Longings of the Savior

that we want something. Sometimes
the people around us tell us that they want something. They
tell us that they really want to change or that they really
want to do or accomplish something. Sometimes they tell us that they
long for certain things in life, that everything about them, all
of their actions seem to run contrary. We’re a duplicitous
people. Sometimes we say one thing and
everything about us says completely the opposite. Isn’t that true?
Isn’t it true even of sometimes our children? Sometimes we as
spouses, we want to love our wives, but the taking out of
the garbage, it stretches us. And yet with Christ, was there
ever such a one who when He told you what He was longing for,
left in you no doubt. Because of what we know of the
nature of Christ, He was perfect in every way, holy, completely
without sin. And what great confidence we
have that when Christ said He longed for something, He really
wanted something, you can rest assured that everything in His
being was locked into attaining that for which he longed.” That’s
Christ our Savior, isn’t it? Isn’t that the Christ that you
know? What I want to present before us this morning is the
longings of the Savior. What did Jesus long for? What
did Jesus, if you want to use the old word, yearn for? What
did He really want? Almost, as it were, interrupting
this passage Jesus is going to tell us what he longs for. Jesus
is going to bear his soul and tell us what he really longs
for. And you know that everything in him is in pursuit of fulfilling
his longings here in this passage. I want to go back, though, to
set it in context. If you’re in Luke chapter 12,
what I want to do is pick up the context In Luke chapter 12
and glide right into this one. Remember what we have been talking
about is readiness. And we saw that it was a thoroughgoing
spiritual readiness for the Lord’s return. Or if in God’s providence
he takes you and you come and you go to heaven before the rest
of us, you need to be ready as well. Peter was confused by that
message, and he asked the Lord a sudden question. Lord, are
you addressing this parable to us or to everyone else as well?
For who is it really important to be ready? Because certainly,
you might even think that the apostles just had a free ride. Not so. Pick up with me, if you
would, in verse 42. In answer to the question, the
Lord said, who then is the faithful and sensible steward whom his
master will put in charge of his servants to give them their
rations at the proper time? Jesus poses the question back
to Peter and says, who is it then? Who is the faithful and
sensible steward? Verse 43, blessed is that slave
whom the master finds so doing when he comes. Truly, I say to
you that he will put him in charge of all his possessions. Oh, but
if that slave says in his heart, my master will be a long time
in coming and begins to beat the slaves, both men and women,
and to eat and drink and get drunk. The master of that slave
will come on a day when he does not expect him in an hour when
he does not know and will cut him in pieces, assign him a place
with the unbelievers. And that slave who knew his master’s
will and did not get ready or act in accord with his will will
receive many lashes. But the one who did not know
it and committed deeds worthy of a flogging will receive but
a few from everyone who has been given much. Much will be required
and to whom they entrusted much him. They will ask all the more.
And it’s in that specific context. The Jesus inserts his longings. Let me tell you what I want.
And Jesus says in verse 49, I have come to cast fire upon the earth. And how I wish it were already
accomplished. But I have a baptism to undergo
and how distressed I am. Until it is accomplished. These
are. Dark, mysterious words, difficult
words, In fact, I don’t remember. And maybe I say this, maybe you
think I say this every week. I don’t remember a passage where
so many people differed as to the interpretation of this passage. And I want to tell you up front,
it is so easy to argue with dead guys. And most of these commentators
that I argued with are dead and they’re long gone and they’re
not here to defend themselves. And so I have to be gracious
at the outset. But I also had to look at the
passage and try to see what is the interpretation of this passage.
Look with me, if you will, at the longings of the Savior, two
things for which Christ longs. That affect every person that
has ever lived. Two things for which Christ’s
long, which Christ longs, first of all, Christ longs for the
purification of the world. Christ longs for that. So where
do I get that? Look back again at verse 49.
I have come to cast fire upon the earth. Now, here was perhaps
the greatest divergence of commentators, the greatest amount of disagreement
as to what the fire meant of any single word that I’ve ever
studied. And I know that sounds like hyperbole,
but that’s what I discovered. Here’s what the great array of
interpretations presented us. Some said that this fire is the
gospel. One said it like this, and these
are let me tell you, these are not just dime store commentaries
picked up in a used bookstore. These are the heavy hitters of
all of Christian history. John Gill. John Gill, Charles
Spurgeon’s predecessor, said it this way. This fire means either the gospel,
which is as fire that gives both light and heat, warms the hearts
of God’s people and causes it to burn within them, though very
distressing and torturing to the wicked men. So the word of
God is compared to fire. Well, not often. In fact, from
what I could see, not ever. And I appreciate John Gill in
so many terms, but here I had to disagree with him. He went
on to say that at the very minimum, what he’s talking about is the
zeal for God’s word. He said the zeal for it and which
would be opposed with sharp contentions by others or rather persecution
for the sake of the gospel. In other words, the zeal for
the word is a burning fire that affects everyone around you.
I don’t see it, Dr. Gill. And here I shake in my
boots because now I come face to face with none other than
John Calvin. John Calvin believed this, too.
So I got to stand toe to toe with John Calvin, who said Christ
has introduced into the world the utmost confusion as if he
had intended to mingle heaven and earth. The gospel is metaphorically
compared to fire. Because it violently changes
the face of things. So often, and that’s one of the
dangers in reading the Puritans, is so often they had this tendency
to spiritualize things. Instead of looking at the context,
instead of looking at the word and how it’s used, instead of
looking at what Christ may have been talking about, the tendency
was to spiritualize. And now, as if I don’t have enough
bruises, standing toe to toe with the likes of John Gill and
none other than Calvin himself, to take on my beloved Charles
Spurgeon. Charles Spurgeon believed it
was the gospel, and he said it was the gospel because both are
noted for their ethereal purity. It’s true. Fire has a purifying
influence. Both are noted of its cheering
and comforting influence. Both are noted of its testing
qualities. Both are noted for their aggressiveness,
their energy, their rapid advance. It will ultimately prevail. Charles
Spurgeon said of the gospel, but I don’t believe it’s of the
gospel that Christ is speaking here. I’ll tell you why in a
moment. Other people thought that it
had reference to personal sanctification. One described it this way. Fire
has a twofold effect. It destroys what is combustible
and purifies and refines noncombustible objects. That’s true. And we
see it used that way in Peter and in other passages where things
are placed into the refining fire, right? We’ve seen it used
that way, refined as gold is refined. This commentator goes on and
says the Savior here utters his deep longing that his work of
salvation should be completed so that his beneficial works
through the power of the Spirit enter into the lives of mankind
in full measure to the undoing and destruction of evil and the
purification and refining of the faithful. Just a personal
sanctification of the fire of sanctification of the people
that are living in that day and age, that’s what Christ longed
for. I don’t think so. Another described it this way.
It’s the spiritual power exercised by the Lord through his word
and spirit, out of the strength of his completed work of redemption,
working in the lives of people. What he wanted was a grand movement
in the lives of the people that are around that day, beginning
with the apostles, extending to the disciples, infecting even
the new believers or those that were currently unbelievers. I
don’t think he’s talking about personal sanctification. I don’t
think he’s talking about starting a fire of that sort at all. Another crowd thought that it
refers to a spiritual enthusiasm. You know, much like, you know,
Aaron Santini walks into the room, you know, we’ve got to
get fired up. That’s kind of what they talked about. It’s
the fire of a new faith, a religion, or a burning enthusiasm. Is that
what Jesus longed for? That kind of a fire? One described it as a spiritual
excitement produced in opposite directions by the coming of Jesus,
which will result in division described in verse 51. And we’ll
get to that next week. Because division does come. There’s
no doubt about that. There was a fourth major interpretation of this fire. And some said that it referred
specifically to division, that the gospel coming is going to
cause division and it is as a fire. In one of the parallel passages,
this is what prompted some of that, because in one of the parallel
passages, it says that Jesus came to bring a sword. Jesus
came to bring a sword. We’ll look at that whole issue
next week. One describes this interpretation
in these terms, the context seems to show that the fire of division
and strife is meant. That, in other words, for those
who believe the gospel and place their faith in Christ and begin
to live holy lives by God’s grace, being transformed day by day
into Christ likeness for them, it’s going to be a rough ride.
The fires of persecution are going to stoke. And we know that
to be true through history. But is that what Christ is longing
for in this passage? Is that what Christ was longing
for, that the fires of persecution would heat up and therefore purify
his church? I don’t think so. I don’t think so. And here again, I stand in a
sense, toe to toe with some of the greats of history. Matthew
Poole, Matthew Henry, Matthew Henry said it like this. By what
follows, it seems rather to be understood of the fire of persecution.
Christ is not the author of it as if the sin of the incendiaries,
the persecutors, but he permits it. Is that really what he’s
talking about there? There are those passages in Scripture
that seem to point in that direction. Fire in Scripture is used a lot
of times, a lot of times, to describe troubles and difficulties.
Psalm 66, verse 12, You made men ride over our heads. We went
through the fire and water. He’s not talking about a literal
fire. He’s talking about grave difficulties, struggles with
others, especially unbelievers in persecution. Isaiah 43, 2,
when you pass through the waters, I will be with you. And through
the rivers, they will not overflow you. When you walk through the
fire, you will not be scorched. He wasn’t talking to them to
do the heathen fire dance. He was saying when the fires
of persecution come. So often in the prophets, it’s
used. But usually it’s of a literal fire that the prophets are speaking
of. When Amos said, I will send fire upon Moab, God meant what
he said. He was going to burn their cities. You know what my contention is?
None of those answers are adequate. None of them. Let me tell you
why. Insert the various options into
the verse in place of the word fire and see if it fits. I have come to cast the gospel
on the earth and how I wish you were already kindled. I have come to cast personal
sanctification upon the earth and how I wish you were already
kindled. I have come to cast spiritual
enthusiasm upon the earth and how I wish you were already kindled.
I have come to cast division on the earth and how I wish you
were already kindled. You know what? Not one of those
fits. Not one of those fits. Listen to me. The gospel was already kindled.
The gospel was already going forth from the time of of the
angels introducing Christ’s birth to the moment that John the Baptist
was born, the gospel was already being advanced. So Christ can’t
be longing for the kindling of the gospel. Because the gospel
is already going forth. We didn’t have to wait for the
cross for Christ to go to the cross in order to preach repentance
from sin and faith in Jesus Christ. Right. It cannot possibly be
the gospel that’s in focus here. It can’t possibly be personal
sanctification either, because you know what, that was already
begun with true believers, genuine followers, their lives were being
changed. Remember, even the the most hopeless
case that Christ ever came across, the garrison demoniac gashing
himself naked, running around crazed. And with one interaction
of the Lord Jesus Christ, remember the astounding thing, he was
clothed and in his right mind, God changed him. So personal
sanctification can’t possibly be the issue. Because it was already kindled. spiritual enthusiasm. Can’t possibly
be the answer to this passage, either this too was already kindled.
Was there ever a greater time, even compared to our own day
and age when enthusiasm about Christ and spiritual things had
been engendered? Was there ever a time of even
though it was superficial? I mean, let’s be honest, not
everybody that was excited about Christ was a believer. The Pharisees
were excited about Christ. It’s not spiritual enthusiasm
at all. And neither do I even believe that it’s talking here
about division, because you know what? Division does follow in
the media context. And we’ll take it the very next
week. We’ll look at it next week, beginning in verse 51. But you
know what? That, too, had already begun.
It had already begun. We didn’t
need to wait for the cross. We didn’t need to wait for Christ
to go to the cross and redeem humanity. to produce great division. Remember, John chapter nine,
the blind man healed by Christ. Suddenly, the church officials
hear about it and they’re the first to dispatch with him. His
parents kind of wipe their hands of him. They don’t want anything
to do with him. Christ certainly had experienced division. Some
of the followers of Christ had experienced division. So we can’t
possibly look to this and say, well, there’s the answer to this.
That’s what fire is. So we have a problem. If it isn’t
any of these, to what then does fire refer? And I’ll tell you plainly and short,
it’s judgment. It’s the fire of judgment. And
for this, Christ longs. It’s the fire of purification. It’s the purification from sin
of the whole world. Remember again, the context,
the context that we’re in was readiness. He had just finished
this passion and passion to appeal this plea to his apostles to
be ready. To be ready for the Lord, to
purify themselves, to serve Christ with everything that was in them.
To be ready. He’s talking about the fires
of judgment here. Pause with me if you would. Let’s look at
how the word fire is used, especially in the New Testament. One pastor
describing it said the metaphor is to be taken in all of its
meanings. The fire is a spiritual baptism,
the refining fire to purge the dross from the gold and burn
up the chaff of all evil in every imperfect character. That’s what’s
in focus. It’s the fire of retributive
justice, said one. It’s the judgment of God. That’s what Jesus longs for.
And it isn’t for judgment’s sake. He longs to have the world purified. He longs for holiness. He hates
sin. And He looks forward to the day
where the fire of God is going to obliterate all sin. Let’s
look how it’s used. There’s a connection in Scripture
beginning with the Old Testament. But culminating with the New
Testament, it becomes overwhelmingly powerful as to what fire is.
Isaiah 66, 5, Behold, the Lord will come in fire and his chariots
like the whirlwind to render his anger with fury and his rebuke
with the flames of fire. There’s no ambiguity there. Joel
2, 30, I will display wonders in the sky and on earth, blood
and fire and columns of smoke. The book of Amos is almost, you
could almost call it the book of fire, the fire of God’s judgment. Amos 2.2, I will send fire upon
Moab. It will consume the citadels
of Kerioth and Moab will die amid tumult, war cries and the
sound of trumpet. Malachi 3.2, who can endure the
day of his coming? Who can stand when he appears?
For he is like a refiner’s fire. Malachi 3.5, Then I will draw
near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against
the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely,
against those who oppress the wage earner in the wages, the
widow and the orphan, those who turn aside the alien and do not
fear me, says the Lord of hosts. Fire. We have the concept in
the New Testament, it’s used often. First Corinthians 13 speaks
of every man’s work. Remember, being tested by God,
the day will show it because it will be revealed with fire
and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work.
It’s the judgment of God. Second Thessalonians 1.7. Where he says there, the Lord
Jesus will be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming
fire, dealing out retribution to those who do not know God
and to those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ. Fire is the fire of God’s judgment. But when you come to the New
Testament. Everything becomes overwhelmingly clear what Christ
is talking about here. Matthew 3, 10, you know the passage
well here. John the Baptist had first come
on to the ministry. And speaking of Christ, he said
the axe is already laid at the root of the trees, judgment is
coming. We already deserve judgment, we don’t have to earn any more.
Therefore, every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down
and ground up in the chipper, thrown into the fire. The fire where the unfruitful
trees are cast is a symbol of the final outpouring of God’s
wrath. It’s as clear as can be. Matthew 7, 19. Every tree that
does not bear good fruit cut down, thrown into the fire. Matthew
13, 40. Just as the tears are gathered up and burned with fire,
so shall it be at the end of the age. Matthew 25, 41. Then
he will also say to those on his left, depart from me, accursed
ones, into the eternal fire, which has been prepared for the
devil and his angels. John, Chapter 15. If anyone does
not abide in me is thrown away as a branch and dries up and
they gather them and cast them into the fire and they are burned.
Hebrews, Chapter 10, verse 26 and 27. If we go on sinning willfully
after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer
remains a sacrifice for sins, but a terrifying expectation
of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries.
No wonder at the conclusion of the book of Hebrews, the writer,
whoever he was, says, Our God is a consuming fire. It’s a deep,
abiding, overwhelming desire for purity, holiness. And one
day God is going to get what He desires. 2 Peter 3 By His Word, the present heavens
and earth being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment
and destruction of ungodly men.” You say that seems to be out
of purpose with Christ’s coming. It’s out of purpose with Christ’s
mission. Christ came to be our friend. Even the Word says He
didn’t come to judge. The purpose of Christ’s coming
was manifold. John chapter 6, 38 says that
I came down from heaven not to do my will, but the will of him
who sent me. So there’s I mean, if you wanted to, you could say,
well, that was Christ’s will. That was Christ’s commissioning
is to do God’s will. John 12, 46, I’ve come as light
in the world so that everyone who believes in me will not remain
in darkness. Well, see there, that is why he came. He came
to be as a light. Matthew 10.34, do not think that
I came to bring peace on the earth. That fits the harmony
with the passage at hand with this being the very picture of
judgment. Do not think that I came to bring
peace on the earth. I thought this was the prince
of peace. He is. But the purpose of his coming
is manifold. He came to bring salvation. He came to to enact
a peace treaty between a holy God and a sinful people. But the purpose of his coming
was so wide, so broad. John 9, 39, Jesus said for judgment,
I came into the world. He said it seems to contradict
Matthew 7, 2, which says that he didn’t come to judge. He didn’t
come exclusively and for that primary purpose to judge. He
came first and foremost to proclaim the gospel, the means of salvation, This word in John 39, it was
for judgment. I came into this world. This
word here signifies the end result. It’s a sentence. I came for finality. He didn’t come to judge necessarily,
but to save. But judgment was the inevitable
result of His coming because anybody who rejected Him was
already judged. They’re already judged. J.C. Ryle clarified it this way.
It was quite true that our Lord had not come into the world to
be a judge, but a savior. Yet he had come to produce a
judgment, a division, to be the cause of light breaking in on
some minds which before his coming could not see. And of blindness
covering other minds, which before his coming flattered themselves
that they were full of light. People, this wasn’t out of harmony
with Christ’s mission. Christ’s mission is completely
in harmony with 1 Peter. Be holy as God is holy. God desires holiness. God desires
purity, beginning with our lives, but extending to the whole world.
And one day He’s going to have it. One day He is going to have
purification. And that’s why Jesus here at
the end of this passage says, oh, how I wish it were already
kindled. This isn’t a sadistic pleasure that Christ is taking
on the one day retribution of the sinners of the world. This
isn’t some kind of joyful passion in his heart. It’s a longing
for holiness. It’s a longing to be rid of sin
once and for all. How I wish it were already kindled. Christ doesn’t desire the fire
for fire’s sake. He doesn’t desire judgment for
judgment’s sake. Christ desires those things because
of the purity that comes from them. One day we will be purified
as believers in Him. One day the world will be purified. That’s Christ’s longing. And
it was everything in Him yearning and longing for that. The very
purpose for which He lived His perfect life But there was a second longing.
There’s a second longing there. Not only does Christ long for
the purification of the world, but He longs for the redemption
of the world. Look at verse 50. I have a baptism
to undergo. You know what that baptism is? It
isn’t the baptism of water. Jesus had already been baptized.
He had already gone through the ceremony of baptism. He isn’t
talking about a literal baptism at all. Not in the sense that we might
understand it on the face. It’s not about water, not even
about the baptism of the Holy Spirit. It’s the baptism of suffering. In the similar use of the words,
James and John in the context come to Christ and they say,
Lord, we want to be your partners in heaven. Sit one of us on your
right and one of us on your left, and we will reign for eternity.
You know what Jesus said? You don’t know what you’re talking
about. Matthew 10 or pardon me, 1038. Jesus said to them, you do not
know what you are asking. You don’t even know what you’re
talking about. Are you able to drink the cup that I drink? Or to be baptized with the baptism
with which I am baptized? Well, they certainly were able
to be baptized with the baptism that Christ was baptized in the
sense of a water baptism. But what Jesus is saying there
is that they were forgetting. There was no way that they could
go through what he was about to go through. And even if they
did, it would be worthless. Utterly worthless. The request
for glory was a request for suffering, that is the way of the cross,
and Jesus says, I have a baptism to undergo, I long for the purity
of the world, I long for the purification of the world, but
first a baptism to undergo. As I said, this word used here
is used in a figurative sense. It’s to be overwhelmed. And here
Christ is preparing to be overwhelmed by agony. Jesus first must be
plunged into the flood of a horrible distress before God has his way
in the purification of the world. It was the baptism of the garden. the distress that he faced in
the Garden of Gethsemane. It was the baptism of distress
and the horror that he faced on the cross. Before the fire could be sent
in full measure upon the earth for destruction and purification,
Jesus first had to be plunged into the flood of pain and suffering
for us. For the fire would be kindled,
for the fire would even be started. Jesus had a mission to accomplish. One person characterized it this
way, the world is seen as lit up with flames. Christ bathed
already in blood. His passion is a flood into which
he must be plunged. His passion. It’s all that has
to do with the cross. That’s what Christ longed for.
It’s the baptism of his sufferings. One said it this way, it’s the
baptism of his sufferings which are compared to a baptism because
of the largeness and abundance of them. He was, as it were,
immersed or plunged into them and which almost all interpreters
observe and by which they confess the true import and primary signification
of the word is used. As in baptism performed, the
person is plunged, covered with it. It continues a while under
it and then is raised. Another said it this way, the
baptism of the Son of God was a baptism of wrath. That’s what
Jesus faced on the cross, he faced the wrath of God for our
sin. But the most astounding thing
of this passage, Look at the last thing that Jesus says. I have a baptism to undergo. I already long for holiness.
I long for the purification in the world, except that first
I have this appointment. I have a baptism to undergo a
baptism of being immersed in God’s wrath and get this. And how distressed I am until
it is accomplished. How anxious I am. Don’t get the
sense here that Jesus is wringing his hands in worry, wondering
when it’s going to happen. Let’s get it over with. I’m distressed
until it takes place, like going to the dentist. That’s not at
all what his attitude was, Christ couldn’t wait. He couldn’t wait
to take on the sin of the world, to undergo redemption for all
humanity. Jesus longed for the fulfillment. One said it this way, the prospect
of his sufferings was a perpetual Gethsemane. While he longed to
accomplish his father’s will, possibly his human will, craving
the shortening of the waiting, but it was all for humanity’s
sake. This was for the elect, for the people that He looked
down and longed to save. Jesus wasn’t complaining here.
Jesus wasn’t saying to God, Lord, God, let’s get it over with.
Jesus knew what awaited Him. He came from the very first moment
on earth. He knew what awaited Him. It
didn’t come as a surprise to Him. He embraced it willingly. And he did it for a purpose. He longed, as one said, for a
time when he would suffer and die. Having an eye to the glorious
issue of his sufferings. And he cheerfully underwent it.
He took on God’s plan of redemption. And he did it willingly. Isaiah 53, 10. Remember these
words? The Lord was pleased to crush
him, putting him to grief. If he would render himself as
a guilt offering, he will see his offspring, he will prolong
his days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper his
hand. As a result of the anguish of his soul, he will see it and
be satisfied. By His knowledge of the Righteous
One, My servant will justify the many. He will bear their
iniquities.” Jesus saw that and He looked right through the difficulty
and He looked at the redemption of humanity and He embraced it
and He longed for it. He couldn’t wait. But you know, people, the amazing
thing of this passage It isn’t even what the words on the page
say. It’s the white space between
verse forty nine and fifty. Because the two things, in a
sense, are antithetical. How can you on the one hand long
for judgment and on the other hand long for redemption? Unless
there are people to be redeemed. The amazing thing to notice about
this passage of what occurs in the white space. Redemption. The amazing thing is that God’s
committed mercy. That he longed for judgment and
yet longs for redemption. But for whom? Because all deserve
judgment, right? Every person that has ever been
born deserves judgment. And yet Jesus longed, couldn’t
wait to go to the cross for the sake of redemption. It’s to those
that He’s shown mercy. That He couldn’t wait to reap
the blessings of redemption. And you see that thought throughout
in Scripture. Think of 2 Peter 3.9. Know this, first of all,
that in the last days the mockers will come with their mocking.
We’ve looked at this passage before. Saying, where is the
promise of His coming? For ever since the Father fell
asleep, everything continues just as it was from the beginning
of the creation. Where is this Jesus that you said is coming
back? He didn’t come back in 2000 like one guy predicted.
So where is he? Been gone 2000 years. For when they maintain this,
it escapes their notice that by the word of God, the heavens
existed long ago and the earth was formed out of water and by
water. You know what? I love the way Peter does there.
He says, were you there? Oh, you think everything’s been
like this for all time? Were you there when God created
the heavens and the earth? Oh, you weren’t. But by His Word, the present
heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of
judgment, which passage I just read a moment ago. Kept for the
day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly men. But do not
let this one fact escape your notice. That with the Lord, one day is
as a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. The Lord
is not slow about His promise. God isn’t dragging His feet.
God hasn’t forgotten. Oh, the people on earth. The Lord isn’t slow about His
promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you. Not wishing for any to perish,
but for all to come to repentance. What a merciful God we have.
A God that looks down and on every person that He’s ever said
His electing love on, He is drawing and He is waiting. And it will
happen. And between the white space of
verse 49 And verse 50, there the love of God reaches down
and begins to draw a people to himself through the redemption
that Christ is offering there. You know, the picture that I
have of this image is Jonah. Remember the pouting prophet
sent one place. He doesn’t go. He goes exactly
180 degrees in the opposite direction. God sees his hold of him, puts
him back in the ministry. And even then, his attitude was
terrible. The town that he went through was a three days walk.
He took it at a clip of one day’s walk, race walking through town. And at the end, even at the end,
after so many people are saved, he goes and he pouts. He pouts
underneath the tree that grows up instantly, gives him shade.
The tree dies off and God comes and confronts him. He says, Jonah,
listen to his words. Do you have good reason to be
angry about the plant? And he said, I have good reason
to be angry even to death. Take my life. The Lord said you
had compassion on the plant for which you did not wo