Fighting like Jesus
Have you ever gone through a season of struggle, wondering if it will ever end and asking “does it always have to be like this”? Are you waiting for things to get better so that you can get on with life? The Bible shows us that life is full of trouble, and that we can’t wait for it to get better before we get on with living to the full. Jesus’ life was a constant struggle, but never let it delay Him. He fought on, winning the most awesome victory for the Glory of God and for our eternal blessing. He also showed us how to keep fighting through it all.
Scripture
Luke 19:41-48 ESV And when7 he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, [42] saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. [43] For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side [44] and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.” [45] And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, [46] saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.” [47] And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, [48] but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.
Bible Study Questions
Jesus accepted and embraced God’s will and plan
Jesus knew from the beginning that God’s plan for Him in this fallen world would be hard. He didn’t just accept the plan and all it’s consequences but He whole heartedly embraced it, determined to fulfil it. We may not know God’s plan for us, but what can we know about it?
Isaiah 53:3-5 ESV He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. [4] Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. [5] But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
Luke 22:37 ESV For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me: ‘And he was numbered with the transgressors.’ For what is written about me has its fulfillment.”
John 16:33 ESV I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
Jesus suffering and rejection wasn’t only on the cross
Jesus chose to become flesh and live among us. He chose a life away from the glory and perfection He always had with the Father. He chose to suffer God’s wrath on the cross, but also a life of suffering leading up to it. What does knowing this do for us?
Matthew 2:16-18 ESV Then Herod, when he saw that he had been tricked by the wise men, became furious, and he sent and killed all the male children in Bethlehem and in all that region who were two years old or under, according to the time that he had ascertained from the wise men. [17] Then was fulfilled what was spoken by the prophet Jeremiah: [18] “A voice was heard in Ramah, weeping and loud lamentation, Rachel weeping for her children; she refused to be comforted, because they are no more.”
Luke 2:42-46 ESV And when he was twelve years old, they went up according to custom. [43] And when the feast was ended, as they were returning, the boy Jesus stayed behind in Jerusalem. His parents did not know it, [44] but supposing him to be in the group they went a day's journey, but then they began to search for him among their relatives and acquaintances, [45] and when they did not find him, they returned to Jerusalem, searching for him. [46] After three days they found him in the temple, sitting among the teachers, listening to them and asking them questions.
Matthew 3:17-4:1 ESV and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” [4:1] Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
Mark 3:21 ESV And when his family heard it, they went out to seize him, for they were saying, “He is out of his mind.”
Palm Sunday was a great turning point in Jesus Ministry
Jesus carefully managed the knowledge of His identity. He didn’t want it to be public knowledge until the perfect time. We may expect that things would have changed for Jesus when He made it clear to all that He was the long awaited Messiah - but it only intensified the battle. Sometimes the greatest advances in God’s plan for us come with the toughest battles.
Luke 19:37-40 ESV As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, [38] saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” [39] And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” [40] He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
Mark 8:29-30 ESV And he asked them, “But who do you say that I am?” Peter answered him, “You are the Christ.” [30] And he strictly charged them to tell no one about him.
Jesus fights with steadfast love and compassion
The full public announcement of Palm Sunday would bring about Jesus toughest battle, even His death and suffering of God’s wrath. His death would have life changing and eternal consequences for those who believed, and for those who continued to reject Him. The intensity of the battle did not change His love and compassion for both. What does this teach us about Him?
Luke 19:41-44 ESV And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. [43] For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side [44] and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Luke 13:34-35 ESV O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! [35] Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Exodus 34:6 ESV The LORD passed before him and proclaimed, “The LORD, the LORD, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
Jesus fights for the Glory of God and the good of man
At the start of Jesus public ministry He purified the Temple. This brought more opposition and intensified the fight, but it also opened the way for true worshippers to meet with and glorify God. It warned those who were straying and made Jesus’ selfless obedience and commitment to the Father clear for all to see. What does the fact that He did the same thing at the end of His ministry teach us about people and about His faithful love and commitment?
John 2:13-17 ESV The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. [14] In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. [15] And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. [16] And he told those who sold the pigeons, “Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.” [17] His disciples remembered that it was written, “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
Luke 19:45-46 ESV And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold, [46] saying to them, “It is written, ‘My house shall be a house of prayer,’ but you have made it a den of robbers.”
Jesus fights until the mission is accomplished
Jesus knew from the beginning that His teaching would so infuriate the religious elite, that they would murder Him. He also knew from the beginning that His murder would not end in death and would mean eternal life for those who believed. He continued to teach knowing that nothing, not even death could halt God’s plans for salvation. What things threaten to stop us from continuing to believe and continuing to fight?
John 2:13-18 ESV So the Jews said to him, “What sign do you show us for doing these things?” [19] Jesus answered them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” [20] The Jews then said, “It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will you raise it up in three days?” [21] But he was speaking about the temple of his body. [22] When therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the Scripture and the word that Jesus had spoken.
Luke 19:47 And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him, [48] but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were hanging on his words.
How must we fight?
Jesus lived and died to show us our sin and need for a saviour. He died for our sin and rose to show us that He has won the victory and our salvation. He has given us this precious knowledge, and called it the Gospel. What are we to do with this knowledge, and how are we to keep fighting to the end?
2 Corinthians 4:7-9 ESV But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. [8] We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; [9] persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
2 Corinthians 4:17-18 ESV For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, [18] as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.