This was now the second time Paul was in prison in Rome. The first time, Paul had written a letter to the Philippians while in prison. At that time, Paul was under a sort of “house arrest.” Visitors could come and go. Paul confessed to the Philippians that he fully expected to be released and even be able to come and visit them. And all that turned out to be true.
When he saw the crowds, he was moved with compassion for them, because they were troubled and downcast, like sheep without a shepherd. (v. 36) This is indeed an endearing description of Jesus. Can you picture what it describes? Wherever Jesus went, large crowds would gather. The sick and the diseased and the crippled would come, hoping to get their moment with Jesus. When Jesus saw these suffering people, his heart went out to them.
Do you have a dining table in your house? Years ago, almost everybody did. If you do, think for a moment about who gets to sit at your dining table and eat with you? Have you ever stopped to think about that? Not too many, is it? That table is special. It is used on days like Thanksgiving. Your family gathers at that table. Dear, close friends are invited to sit at that table. It’s kind of a special place.
There are a number of very significant “commissionings” recorded in our Bible. On this Trinity Sunday, we might think of the commissioning of the prophet of Isaiah when he sees the Lord on the throne and the holy angels flying and singing, Holy! Holy! Holy is the LORD Almighty! (Isaiah 6:3) Or we might think of the commissioning of Moses at the burning bush to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt. Whenever the Lord commissions, it’s a big deal!
We celebrate today the Festival of the Holy Spirit. Someone has called the Holy Spirit “the forgotten member of the Trinity.” It was their experience that in churches much is said of God the Father. Much is made of God the Son – and with good reason! But to them, the Holy Spirit seems to be neglected.
Someone has said the scariest words to pray are “Thy will be done.” Those words, in essence, turn every situation over to God and say, “Do everything the way you want.” That can be scary! There is a part of us that doesn’t want to turn everything over to him. We would rather that God run his ideas past us. Ask for our input. Give us the “right of first refusal” if we don’t like the direction of things. Simply to turn all things over to him?
What we observe today is one of several “ascensions” recorded in the Bible. Before you label me a heretic, let me make my case. In Genesis 17 there is the story of when Abraham was 99 years old and, we are told, the LORD appeared to him. (Genesis 17:1) That’s important to note. Abraham didn’t just hear some disembodied voice. The LORD appeared visibly to Abraham.
Are you ready? Jesus told us to be. He told his followers: You will be hated by all nations because of my name. (Matthew 24:9) Do you feel the hatred of the nations? Here is the honest truth. We in our nation have been living a sort of “divine exemption” from all of this. By God’s grace and protection, our experience as Christians has been almost persecution-free.
At the center of Jewish worship life in the Old Testament was the Temple in Jerusalem. The first Temple was built at the time of David’s son, King Solomon. It was a magnificent structure! The Most Holy Place, that sacred inner room where the Ark of the Covenant was kept, was overlaid with about 20 tons of pure gold!
In order to understand our text this morning, we need to have an understanding of how sheep were cared for at the time of Jesus. During the day, flocks of sheep would be out on the hills grazing under the watch and protection of a shepherd. But at night, shepherds might lead their flock to a pen. This pen would be enclosed all around by a stone wall, high enough that sheep could not climb or jump over it. This large, open-air pen would be large enough that a number of flocks could be kept in there overnight together. In one of the stone walls there would be the one opening into the pen.
