and consume them?” 55 But he turned and rebuked them.56 And they went on to another village.

The Cost of Following Jesus

57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you go.” 58 And
Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to
lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my
father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go
and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say
farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks
back is fit for the kingdom of God.”

Let Us Pray:

I want to title my message today “Relentless Love” as we start our series on Easter.

Today is a Significant day in Christian world, coz we are remembering Jesus’ final week on Earth, Today
we are celebrating “Palm Sunday” the day Jesus entered Jerusalem.

Historical Context:
This event is recorded in the four gospels [Matt. Luke, Mark and John] so you see how important this
event to them during that time and I believe it is significant to us modern day Christians today.

This event is something Jesus never participated up until this point of His life on earth. If you remember
in the gospels, Jesus would tell His disciples and people he healed to not to tell the miracles they’ve
experienced to anyone.

He never allowed Himself to be publicly presented as their messiah until this moment. This day was
different, now, He will call public attention on purpose on specific date.

Scripture tells us this event happened on the 10th day of Hebrew month of Nisan or in our Julian
calendar [our calendar] April 6, 32AD.

What is important about that date?

On the 10th day of the month of Nisan, according to Jewish law, a lamb was selected for Passover, each
home will select a lamb [floppy, no blemish, healthy lamb, good for the pass over] and it will be brought
home for few days and of course, it will presented to the priest to be inspected before the sacrifice on
the 14th day of Nisan or the Passover.
So on the 10th day the lamb is presented to the family only to be sacrificed on the 14 th.

It is interesting that on the 10th day of the month of Nisan “Jesus decides” THIS IS THE DAY THAT HE
WILL PRESENT HIMSELF TO THE NATION OF ISRAEL AS THE LAMB OF GOD WHO TAKES AWAY THE SINS
OF THE WORLD.

On the 10th day of Nisan a deliverer, a savior will come and Jesus will be inspected by the nation and
they will reject him and kill him and will be sacrificed on Passover. This is the significance of this day!

There are 3 mandatory feasts for the Jews that they need to attend in Jerusalem;
 Passover Feast
 Pentecost
 Feast of Tabernacle

During the feast of Passover the city is packed with people. Jews from nearby towns all the way from
Greece and from many other places come to Jerusalem to celebrate.

According to Jewish historian Plevious Josephus during Passover, on the altar of the temple there are
256,000 sacrificial lambs to be slaughtered in one day. That number of sacrificial lambs shows us how
many people are there celebrating the Passover.

According to Jewish law one lamb for a family of up to 10 members. So this means at least at this time
there are 2.5 million people inside Jerusalem.

LET’S READ FROM JOHN’S ACCOUNT OF TRIUMPAL ENTRY OF JESUS:

John 12:12-15
12 The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 

YOU SEE, WHERE EVER JESUS WENT, HE HAVE A CROWD OF PEOPLE AND THE NUMBER IS GROWING.
HE IS POPULAR AND CONTROVERCIAL ALL AT THE SAME TIME. BUT NOW, HE HAD DONE SOMETHING
THAT MADE HIM DIFFERENT FROM EVERYONE, NO ONE CAN DENY THAT HE HAS POWER NO ONE ELSE
POSSESSES, SPECIALLY WHEN HE BROUGHT A MAN BACK TO LIFE, NAMED LAZARUS WHO HAS BEEN
DEAD FOR DAYS AND EVERYONE KNEW ABOUT IT AND NOW THIS MAN IS ALIVE!

AND SO PEOPLE JUST WANT TO HAVE A GLIMPS OF JESUS, A SELFIE IF I CAN DESCRIBE IT LIKE THAT, SO
THEY HEARD ABOUT THIS AMAZING MIRACLES AND THIS ATTRACTED The MASSIVE CROWD.

13 So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! [SAVE US NOW]
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 14 And Jesus found a young
donkey and sat on it, just as it is written,

15 “Fear not, daughter of Zion;

behold, your king is coming,
    sitting on a donkey's colt!”

I ALWAYS WONDER BEFORE, WHAT WAVING PALM BRANCHES REALLY MEANS. [PALM BRANCHES
SYMBOLIZES VICTORY] YOU SEE THE IDEA OF TAKING PALM BRANCHES AND WAVING IT BEFORE A
“WOULD BE DELIVERER” GOES BACK A COUPLE HUNDRED YEARS IN JEWISH HISTORY.

AT ONE TIME, THE JEWISH WANTS INDEPENDENCE FROM THE RULE OF SYRIANS. THEN “MACCABEAN
REVOLT” HAPPENED AND IT GAVE THEM THAT INDEPENDENCE THEY WANT WHEN THEY WON THE WAR
AGAINTS THE SYRIAN KING NAMED ANTIOUCUS THE FOURTH.
THE JEWISH THEN CELEBRATED THEIR VICTORY CALLED THE “FEAST OF HANUKKHA” AS THEY
RE-DEDICATE THE TEMPLE FOLLOWING THE VICTORY AND IT WAS DURING THIS TIME THAT PEOPLE
BROUGHT OUT “PALM BRANCHES” AS A SIGN OF VICTORY.

SO, BRINGING OUT PALM BRANCHES WHEN JESUS WAS ENTERING JERUSALEM IS JEWISH WAY OF
SAYING THAT “WE HOPE THIS IS THE SAME DELIVERANCE LIKE THAT OF MACCABEAN REVOLT”
 They’re hoping Jesus to be their Political Messiah.
 They’re hoping Jesus will overturn the Roman Empire and win the war for independence for
them.
 They’re hoping Jesus will take Jerusalem back from the hands of their oppressor and rule as
their king.

SO WHEN THEY WERE CRYINGOUT “HOSANNA” [SAVE ME NOW] ITS NOT LIKE THEY ASKING JESUS
COME TO MY LIFE AND SAVE ME, NO, . . . . THEY ARE ACTUALLY SHOUTING “DELIVER US FROM THE
HANDS OF ROMAN EMPIRE” THAT’S WHAT THEY ARE CRYING FOR. PAUSE

JESUS WILL DISSAPPOINT THEM. YES, HE IS THEIR KING, THEIR MESSAIAH AND HE WILL RULE AND
REIGN BUT NOT HOW THE JEWISH PEOPLE ARE EXPECTING.

THE SAD THING IS, MANY PEOPLE WHO SHOUTED HOSANNAH, HOSANNAH DURING THE TRIUMPHAL
ENTRY OF JESUS WERE THE SAME PEOPLE WHO DAYS AFTER SHOUTED CRUCIFY HIM, CRUCIFY HIM.

VERSE 14 SAYS HE IS ON A DONKEY, WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

IT IS BECAUSE JESUS WAS TIRED WALKING? WELL, JOHN TELLS US THAT IT WAS TO FULFILL A PROMISE
FROM THE PROPHET ZECHARIAH [Zech 9:9]

Zechariah 9:9-10 (ESV)

9 Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

A DONKEY HAS A SIGNIFICANT MEANING.

NOT ONLY BECAUSE IT’S PART OF THE PROPHESY BUT IT IS ALSO PART OF HISTORY OF HOW A KING WILL
APPROACH A CITY. IF THE KING COMES TO A CITY BRINGING PEACE THEN HE WILL RIDE A DONKEY. IF
THE KING COMES TO A CITY TO PUT THAT PLACE UNDER HIS RULE THEN HE WILL RIDE ON A WAR
HORSE.

SO HERE, JESUS COMING TO JERUSALEM ON A DONKEY MEANS HE COMES TO OFFER PEACE, BUT HOW
MANY OF YOU KNOW THAT WHEN HE COMES THE SECOND TIME HE WILL COME ON A HORSE TO MAKE
WAR. [REV. 19] SAYS JESUS COMES THE SECOND TIME HERE ON EARTH TO PUT AN END TO
TRIBULATION PERIOD RIDING ON A HORSE AND IT SAYS “HE JUDGES AND MAKES WAR”

BUT ON THIS DAY OF TRIUMPAL ENTRY, JESUS ENTERING JERUSALEM TO BRING PEACE… BUT FEW DAYS
LATER WE KNOW THE STORY HE WAS CRUCIFIED. THAT’S A LITTLE BIT OF BACKGROUND ON WHAT THIS
SUNDAY IS ALL BOUT.
Main Message:

I want to start few days earlier before the Passover, in the text we read in Luke 9 it says “He Set His Face
to Jerusalem”. In the Passion Translation is says;

Luke 9:51-53 The Passion Translation

51 Jesus passionately determined to leave for Jerusalem and let nothing distract him from fulfilling his
mission there, for the time for him to be lifted up was drawing near.

This statement should mean a lot to us today because its shows how RELENTLESS JESUS WAS IN
FULFILLING HIS MISSION. Nothing can stop Him from Going to the Cross.

Jerusalem meant one thing for Jesus: certain death. He predicted in Luke 18:31

"Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything that is written of the Son of man by the prophets
will be accomplished. For he will be delivered to the Gentiles, and will be mocked and shamefully treated
and spit upon; they will scourge him and kill him."

When Jesus set his face to go to Jerusalem, he set his face to die.

Remember, when you think of Jesus choosing the cross to die, he had a nature like ours.

He shrunk back from pain like we do. HE’S FULLY GOD YET FULLY HUMAN when He went to the cross.

I don't know of any other way for us to begin to know how much he loved us BUT TO REMEMBER WHAT
HE WENT THROUGH.

Isaiah 50:6-7(ESV)
6 I gave my back to those who strike,
    and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
    from disgrace and spitting.
7 But the Lord God helps me;
    therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
    and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

What Does “Set His Face on Jerusalem” should Mean to us today?

1. It Means Jesus’ “Commitment to the Cross”

Isaiah 50:7 says “He Set His Face Like a Flint” - Flint is a very hard type of sedimentary rock. When struck
against steel, a flint edge produces sparks to start a fire.

Setting your face like flint implies that you’re expecting some opposition, and you need to stand strong in
the face of adversity. To set your face like flint means to regard these difficulties as worthwhile when you
consider the end result.

Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, [WHAT IS THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM?. . . . . ITS YOU AND ME BEING WITH THE FATHER
ONCE AGAIN, REDEEMED, RESTORED AND RECONCILLED]
Jesus Knew What He is about to go through – suffering and death and yet he still choose to enter
Jerusalem for YOU and ME. – HE IS RELENTLESS IN SHOWING HIS LOVE FOR US.

"Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends" - John 15:13

You see, if we were to look at Jesus' death as a result of a betrayal and because of Religious Leaders
envy it might seem very involuntary [PARANG BIKTIMA LANG SI JESUS NG MALING PANG HUHUSGA NG
TAO]

But once you read Luke 9:51 that’s says “He sets His Face on Jerusalem” HE MADE A CHOICE, Jesus was
not accidentally entangled in a web of injustice. His death for sinners was not an afterthought. God
planned it, out of His relentless love for sinners like us.

Jesus, who was the perfect representation of Father's love for sinners, saw that the time had come and
set his face to fulfill his mission: to die in Jerusalem for our sake. – JESUS SAID;

"No one takes my life from me (he said), but I lay it down of my own accord" - John 10:18.

Passion Translation Put it this way;

John 10:18 The Passion Translation

18 I surrender my own life, and no one has the power to take my life from me. I have the authority to lay
it down and the power to take it back again. This is the destiny my Father has set before me.”

Jesus entering Jerusalem displays His whole hearted devotion to obey what God the father commanded
Him to do – to be a Sacrificial Lamb to atone us from our sins.

2. It means “Counting the cost of following Jesus”

There is a sound in Luke 9:51 that we need to hear when Luke says, "He set his face to go to Jerusalem."
Luke tells us what happened next and why. Verse 52: "[Jesus] sent messengers ahead of him, who went
and entered a village of the Samaritans, to make preparations for him. But the people did not receive
him, because he was going to Jerusalem."

This is a signal to us: if you join Jesus on the way to Jerusalem (place of obedience & love for God), you
may not have a place to stay. You may not be popular. You may be rejected.

LISTEN TO CHURCH: When Jesus set his face to walk to Jerusalem, he was not merely taking our place; he
was setting a pattern or a path. what do I mean by that. . . .

verses 57-62. Three times we read the word "follow" to describe what it means to be a disciple of
Jesus.

V. 57 As they were going along the road, someone said to him, “I will follow you wherever you
go.” 58 And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has
nowhere to lay his head.” 59 To another he said, “Follow me.” But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury
my father.” 60 And Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead. But as for you, go
and proclaim the kingdom of God.” 61 Yet another said, “I will follow you, Lord, but let me first say
farewell to those at my home.” 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks
back is fit for the kingdom of God.”
Verse 57, "I will follow you." Verse 59: "Follow me." Verse 61: "I will follow you."
The point in this phrase is that being a disciple of Jesus is more than learning about him; but it includes
following him where he goes. – JESUS SAID;

"Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple" (Luke 14:27).

When Jesus says, "Follow me," He said it in the context of going to Jerusalem to face suffering and
death and let us not forget that he just been rejected in Samaria, he is saying two things, not just one
thing

He is saying: TO FOLLOW ME, IS TO BE LIKE ME AND TO TAKE MY PATH . . .

“He who died for us, and Whom we ought to copy, did more for us than we can do for anyone
else. He endured the contradiction of sinners. We should have grace to follow in His steps.”
-- David Livingstone

There is a sweetness in experiencing Jesus, and there is suffering with Jesus. There is Jesus, and there is
Jerusalem.

Now, what was Jesus doing in responding the way he did to these three would-be followers in verses
57-61?
 No place to lay your head.
 Let the dead bury their dead.
 Put your hand on the plow and don’t look back. . . . . . . What was he doing? THESE ARE HARD
WORDS FROM JESUS.

He was teaching, and he was testing. He was teaching that the road through Jerusalem will be a very
hard road, and will require sacrifices.

JESUS is testing how much they treasure the "you" when they said "I will follow you," by telling them
the "follow" has a cost.

THE HARD TRUTH IS THIS: IF WE FAIL TO TEACH THE COST OF FOLLOWING JESUS TO OUR CHURH AND
TO OUR YOUNG PEOPLE, WE WILL RAISE AN “ENTITLED” GENERATION, WHICH WE ARE STARTING TO
SEE.

ENTITLEMENT PREVENTS YOU FROM SACRIFICING FOR THE WORK OF GOD, IT CAN NUMB YOUR HEART
COST YOU YOUR DESTINY.

“It is emphatically no sacrifice. Say rather it is a privilege. Anxiety, sickness, suffering, or danger,
now and then, with a foregoing of the common conveniences and charities of this life, may
make us pause, and cause the spirit to waver, and the soul to sink; but let this only be for a
moment. All these are nothing when compared with the glory which shall be revealed in and for
us. I never made a sacrifice.”
-- David Livingstone

We have to set our face like a “Flint” in Following Jesus.

V. 62 Jesus said to him, “No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the kingdom of
God.”
You can’t serve Christ if you are always second-guessing the value of following him. Divided hearts
are not useful in displaying the worth of Christ.
“If a commission by an earthly king is considered a honor, how can a commission by a Heavenly King
be considered a sacrifice?”
-- David Livingstone

Closing:

I want to close by saying, He is worthy! He is worth of following, even through Jerusalem to the cross
and to the nations.

“O you redeemed ones, on whose behalf this strong resolve was made—you who have been bought by
the precious blood of this steadfast, resolute Redeemer—come and think awhile of Him, that your hearts
may burn within you and that your faces may be set like flints to live and die for Him who lived and died
for you!”
— C.H. Spurgeon

Jesus was unwavering with every step He took. When He told his disciples of the suffering He was going
to endure in Jerusalem, they pleaded with him to choose an easier path, but He did not listen. Jesus was
steadfast in achieving His purpose until He said, “It is finished”.

IT WAS NOT THE NAILS THAT HELD HIM ON THE CROSS, BUT IT WAS HIS OBEDIENCE TO THE FATHER
AND LOVE THAT IS STRONGER THAN DEATH . . . THAT IS WHAT HELD HIM ON THE CROSS.

Hebrews 12:2 (ESV)

2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

This Palm Sunday, remember that many years ago, Jesus made that choice to
“Set His Face on Jerusalem” for you and me.
HE IS RELENTLESS OVER YOU.