Luke 13:31-35 - Until the Time Comes

Introduction

[CONTEXT] As He made His way to Jerusalem to give His life on the cross to pay the price for our sins, Jesus taught on the Kingdom of God. One particular lesson we saw last week was that many Jews will be left out of the Kingdom because of their rejection of Jesus.

So all who reject Jesus will be left out of the Kingdom. They will not be saved.

But many Gentiles will be saved because of their acceptance of Jesus as the only way of salvation.

So all who accept Jesus—be they Jew or Gentile—will be gathered into the Kingdom. They will be saved.

But on the heels of that teaching, Jesus receives a warning from some Pharisees.

Look at Luke 13:31...

[READING - Luke 13:31-35]

Luke 13:31–35 NASB95

31 Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.” 32 And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’ 33 “Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem. 34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it! 35 “Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

[CIT] In this passage, Jesus laments Jerusalem’s (i.e., Israel’s) rejection of salvation; Although He was willing to save them, they were not willing to be saved.

[INTER] We must ask ourselves as we read this passage, “Are we willing to be saved?” Or, will we too be left desolate because of our unbelief?

[TS] I want you to notice three things about Jesus in this passage...

MAJOR IDEAS

#1: The obedient courage of Jesus (vv. 31-32).

Luke 13:31–32 NASB95

31 Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.” 32 And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’

[Exp] As Jesus taught in one city and village then another, some Pharisees came to Him with a warning, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.” They wanted Him to leave the region of Galilee (which surrounded the Sea of Galilee) and Perea (which was the region east of the Jordan River closer to the Dead Sea). Jesus had been teaching in these areas.

Herod (i.e., Herod Antipas) was the puppet-king setup by the Roman Empire to rule over this region.

He was, in a word, “wicked.”

He stole his brothers wife, was seduced by his niece/step-daughter; he beheaded John the Baptist, and would even add to the torment of Jesus during His trial before He was crucified.

So, there’s no doubt that these Pharisees knew Herod to be a real threat—one that really was threatening Jesus.

Now, the Pharisees were often opposed to Jesus, but they were opposed to Herod as well. It could be that they really didn’t want to see Jesus killed by Herod—or it may have been that they saw a convenient opportunity to remove Jesus from Galilee by telling Him about Herod’s threat.

The Pharisees must have been surprised that Jesus didn’t consider Herod much of threat, saying in v. 32, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’”

Jesus is not afraid of someone actually going to Herod and telling him what Jesus has said here, but Jesus probably just means this as a rhetorical reply to the threat against Him as announced by the Pharisees.

Some have suggested that Jesus may have sinned when He referred to Herod as a fox.

Exodus 22:28 does say...

Exodus 22:28 NASB95

28 “You shall not curse God, nor curse a ruler of your people.

And to call someone a fox was no compliment. It was to call someone crafty, self-centered, and deceitful.

But verses like Exodus 22:28 refer to everyday conversations not to a prophet of God delivering judgement against a wicked ruler (cf., Isa. 1:23; Ezek. 22:27; Hos. 7:3-7; Zeph. 3:3)—and it surely does not apply to the Son of God calling Herod according to his character.

Herod was a fox, so Jesus called him what he was—and in no way did Jesus sin.

For a little while longer, Jesus will go on casting our demons and healing the sick, and then on the third day Jesus will reach His goal. What does Jesus mean He will reach His goal?

Instead of “I will reach My goal,” some translations have Jesus saying “I shall be perfected.” Jesus was always perfect but His perfection had to be proven through His suffering.

Hebrews 2:10 NASB95

10 For it was fitting for Him, for whom are all things, and through whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to perfect the author of their salvation through sufferings.

Hebrews 5:9 NASB95

9 And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation,

Jesus’ goal wasn’t just to die on the cross but to also rise from the dead on the third day.

His perfection was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt through what He suffered without sinning and through His resurrection from the dead on the third day!

Neither warnings from the Pharisees or threats from Herod nor anything else would set the itinerary of Jesus’s mission. In God’s time, Jesus would go the cross, and on the third day He would reach His goal—He would rise.

Until then, He could not be killed.

[App] Who’s setting the itinerary in your life? Who’s setting the agenda for you?

There are always people warning us about the dangers of following God. And there are always tyrants threatening us as the people of God.

Most recently, for some Christians in our country, it sounds like, “Don’t go to church! You might get the virus!” or “Don’t sing in church! You might get sick!”

Or it sounds like, “If you have church, you’ll be fined! We’ll turn your power off! We’ll send the health department after you! You might even go to jail!”

But neither the people who warn us nor the tyrants who threaten us set the agenda for us!

We go where God says go!

We go when God says go!

We live and worship as He commands!

And we know that we cannot be killed until He says our time has come!

And we know that when our time does comes and we die, we will have reached our goal!

Because Jesus has died and rose again, all of us who have faith in Him, though we die we shall live and never die!

[Illus] But many Christians are not governed by the commands of God. They are not governed by the truth of the Gospel. They are not governed by the power of Jesus’s resurrection from the dead. Instead they are governed by laziness and/or disobedience that masquerades as fear of danger.

It reminds me of Proverbs 26:13, which says...

Proverbs 26:13 NASB95

13 The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! A lion is in the open square!”

The sluggard—the lazy person—always finds a reason not to work. Here the sluggard says he is afraid of a lion.

To be clear, lions are real, but he hasn’t seen a lion in the road or in the town square that day.

He’s just excusing his laziness with the possibility of there being a lion outside.

Maybe someone has even warned him about a possible lion.

Maybe the local government has said, “Beware of lions.”

[App] Many Christians use ‘possible lions’ to excuse their laziness in obeying and following God.

God says, “Go!” but they lazily stay, saying, “It might be dangerous.”

God says, “Do!” but they disobediently refuse citing a potential threat.

Maybe they’ve listened to someone warning them about possible lions.

Jesus didn’t live that way, and because our Lord didn’t live that way, we shouldn’t either.

J. C. Ryle said, “It is for lack of steady, constant faith that so few can say with Christ, ‘I will walk today and tomorrow and not die until my work is done.’”

But the Spirit of Jesus lives within us if trust Him as Savior and follow Him as Lord—and His Spirit is not one of timidity, cowardice, or fear, but of power, love, and self-discipline (2 Tim. 1:7)!

So let us—brothers and sisters—discipline ourselves to follow Jesus with courage and boldness and love even when others warn and tyrants threaten!

Let us press on toward the goal (Phil. 3:14)!

For death cannot touch us until God says our time has comes!

[TS] ...

#2: The willing love of Jesus (vv. 33-34).

Luke 13:33–34 NASB95

33 “Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem. 34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not have it!

[Exp] From this point in Luke’s gospel, it’ll be more than three day before Jesus gives His life for our sins in Jerusalem, but it won’t be long. And that’s Jesus’s point. No matter whatever else He was doing, He must go—He must journey to Jerusalem because it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.

Jerusalem was the Holy City, the City of the Great King, the geographical center of Jewish life and worship. It was in that city that the Jewish feast of Passover took place and there that the Passover lamb was sacrificed for the sins of God’s people. Because the blood of the lamb without spot or blemish covered God’s people, His wrath passed over them.

Jesus was the perfect Passover Lamb who had to be sacrificed in Jerusalem so that His blood would cover those of who were willing to be covered.

In the past, Jerusalem had been graced with many prophets of God. They came with the Word of God but were often rejected by the civil and religious leadership in Jerusalem. The same thing happened with Jesus who was the Word made flesh.

God’s people—the very people who should have received the prophets—were often the ones beating and killing them.

Then God sent His Son, saying, “They will respect my Son.” But when they saw the Son, they said to themselves, “This is the Heir; come, let us kill Him...” (Matt. 21:37-38).

Jesus longed to save them! He longed to cover them in His blood so that they would be protected by the wrath of God! He longed, as v. 34 says, to gather them together just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings!

This was a common Jewish metaphor describing God’s care for His people. But what we must not miss was the willing love of Jesus in the words “and you would not have it!”

Some translations say, “but you were not willing!” It might be most literally put, “I willed, but you willed not,” (Ryle, MacArthur).

God gives the gift of faith to those He has chosen, and He calls forth that faith to believe on Jesus for salvation.

The Bible leaves no room for doubt: God is sovereign over salvation.

Even so, let us not think that we have God figured out. He desires that all men be saved, and all men who refuse the gift of salvation that He offers in Jesus Christ will perish.

His is a willing love! And if you reject Him, your rejection is willful.

Someone may ask, “But if God desires all to be saved and gives the gift of faith to and calls those He chose, then why didn’t He just choose everyone, give everyone the gift of faith, and call everyone to salvation through His Son Jesus?”

But that question is the wrong question because it assumes that every person is worth saving when in fact not one person is worth saving.

Thus a better question would be, “But if man has rejected God through sin and rebellion against the commands of God, then why does God choose to save any man?”

Rather than beginning with man’s imaginary worthiness before God, that question—why does God choose to save any man?—begins at the right place—with man’s utter sinfulness before Almighty God, and it leads to the right place as well—the grace of God in salvation.

Don’t get twisted up about God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility in salvation. Many people spend their lives twisted up about this abandoning one for the other, but the Bible teaches that both work together in a way that is beyond our comprehension.

And what can we say to this other than, It is the LORD; let Him do what seems good to Him (1 Sam. 3:18); and His thoughts are not our thoughts and His ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8); and How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways (Rom. 11:33)!

Instead of focusing on paradoxes we weren’t meant to resolve, focus on just one truth and one question whenever you begin to think about such things: Jesus is willing. Am I?

Jesus is willing to gather me and save me, to hide me under the wings of His righteous blood so that God’s wrath will passover me!

But am I willing to be saved?

Jesus is willing.

Am I?

[App] Maybe you would say, “I want to be willing, but I just don’t know if I really am.” You can take that to God in prayer. You can bow before Him and say, “God, I don’t even know if I want to believe; I don’t even know if I’m willing to be saved by You. God, give me the want-to! Give me the will!”

But maybe you would say, “I’m willing to be saved by Jesus, but I don’t know if I’m willing to give up all that I would have to give up to follow Jesus.”

Well, you’re right: the call to be saved by Jesus is the call to follow Him. Do not think that you can be saved by Him and remain as you are! He will change you! He will change your life! You will be a new creation!

[Illus] You remember the story of Ruth and Boaz from the OT. Ruth was a Moabitess worshipping Moabite idols until she married an Israelite. Then she worshipped YHWH, the one true God.

But then her husband died, and Ruth had a choice to make. She could go back to worshipping the Moabite idols again or she could go with her mother-in-law back to Israel and continue to worship YHWH.

Ruth made her choice, telling her mother-in-law, “Your people will be my people, and your God, my God,” (Ruth 1:16).

To Israel she went with her Israelite mother-in-law and soon found favor with Boaz, another Israelite man that she would marry, who said to her in Ruth 2:12...

Ruth 2:12 NASB95

12 “May the Lord reward your work, and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge.”

Ruth was no longer a Moabite. She sought refuge under the wings of the God of Israel, and she was change. She was an Israelite, a daughter of God—one in the lineage of Jesus, in fact.

[App] But you must make your choice. Jesus is willing to shelter you under His wings because He loves you, but what will you decide?

If you decide to believe Him, to trust Him, to follow Him, you will be changed.

He will be your Lord and your God. You can have no others.

Your citizenship will be in Heaven not here on earth.

Your treasure will be in Heaven not here on earth.

You will delight in obedience rather than live in the practice of sin.

You will be a slave to righteousness rather than a slave to sin.

You will be a Christian rather than a worldling.

Make your choice. But count the cost as you make it.

If you choose Jesus, the world will hate you.

It will be full of Herod’s threatening your life.

But if you choose Jesus, He will save you from the One who has the right to destroy both your body and soul in Hell forever.

Jesus loves you, and He is willing.

Are you?

[TS] ...

#3: The blessed coming of Jesus (v. 35)

Luke 13:35 NASB95

35 “Behold, your house is left to you desolate; and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”

[Exp] Jesus quoted Psalm 118:26, which was used to welcome travelers coming into Jerusalem on feast days—Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord! These words will be used to welcome Jesus Himself (Luke 19:38) as He comes into Jerusalem on the Sunday before He was crucified.

Even so, I think what these words from Psalm 118:26 ultimately refer to—and what Jesus ultimately refers to here in Luke 13:35—is His second coming.

Jesus was crucified, buried, and resurrected. Then He ascended to Heaven in a cloud of glory but promised that one day He would return to gather His people—i.e., all those who trust in Him as Savior and Lord.

Will you be among His people when He comes?

Those who are not will be left desolate. Jerusalem was left desolate.

In A.D. 70, under the judgment of God, the Temple in Jerusalem was destroyed by the Romans. Not one stone was left lying on top of another. It was utterly destroyed.

That goes not just for cities that reject Jesus but also for people.

If you reject Jesus who is willing to save you, then you will be left desolate, utterly destroyed under the judgment of God forever.

But even if you reject Jesus, do you know what you will one day say? Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!

With those words some think Jesus had in mind those Jews who will come to Christ before His return. Those are the ones who will welcome the second coming of Jesus with heart-felt praise, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!”

That’s certainly true. Every person who has truly believed on Jesus for salvation will welcome Him on that day with a heart full of ‘Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!’

But some others think that Jesus had in mind Jews who will try to fool Jesus with a fake welcome when He comes again. They will say, “Blessed is He who comes in the Name of the Lord!” but they will be hoping that Jesus doesn’t hear the disbelieving heart hidden those words. They will hope that saying to Him, “Lord, Lord...” will be like magic words granting them salvation, but it will be too late. Jesus will say to them, “Away from me. I never knew you,” (Matt. 7:23).

[Illus] A youth minister had brought his students to a camp I worked at as a camp counselor. The youth minister was thanking us counselors for teaching the Bible and loving on his kids. He knew several of the counselors personally, and repeatedly said to many of them, “I just love you.” Trying to do a bit of Christian networking, I said something like, “Hey! I love you! Do you love me too?”

But with a sudden frankness that shocked me, he said, “No. I don’t really know you, so I can’t honestly say, ‘I love you.’”

Now, you all know how lovable I am! But I was kinda speechless! I expected him to just say, “Of course, I love you,” and then we’d be buddies forever, but that didn’t happen.

He knew that my saying, “Hey! I love you!” was empty because I didn’t know him. So, he dealt with me honestly, saying, “No. I don’t really know you, so I can’t honestly say, ‘I love you.’”

[App] Many people will try to fake it with Jesus when He returns. They will say, “Lord! Lord!” or “Blessed is He who comes...”, but the Lord will only love those that know Him and are known by Him.

Do you know Jesus?

Does He know you?

[TS] ...

Conclusion

There’s no fooling Jesus.

Trust Him today.

Let Him set the course of your life.

And when the time comes, say with a heart full of praise, “Blessed is He who come in the Name of the Lord!”