Luke 13:31-end (NRSV)

The Lament over Jerusalem

³¹ At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, ‘Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.’ ³²He said to them, ‘Go and tell that fox for me, “Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. ³³Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed away from Jerusalem.”³⁴Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often have I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! ³⁵See, your house is left to you. And I tell you, you will not see me until the time comes when you say, “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” ’

In this lesson, Jesus continues his theme of avoiding petty minor issues. Jesus displays this in his response to the warning of the Pharisees that he should leave the region because Herod was threatening to kill him. One cannot be sure that the Pharisee's motives were pure or whether they were being used by Herod as his agents, to frighten Jesus away. When one thinks of the reputation the Pharisees had, of trying to thwart Jesus' plans, it is likely that they were trying to hamper his work. Either way, it was clear to Jesus what the Father wanted him to do, and he was therefore not going to allow anything or any person to come between him and fulfilling his Father's will.

Jesus replies by calling Herod a fox and stressing that he will only move on when his work had been completed and not before. The fox image is interesting. In Jewish culture, this term was used to describe a person who was cunning. It was also used in contrast to a lion. A lion symbolised real greatness and power. At the opposite end of the scale was the fox which symbolised deviousness and all that was undesirable.

Jesus is also very specific in what he still needs to do. In verse 32 he stresses that he will be '... driving out demons and performing cures ...' Jesus was going to remedy spiritual evil as well as deal with physical problems. Both the dramatic and the insignificant are all important to our Lord, and he would never let anything come in his way and prevent him from loving and caring for his people. Jesus also knew that his mission would end in Jerusalem and not in Herod's territory.

Jerusalem, while a reference to the capital city, is also an image of all the people of Israel. Jesus reminds his audience of the terrible way in which the people of Israel acted towards the messengers God had sent them. The messengers had been sent by God to warn them that the path they were leading was going to lead to disaster - not that God was going to bring suffering to their lives - rather that they were going to bring it upon themselves. And how did the people respond? They persecuted them and even killed some of them. The saddest thing of all is that they were going to execute the most important prophet of all - the Messiah and saviour of the world - our Lord Jesus Christ. Herod cannot interfere in this process - he is not powerful enough. McBride explains: ‘Jesus had an ancient appointment that no mere human can thwart.) LaVerdiere adds: ‘Jesus needed to give Jerusalem's children the chance to return to their mother - Herod and no-one else would interfere with this.’

Jesus' lament over Jerusalem is another touching glimpse into the compassion and love of our God for all people. Rather than just leave them up to their own devices, and for them to reap their just rewards, God always tries to give people another chance. Like a hen tries to gather her little ones under the protection of her wing, God tries to warn people against sin and its consequences. But the little ones are not interested, because they think that they are all grown up, and they know better for themselves. God wants to gather his people into his kingdom, but the people want nothing to do with God and they make this known by the way they reject God and his messengers. At this stage in its history, Jerusalem reflected this graphically - her actions were sinful and God was absent rather than present – because they had pushed them away. But even still, God had not abandoned the city. God had been banished - repeatedly - but they were still going to be given another chance. But they needed to accept it before it was too late - before the door was closed – before they closed the door.

There are a number of lessons from this passage that we can apply directly into our lives today.

Firstly, we ought to seek to possess a spirit of calm and unshaken confidence about things that are still to come. This does not mean that we become irresponsible and do nothing for ourselves. To adopt this attitude would conflict with the testimony of the Scriptures. If we can honestly say that we have done everything that we can do, as J C Ryle puts it:

... we should therefore endeavour to leave things to come in God's hands, and not be over-anxious about health, or family, or money or plans. To cultivate this frame of mind would add immensely to our peace.

Many of us find this very difficult indeed. I have to admit that I struggle with this myself. But praise God, things are improving and I am finding, with the years, that the Lord is blessing me with more and more peace and I trust him for all things.

Here, as in all things, we should try to follow Jesus' example. There is no such thing as luck or accident or fate in the life of a believer. We need rather to exercise our faith and with Jesus be enabled by the Spirit of God to say - I will continue now until all things are accomplished and nothing is going to be allowed to thwart God's plans.

Secondly, we must never lose sight of God's compassion towards all people. Here to, we need to follow Jesus' example and show patience and compassion for those who are not at the same stage on the path of our spiritual pilgrimage. What a wonderfully caring picture the Scriptures paint of our Lord. God's attitude is beautifully portrayed by the prophet Ezekiel who records God's message to his people:

Tell them that as surely as I, the sovereign Lord, am the living God, I do not enjoy seeing sinners die. I would rather see them stop sinning and live. Israel, stop the evil you are doing. Why do you want to die? (Ezekiel 33:11, TEV.)

Peter reiterates this truth:

The Lord is not slow to do what he has promised, as some think. Instead, he is patient with you, because he does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants all to turn away from their sins (2 Peter 3:9, TEV.)

God's desire is that all people repent and return to him and receive the free gift of salvation achieved for them in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself made this point when he called people to be saved by turning to him. But they persisted in rejecting him and so he mourned and said: ‘Yet you are not willing to come to me in order to have life’(John 5:40, TEV).

Let us take care to guard against being over-anxious about things that we can do absolutely nothing about. If we have done everything in our power and if we know that we are being faithful to what God is calling us to do - relax and allow God to take control. God is our heavenly Father. He loves us very deeply. If we turn to him, he will never reject us. Like a hen mothering chickens God wants to surround all people with the wing of his protection and care. Even when we have turned our backs on God he will never tire of welcoming us back when we turn to him. If we are willing, we can come to him and have life. Amen.

References:

Barclay, The Daily Study Bible

LaVerdiere, E, Luke

McBride, D, The Gospel of Luke

Ryle, J C, Expository Thoughts of the Gospels: Luke