Lent 2 2025

Luke 13:31–35 (NIV84)

31 At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ 33 In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem! 34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Have you ever had someone attempt to change your plans or to do something you yourself have not planned?

Perhaps as a youth, your parents made strong suggestions as to what career path you should follow.

Maybe while in college, you were recruited by the CIA. Of course, if that happened you would not be able to tell us if you had accepted.

Perhaps drafted by the military and then you spent your enlistment being told what to do a lot.

Spouses have a tendency to at least offer suggestions.

In some cases we are recruited to a place of employment and in some cases our employer makes it very clear that our services are not longer needed . . . or wanted.

Although we live in a nations that grants many freedoms including what, when, and where we are doing things, we have probably all experienced times when others have either suggested or demanded that we do something other than what we had planned.

Jesus encountered the same situation at times. Recall how his mother, Mary, subtly or not so subtly intimated that at the wedding of Cana it was time for him to do miracles. In an event after our text, when Jesus plainly told his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem to be betrayed, arrested, and put to death, we recall Peter’s rather strong reaction.

On the occasion of our text, we have the Pharisee telling Jesus what they thought he should do and why. “Leave this place and go somewhere else.” Why? “Herod wants to kill you.”

When: This takes place several months before Jesus would go to Jerusalem as we remember during Holy Week. Luke 13:22 (NIV84) Then Jesus went through the towns and villages, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.

Where: Jesus is in Galilee or perhaps Perea. It was in Galilee that he did most of his active ministry.

Who: The Herod referred to here is Herod Antipas. He was a son of Herod the Great (the King who had sought Jesus’ death over 30 years earlier. Herod Antipas ruled this geographic area. He is known to us as the Herod who had ordered the execution of John the Baptist. He is also the Herod whom Jesus was sent to by Pontius Pilate on Good Friday.

The Pharisees should be well known to us.

These Pharisees are the ones who suggest that Jesus leave the area. Perhaps they did not realize that this was Jesus’ intention anyway but not for the reason they give (Herod wants to kill you.) and not according to their timetable.

Jesus responds with affirming that he is the master of his own itinerary. He dismisses the ability of Herod to threaten him and refers to him as a fox (craftiness).

Luke then records for us Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem. The placing of Jesus’ words here can be problematic for several reasons.

Jesus is not near Jerusalem. He would later lament over the city as recorded by Luke.

Luke 19:41–44 (NIV84)

41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

The lament over Jerusalem in 13:34-35 seems to be out of place. Jesus is still in Galilee in Luke’s narrative. He does not arrive at Jerusalem until 19:41, when he weeps over the city; an event located some six chapters later in Luke’s chronology. Matthew’s placement of the lament is more fitting for anyone who seeks to construct a chronology of Jesus’ ministry, for he places the lament at 23:37-39 after Jesus’ entry into the city (21:10).

Matthew 23:37–39 (NIV84)

37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. 38 Look, your house is left to you desolate. 39 For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

But Luke’s placement of the lament makes sense within Luke’s overall purpose. It helps to develop the narrative by appearing nearly half-way between 9:51 and 19:41, sustaining the tension, and leading up to the tragedy that is to come in Jerusalem. The course has been set; there is no turning back, even though the news about Herod’s threat upon Jesus’ life is ominous. Jesus must go on to Jerusalem, and that is where his death shall occur.

The lament is tinged with great sadness. Jerusalem had already been the place where prophets had been killed (Jeremiah 26:20-23; cf. Matthew 23:29-30; Acts 7:52) and where early Christian witnesses, including Stephen and James, would be martyred (Acts 7:59; 12:2). Jesus cries out, using feminine imagery of a hen with her chicks, saying that he would gladly have protected the city, but the people would not listen.

At first sight, the verse seems to imply that Jesus had been in the city previously, and that his ministry there had been rejected. Yet the verse expresses a desire that Jesus had had, nothing more. From the beginning of his ministry, the leadership in Jerusalem had been involved in provoking people to reject him and his ministry (cf. 5:17).

Jesus pronounces doom upon the city, which was to be followed eventually by its destruction in A.D. 70. The passage ends with Jesus’ declaration that the people of the city will not see him until the messianic expectation of Psalm 118:26 is fulfilled: “Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.” These words are similar to the words that the people cry out who welcome Jesus as he rides into Jerusalem on the Sunday prior to his death: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” (19:38).

A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel according to St. Luke 9:51–13:35. The Departure from Galilee and First Period of the Journey

ἕως εἴπητε. Their seeing Him is dependent upon their repentance; and this is left uncertain; for the ἥξει ὅτε or ἂν ἥξη ὅτε after ἕως (A D, Vulg.) is not genuine.1 There are three interpretations of the point of time indicated by this declaration. (1) The cries of the multitude on Palm Sunday (19:38;

Summary.

Jesus had a plan and he would not be persuaded by others.

He knew he had to go to Jerusalem and what would happen to him. Jerusalem refers to the religious authorities who saw him as a threat to their power. They would kill him because he was a prophet just as their forefathers had rejected God’s prophets in the past.

The religious leaders did not care for Jesus, the prophets, and God the Father and showed it by their rebellious ways.

BUT

Jesus cared for them. It saddened him that they rejected God. His desire was to save them even though they were unwilling. The illustration of the hen and her chicks is well known.

Application: At times we rebel against our God but he still cares for us.

Nahum 1:7 (NIV84)

7 The LORD is good, a refuge in times of trouble. He cares for those who trust in him,

Psalm 91:4–8 (NIV)

4 He will cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you will find refuge; his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart. 5 You will not fear the terror of night, nor the arrow that flies by day, 6 nor the pestilence that stalks in the darkness, nor the plague that destroys at midday. 7 A thousand may fall at your side, ten thousand at your right hand, but it will not come near you. 8 You will only observe with your eyes and see the punishment of the wicked.

1 Peter 5:6–11 (NIV84)

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. 7 Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. 8 Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 9 Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings. 10 And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 11 To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen.