Let's continue to worship the Lord by receiving his word now. Please turn to Luke chapter 9. Luke chapter 9 verses 51 to 56. Let's hear God's word. When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem and he 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 his face was set toward Jerusalem. 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? But he turned and rebuked them, and they went on to another village. Let's pray once again. Lord, help us now to Be the opposite of your disciples here and be the opposite of the Samaritans. Whereas the Samaritans rejected you, help us to receive you and to receive your word. And where the disciples were dull of hearing and misunderstanding of your ways, help us to hear and receive and understand as you would give us understanding by your spirit. And we pray these things in Jesus' name, amen. When was the last time that you were really looking forward to something? Maybe it was meeting up with friends at the end of a week, maybe on a Friday evening. And even though your work week was difficult, you had a lot of assignments to get through, maybe you had a lot of late work days or working through the night or something like that, you were able to persevere and press through because you knew at the end of the week there was something enjoyable to look forward to. Or maybe over the summer, you took a road trip somewhere as a family. And even though your destination was an eight or ten hour drive away, all you were able to press through that, knowing that at the end of it, you'd have something to look forward to. And so you packed up the car with the kids and the luggage and all of those things, and you hit the road. In your mind, you thought of the nice, relaxing scene that you'd have at the end of your journey, where you'd put your feet up, and just relax and enjoy a week or so away from the usual hecticness of everyday life. And so even though it was an eight or 10 hour drive and even though you had to make a few unexpected stops for bathroom breaks with kids, you were able to press through because you had something at the end that you were looking forward to and you knew it would all be worth it. Well, it's not hard for us to push through some period or activity of difficulty when at the end of that activity is some kind of promised reward or promised rest. On the other hand, often if there's something we don't want to do, we tend to drag our feet. We tend to make excuses and push things off and we procrastinate so that we don't have to do that thing. Well here, In Luke's gospel, Jesus' ministry is hitting a turning point. Up until now, Jesus has largely been fulfilling his ministry of proclamation, right? Preaching that the jubilee has come, that the kingdom has broken into this world, that through the Messiah, through the Lord Jesus Christ, God is fulfilling all of his ancient promises to Israel. But now, his ministry is pivoting from a ministry of proclamation throughout the towns and villages, now towards what he must do in Jerusalem. Twice now, he's already told his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem, he must suffer, he must be handed over, rejected, and he must be killed. And so in our passage, we find Jesus beginning his journey to Jerusalem. But what awaits him at the end of his journey? there in Jerusalem is not a nice holiday house by the beach. It's not fresh air and scenic views from a mountaintop. It's not a place where he can put his feet up and enjoy himself for a little bit. No, what awaits him in Jerusalem is suffering, and he knows it. He knows it. He knows that in Jerusalem, he will suffer. He will suffer in ways that we can't even begin to imagine. One of his specially chosen 12 disciples will betray him. For what? For a kingdom? To be the governor of Judea for a mansion? No, for a wallet full of cash. He will betray the Lord Jesus Christ. Even his closest disciple, Peter, will deny he even knows who Jesus is. Peter, who was there on the mountain, Peter, who was in the boat, Peter, who was at the feeding of the 5,000. Jesus? I've never heard of him. Nothing good awaits in Jerusalem for Jesus, and that's only scratching the surface. Well, if it were you or I and we knew we had to go to Jerusalem, we'd drag our feet, we'd make excuses, we'd find some reason not to go, or we'd delay our journey, and yet we're told in the Gospels that Jesus set his face like flint to go to Jerusalem. Despite what awaits him there, He doesn't drag his feet. He doesn't make excuses. He doesn't take the long way around. No, in fact, he goes directly from Galilee through Samaria, straight to Judea, as we'll consider in a moment, the fastest way, but the most inconvenient way, most dangerous way, most uncomfortable way. And in this, we cannot but marvel at the nature of our Savior. He doesn't just come and do the work of salvation because, well, the father told him and he kind of has to do these things, he's got to check all the boxes. No, he does it in order to save us. He does it with intention, with resolve. And he does it, as Hebrews tells us, for the joy that was set before him. Beloved, it was your salvation that was Jesus' joy that drove him to Jerusalem and to do all that was necessary in order to save you from what you deserved. Your salvation brings him joy. And it's because Jesus not only suffered there in Jerusalem, but also ascended to the right hand of the Father from where he poured out his Holy Spirit into your hearts that you now share in that same joy of salvation. Let's see how this passage then reveals to us more of our Savior in his person and his work. Let's consider Jesus' resolve, Jesus' rebuke, and Jesus' reward. Well, the first thing we see here is Jesus' resolve. Our passage begins in verse 51 with Luke telling us, when the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem. With the language of the days are drawing near, Luke is, in a sense, letting us have a sneak peek at God's schedule. Luke is showing us, as it were, God's wristwatch to know what time it is in terms of God's great plan of salvation that he planned from before the world's foundation. The language of being taken up is a reference to his ascension, where he bodily ascended to the right hand of the Father. We'll think more about that in the third point. But it's because that time is drawing near that Jesus sets his face to go to Jerusalem. Now, what's so significant about Jerusalem? Why is Jesus so determined to go there? Well, not too long ago, we learned from his transfiguration that he must go to Jerusalem in order to fulfill his exodus. That's what he had been talking to Moses and Elijah about. And not only that, but right before his transfiguration and right after it, Jesus had explained to his disciples that he must go there to suffer, be handed over, and be killed. So what awaits Jesus in Jerusalem is not fanfare or praise or some kind of holiday destination. What awaits Jesus in Jerusalem is not even the kind of experience he had as a boy when he would go year after year with his parents for the worship in the temple and for the feasts. where he would learn and scholars would learn from him and sit in awe at his wisdom and his grace. No, his boyhood experience would not be his experience as a grown man. No, what awaits him in Jerusalem is crowds of people mocking him and jeering at him. He will be spat upon. He will be rejected and betrayed. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city of the king that once was home to David, now will reject the true king. David's Lord and David's God. By fixing his face towards Jerusalem, Jesus is fixing his face towards the suffering that lays ahead of him and he's embracing it. You know, it's incredible. It's incredible that God would send his son to suffer in this way at all. That alone should cause our jaws to drop. But what's even more incredible is that Jesus undertakes his mission with such resolve Jesus didn't just start his trek to Jerusalem kind of plodding along half-hearted. No, we read that he set his face like flint to go to Jerusalem. To set one's face towards something is language of resolve and determination and singular purpose. In Genesis chapter 31, Jacob thinks that his brother is going to kill him, and so he sets his face towards Gilead in order to escape his brother. And that makes sense. If something is threatening you, well then you set your face in the opposite direction. You try to get away from that place of suffering. But this is altogether different. Jesus isn't like Jacob who sets his face away from suffering and sorrow and conflict and pain. No, he sets his face towards the oncoming traffic, towards the collision of himself and the suffering of the Jews and the Romans and the suffering of God's wrath. He stares ahead towards Jerusalem unflinchingly and with his face set there like the flint of an arrow, he heads in that direction. And this is what was promised, wasn't it? In Isaiah chapter 50, verses five and seven. 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, but the Lord God helps me. Therefore, I have not been disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a flint. Make no mistake, Jesus is not some tragic hero, kind of hoodwinked by his disciples, betrayed, and only if he had known about Judas, or only if he had done this instead of that thing, you know, tragically captured and executed against his will. No, as Isaiah tells us, he gave his back to be flogged. He gave his cheek to have his beard pulled out. When people spat big spits at his face, he didn't turn away, he took them on the cheek. Such was his resolve. And what's even more remarkable is that Jesus didn't do this begrudgingly. I mean, many of us can do, you know, hard work. I mean, we can all take out the garbage when stuff is running out of it and we get it all over our hands and it's nasty. You know, we can say, look, I did this, but our heart isn't in it. Children, you know that word begrudgingly, what it means? Sometimes, maybe your mom or dad has a chore that they give you, and even though you do it, you're sort of obedient externally, you do the chore, you know, your heart isn't in it. It takes them three times to tell you to do it. You do it kind of half-hearted and with sort of a halfway effort. That's what it means to do something begrudgingly. Jesus doesn't go to Jerusalem begrudgingly or half-hearted. He doesn't go there simply to even fulfill a duty, certainly he is fulfilling his duty in the covenant of redemption, we'll get into that, but he's not simply doing it for duty's sake. Yes, he went to Jerusalem with a heart full of sorrow as the man of sorrows, but he also did so, he did it with joy. Joy, as Hebrews 12, two tells us, 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. You see, Jesus' purpose in all of this suffering, it wasn't for suffering's sake. No, he suffered and he died in order to deliver you from the suffering and the disgrace that you deserve because of your sin. It was to suffer and to die for you, dear Christian, to take what you deserved upon himself, because that's what you deserved. You deserved to hang there in nakedness and in shame and agony, and then to take all of that cross experience and multiply it by infinity, when you consider that what Jesus truly bore was not only the physical suffering, but also the eternal agonies of God's wrath. And that's what Jesus took for you. And therefore, you are spared from what you deserve, because he willingly, knowingly, and unflinchingly, and joyfully took that upon himself. And know that he didn't do it begrudgingly then, and dear Christian, he doesn't begrudge you now. As you hear the gospel recalled, don't feel guilty almost as if, oh no. No, respond with joy, because it was Jesus' joy to do that for you. He doesn't sit in heaven and tally up all that he did for you and sit in judgment over you. No, it was his joy. He does not begrudge this work. It was his joy to save you from hell. It was his joy to endure all of these things, and as Hebrews tells us, it was his joy to bring many sons to glory. And now that joy has become your joy. And so what words of praise ought you to respond with to your Savior who joyfully went to the cross and suffered God's wrath on your behalf? Words lack us, words fail us. As we heard in the call to worship, there are no words that can fully summarize all that Christ has done or thank him enough. And yet praise him, praise him we must. So beloved, meditate on these things. Meditate on the gospel and praise your resolute savior. What we've considered Jesus' resolve. Secondly, we see Jesus' rebuke. So Jesus has set his face like flint to go to Jerusalem. And we know that not only because Luke tells us in those very words, we also know because of the route that Jesus takes to get to Jerusalem. Now in terms of the geography, Jesus is currently in Galilee, which is in the north. Just south of that you have Samaria, and then south of that again is the region of Judea, where Jerusalem is located. And the most direct route is to Jerusalem is in a straight line down from Galilee through Samaria down into Judea. However, that is not the route that you took if you were a Jew. And the reason for that is that the Jews and the Samaritans didn't get along very well. The Samaritans had an interesting history. They were kind of a mix of Jewish and Gentile ancestry. And not only that, but they had actually rejected Jerusalem as the city of God and rejected the temple in Jerusalem. They had instead set up their own place of worship on Mount Gerizim. And so there was not only, you might say, ethnic tensions, but there were also religious tensions. So this, as well as many other factors, created a lot of tension between the Jews and the Samaritans. So much so that oftentimes violence broke out between the two groups. The Jewish historian Josephus reports that Jews who made their way from the north to the south going through Samaria could expect to be attacked along the way. And so for that reason, if you were a Jew and you wanted to get from Galilee to Judea, you didn't take a straight line through Samaria. No, you went the long way around, down the Transjordan, adding on perhaps, I don't know, a day's journey onto the way you would have to go. And that was the safer way to go. It was the more sensible way. But it's not the way Jesus goes. Jesus doesn't take the long way around to get to Jerusalem. No, he takes the most direct route possible, the one that will lead him through Samaria and into more trouble and suffering. So as they travel down through Samaria, Jesus and his band of disciples and their followers, we read in verse 52 how Jesus sends messengers ahead in order to make preparations. So Jesus, just as a king would do, would send his keruchs, his messengers, his heralds, ahead of him to prepare the way. These were disciples who were sent on to towns ahead. They would preach the gospel, and they would try to arrange accommodations somewhere for Jesus and his disciples to stay, to spend the night, and also to have provisions. However, Luke tells us that the Samaritans do not receive him. Well, there's that word receive again. In the previous passage, Jesus commanded his disciples to receive even a child, someone of no status. So receiving had to do with showing hospitality. To receive someone was to receive someone into your home. to provide for them, to give them lodgings, that sort of thing. And so, hospitality and receiving was all tied up with honor and shame. Remember, in that day, you wanted to receive those of high honor, because that would make you look good, and you didn't want to receive those who had lower honor, because, well, that would make you look bad. Well, here, the Samaritans are rejecting Jesus. In other words, they are saying that no, we do not want Jesus in our homes. To have him sit at our tables, to sleep in our spare bedrooms, no way. That would be shameful. Such a man as that would bring shame to our families. We are not interested in this shameful man. What was so shameful about Jesus? Luke tells us in verse 53. But the people did not receive him because his face was set towards Jerusalem. Now the Samaritans, as I said, had rejected Jerusalem as the place of God's worship and the temple. And more than that, they rejected the idea that the Messiah, God's Christ, would be a suffering Messiah. Like so many others, that idea was shameful, that a Messiah would be crucified and suffer. And so they rejected Jesus' mission of going to Jerusalem to suffer, because that is not the Messiah that they believe in. brings to mind, doesn't it, Paul's words. Christ crucified is a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles. They have no place in their theology for a Messiah who would undergo the shame of the cross. So they reject Jesus. But the disciples Well, they don't like this at all. They are very bothered by it, and they should be bothered by it, as any one of us should be. But they're unwilling to let this one go. So John, he remembers back to his Sunday school days and the stories of the prophets in the Old Testament. And he kind of asks himself, what would Elijah do in a situation like this? It's not surprising that his mind goes to Elijah. They had just seen him on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus and Moses. And his mind goes back to 2 Kings chapter 1. What would Elijah do with Samaritans? Elijah handled Samaritans that defied the Lord by calling down fire from heaven and destroying them, as we read earlier in our worship service. So John and James remember that scene from their Bible lessons in Sunday school, and then they go to Jesus and they suggest the very same thing, and maybe they're expecting a kind of a pat on the back, you know, like, good job guys, you've remembered your Bible history, you're remembering how, you're connecting the dots of redemptive history. And so they say to Jesus, Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them? So they want a repeat of what Elijah did. They want to wipe out this entire village for rejecting Jesus. And as I said, their request to Jesus anticipates a positive response. They're expecting him to slap them on the back and say, good job guys, go get them, wipe those guys out. But Jesus responds in the sternest way we've seen him in the gospels so far. He responds by saying, Luke tells us, but he turned and rebuked them. The image is that they're all walking as a group. Jesus is at the head of the group. He hears James and John behind him suggest this in his ears, and it's enough to make him stop dead in his tracks and to swing around and turn to them and rebuke them. That's the image that we have here from Luke. Whereas Jesus has been so patient up until now with all of the ridiculous things the disciples have been suggesting in the last few passages. Here, he fires at them with both barrels. This word for rebuke is a very specific word. We've seen it used throughout Luke's gospel, haven't we? As Jesus has rebuked the sea, the storm, as Jesus has rebuked again and again sickness, as he's rebuked the demonic and demons. The word rebuke here is a word that Jesus uses to combat, or Luke describes what Jesus does to combat, the demonic and any kind of chaos or opposition to his kingdom and his mission. And therefore, Jesus is treating James and John, at least in their attitudes and in their words, as demonic opposition to his mission. How is it demonic? It's demonic because Jesus' mission to Jerusalem is not to go as a conquering king, subjugating and destroying and burning every village along the way, and then eventually burning Jerusalem if they don't receive him. No, his mission is to go and to suffer and to be rejected. James and John are still thinking of Jesus only in terms of the Daniel 7 kind of son of man who will come in glory and might, and all people will bow the knee to them. Yes, that day is coming, but that day is not today, James and John. First, he must suffer. And in fact, to oppose Jesus' mission of suffering now is to oppose God's plan from all eternity to save his elect. Makes one think, doesn't it, of James and John on the Mount of Transfiguration, where God the Father spoke and he told them, listen to my son. What did they not do? They didn't listen. to the Son. If they had listened, they wouldn't be suggesting anything like this. And ironically, their suggestion actually falls more in line with the Samaritans and their rejection of Jesus' mission. They're just rejecting Jesus' mission in a different way. So the disciples, they fail to understand Jesus' mission. They also fail to understand the nature of Jesus' kingdom. What does their request show? Well, it shows that their thinking is that Jesus' kingdom is one of glory now. They think that Jesus' kingdom now will be like the kingdom of David and Solomon, perhaps even like the Romans, a kingdom that is forged through steel and fire and chains and subjugation. But the church is not Rome. and the church is not Israel. It is not a geopolitical nation with borders and armies, and it does not advance the way nations advance. It does not advance through the shedding of the blood of others or through the force of arms. No one can be coerced into the kingdom, and nobody should be punished for rejecting the kingdom. The state should not be a Christian state that punishes those who reject Christ, nor does the church hold a sword to punish those who reject Christ. There is a judge, and there is a day of judgment coming, but the church has not been tasked with carrying out this judgment at this present time. So it makes no difference who is in the White House or who has the majority in the two houses of Congress, because the church is not sustained by political maneuvering and machinations, and it is not advanced by these things. The church's health is not to be measured against the state of our nation or the culture wars. The kingdom of Christ is founded upon the promises of Christ. She is sustained by the power of Christ, and she advances through the preaching of Christ. And when the gospel message is rejected by the world, by our neighbors, and even when she is persecuted, she does not respond through violence, or taking up arms, or any kind of hostility. Jesus has already taught us, hasn't he, how we respond when we are rejected for his sake. just as he taught his disciples in the beginning of this chapter. When someone does not receive me, or you, because of my sake, you just wipe the dust off your sandals and move on to the next person. You do not take the sword against them or try to punish them. And so, dear Christian, each of us must ask, How do we respond when others reject or ridicule us for our faith? Do you respond with anger and judgment? Is your first reaction to call down fire from heaven like James and John? Or do you respond with the grace and the love that Jesus embodies? This passage reminds us that following Christ is not just about receiving his mercy, his patience, his kindness. It's also about extending that mercy and that patience towards others, even those who reject our King or reject us because of our King. Well, the third thing that James and John failed to grasp was that, yes, though judgment is coming for those who reject the Messiah, today, today is the day of salvation. Yes, judgment is coming. Jesus taught about this clearly. John the Baptist spoke about this clearly when he spoke of the threshing floor and the fire of God's judgment and wrath. But in his first coming, Jesus came not to judge, but to save and to provide salvation for all who would come to him. He came first to set his face towards Jerusalem and to fulfill that great mission to save his enemies, to suffer and die for sinners, and thus secure a people for himself. This was not the day of judgment. It was still a time of mercy. Certainly those who go on rejecting Christ, such as the Samaritans did, would be held to account. But in his mercy, Jesus was giving them time to repent. God gives time for all people to respond to the message of Christ. That's why we're not judged the moment we're conceived, or the first moment our heart beats in the womb, or the first moment we emerge. That's the reason we are not consumed and destroyed by God's wrath the first time we commit our first actual sin, or our 100th actual sin, or our 1,000,000th actual sin. It is because God is merciful, and he is giving time for his elect to respond to the gospel. That's what Peter writes in his second epistle, does he not? The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise, as some count slowness, but he is patient towards you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. What seems like delay is simply God fulfilling his promise to call to himself all of his elect scattered throughout the world and scattered throughout the ages. And guess what? That's exactly what happened in Samaria. In the opening of the book of Acts, Jesus says what? He commands his disciples to take the word to Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. In Acts chapter eight, the Jerusalem church hears that Samaria, of all places, has received the word of God. What do they do? They send Peter and they send John to go there to Samaria and to preach throughout the region. What a reversal in the hearts of the Samaritans that were once they rejected the Lord, the word incarnate, they are now receiving the word. What a reversal in the heart of John, whereas once he was ready to call down fire to consume them, now he is preaching the gospel of free grace to sinners who need to hear of God's mercy. And so we see many in Samaria were led to salvation. One of the lessons that this teaches us is to be patient and merciful, even towards those who reject the gospel. Make no mistake, there is a day of judgment coming, and that's why we need to repent before the Lord. But today is a day of mercy. Today, as Hebrews says, is the day of salvation. And so when we're tempted to pick up the sword, or when we're tempted to call down fire from heaven, let us remember how Jesus treated his enemies. Remember how Jesus treated you, who were once his enemy. While we were his enemies, he loved us and he gave himself for us. In mercy, we did not receive the judgment we deserve, and therefore, Let us who have received mercy be merciful, as Jesus has taught us. Blessed are the merciful, because they will be shown mercy. And so, beloved, with that in mind, with your Savior in view, you can endure the mocking of classmates in college. You can endure rejection in the workplace. And you can even endure the scorn of family members, knowing that through patience and through mercy, God is drawing all of his elect to himself. So we've considered Jesus' resolve to go to Jerusalem. We've considered his rebuke of the disciples. But what was it that enabled him to press on with such determination to go to Jerusalem? What was it that enabled him to show such restraint and patience and mercy on those who would rather see him sleep on a park bench than in their homes? That's the third thing we consider, the reward that was held out to him by the Father. So let's consider then Jesus' reward. Throughout the Old Testament, there is not only the promise and foretelling that the Messiah will suffer, but there is the promise that after he suffers, when he accomplishes his mission, he will receive a reward by the Father. We call this agreement the covenant of redemption. One example is Isaiah 53, verses 10 and 11. There we read, yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him He was put to grief. When his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper his hands. Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. Well, there you see, there is the purpose of the father to crush the son. But then we read that when the son makes an offering for guilt, then he will receive the reward. He shall see his offspring, his children. His days will be extended, he'll be glorified, and many will be accounted righteous. And so throughout the Old Testament, you have these promises that the Messiah must suffer. But when he suffers, when he accomplishes all of those things, he will be rewarded with a kingdom of people and he will be glorified. Well, where do we see this hinted at in our passage? We see it in verse 51. When the days drew near for him to be taken up. This language of being taken up is used several places throughout the New Testament, especially in Acts. And it refers to Jesus being bodily taken up in the ascension. After his resurrection and after meeting with disciples for 40 days, he would bodily ascend to the right hand of the father. And Luke is telling us here that this is the reward that Jesus was ultimately looking towards. He knew that Jerusalem would mean suffering and death. but he knew the promises of scripture, that his soul would not be abandoned to Sheol or Hades. He would not remain in the place of the dead. First he would descend, but then he would be raised and he would ascend, he would be taken up to heaven in his ascension. This was the reward that Christ was looking forward to, his resurrection and then his ascension, but Jesus, wasn't just doing this for himself. Jesus didn't have to die on a cross. Jesus didn't need to be raised or ascended. He was doing all of these things for you, dear Christian. And so in his ascension, you have ascended, just as Adam represented all of humanity when he sinned. So Christ, in his obedience and in his works of redemption, represents all of his elect. And thus, Christ's reward is not only that he ascends to heaven, but that with him he takes a host of captives. We in him, as his people, are raised from death to life. Again, as Hebrews tells us, the reward for his work of redemption is not only that the son is glorified, but that he brings with him many sons to glory. And so, beloved, take comfort in knowing that Christ suffered in Jerusalem so that he might receive the reward of your salvation. Your salvation is not an afterthought of what Jesus did. It was the purpose for which he died and for which he was raised. Let that encourage you as you suffer, knowing that you will never have to suffer the way he suffered in Jerusalem. Yes, we as Christians, as followers of Christ, follow Jesus' path of suffering first and glory later. But our suffering will never be like his. You will never have to face the judgment of an angry God against sin, because Jesus took that for you. And so as you suffer that, as Paul says, that momentary suffering of this life, whether it's suffering rejection for Christ's sake, or whether it's suffering the effects of life in this fallen world, the bodily pains and illnesses we face, remember that your glory has already been secured by Christ in his ascension. such that Paul can say that God in his mercy has made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved and has raised us up together with him and seated us with him in heavenly places in Christ Jesus so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace and kindness towards us in Christ Jesus. And so, beloved, with the assurance of this hope firmly fixed in your heart, let us each fix our faces like flint towards the new Jerusalem and towards our resolute, patient, merciful, and glorious Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your plan in the fullness of time to save a people unworthy like us, to save a people from our sins. And we thank you that even while we were once your enemies, you showed mercy upon us. You were patient towards us. You called us in your timing and you saved us. Lord, help us as those who have received mercy to be merciful. Help us in the one hand to have the boldness and courage to go to places like Samaria where we may be rejected for the gospel. And on the other hand, help us to be patient and loving, that we might persevere, knowing that you are not slow to fulfill your promises, but that you will draw all of your own to yourself in your time. We pray these things in Jesus' name, amen.