Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture Reading

Introduction

This morning we will be considering an in which Jesus is confronted by the Pharisees.

Keep in mind that Jesus has been heading towards Jerusalem, where he would ultimately be put to death.

We were reminded of that from last weeks’ passage.

But at this point in his journey towards Jerusalem, we are told that He was confronted by a group of Pharisees, and they tried to have Him sent out of the area by issuing a threat against Him.

What we will see in the context of this threat is that Jesus responds with strong emotion.

We often have a very one-sided view of Jesus and His responses to situations.

Gentle Jesus meek and mild is usually how people like to think of Him.

But Jesus was filled with all kinds of strong emotions that bacome evident through His responses to situations.

We will certainly see some of that this morning.

As we consider these things, we must get a sense of the urgency of the Gospel message.

Christ was concerned for the souls of people.

When there was opposition to the Gospel, He was rightly angered - with a righteous and holy anger.

When He saw people wandering around aimlessly, like sheep without a shepherd, he was deeply concerned for their wellbeing.

In our passage today, we read of a lament that Christ cried out as He considered the city of Jerusalem, the place where God was said to dwell, and we gain a glimpse into the heart of Christ for people to live in joyful obedience and submission to Him.

As we look at this passage together, do consider the call of God upon your own life.

The will of God as has been revealed in Scripture, and consider how grieved God is when we fail to live in submission to His revealed will in the Scriptures.

As we look to this text, let us consider firstly…

1.

The Threat On Christ’s Life

We read in verse 31 about the Pharisees that approach Christ.

As we read this verse, we will note that Luke begins the verse with the words, “At that time...” The time was a time where Christ was warning those who were following Him about the importance of following Him.

He had just spoken about the narrow way, and urged His followers to be sure to enter in through the narrow way.

He had also just warned that there were those that were first that would be last, and those that were last that would be first.

Clearly there was a reference to the religious leaders in that warning, where they were certainly seeing themselves to be first, and everyone else around them to be last.

This is the context.

Clearly, Christ’s teaching continued to ruffle the feathers of the religious elites, and that becomes clear through their words to him / their threat against Him, in verse 31…

It is the Pharisees that approach Jesus.

Now, we know from previously in this study in Luke that already the religious leaders had it in for Jesus, and they were looking for ways to get rid of Him.

It is evident from their approach here that they wanted Christ to disappear.

That’s not the way they bring it across.

They approach Jesus cloaked in a veil of sincerity.

They wanted to present themselves as those with noble intentions, all the while, their only goal was to get rid of Jesus.

In one sense, they were acting out the words of the Psalmists…

We must remember that the Pharisees had become preoccupied with the goal of getting rid of Jesus.

It was a goal that was divorced from the honour and glory of God.

Their goal was to rid the earth of the very Son of God.

So strong was the deception in their hearts, that they had turned into the most prominent of the enemies of God.

It is this evil intent that brings them to Christ.

They saw Jesus as a threat to them.

They saw Jesus as a threat to their established positions, and to the authority that they wielded.

They saw Jesus as a threat to the adulations and praise they received from people.

Jesus was a threat to them.

A very self-centered manner of life.

So what is their approach at this time?

They bring a report that Herod is looking to put him to death.

The Herod that was ruling at that time was Herod Antipas… (different Herod to the one that was ruling during the birth of Jesus).

Now, keep in mind that Herod was not particularly concerned about the Gospel being preached.

Herod was a governor/ruler that had been put into place / power by Rome.

He was supposed to maintain peace.

But there was no real concern with the Gospel being preached per se.

And so, the question arises, was this a true threat by Herod himself, or was it simply a lie created by the Pharisees in order to try and scare Jesus off?

Well, on the one hand, Herod had been the one that put John the Baptist to death by beheading him.

If Herod was prepared to put one prophet to death, there certainly was a possibility that He would put another to death.

But we must recall the reasoning behind putting John to death was far more personal.

The circumstances came about that John was imprisoned because he spoke out about Herod and Herodias, and their marriage that was impure/unlawful… And therefore John had been put in prison.

Even the death (beheading) of John came about because of the cunning plot of Herod’s wife, when he made a foolish commitment.

(Mark 6:16ff).

And so there is perhaps a slight possibility that there is an element of truth in the threat of the Pharisees.

However, I think the evidence favours the fact that they were making this entire story up.

Most likely, the entire report was a fabrication.

Why do I say that?

Firstly, we read in Luke 9:9

Herod wanted to actually see Jesus, not to kill him, but to see who he was.

Later on in Luke’s Gospel, we read...

The context of Luke 23 is when Jesus was being accused before Pilate, and Pilate actually didn’t see any fault in Jesus, and so to get Jesus out of his own hands, and evade the challenge that faced him in terms of dealing with the accusations against Jesus, he heard that Jesus was from Galilee, and so sent him to Herod to determine what to do with him.

But when Herod sees him, we see the reason was not to kill Him, but rather out of intrigue, to see him perform a miracle.

In the above instant, the worst that Herod did was to have the soldiers beat him.

If he wanted Jesus killed, certainly he would have seized the opportunity…

But Herod doesn’t kill him.

In fact, Herod sent Jesus back to Pilate, and we read Luke 23:14-15...

Therefore, it is clear that the weight of the evidence suggests that Herod didn’t truly want to put Jesus to death.

Maybe there had been a threat from Herod based on false accusations that were brought against Jesus by the Pharisees themselves.

It may even have been that the Pharisees had united together with some of the Herodians in order to plot a means to have Jesus put to death.

Let me just say, the Pharisees and Herodians were usually enemies… But against Jesus, they had a common enemy.

Again in Mark 12:13 we read…

Based on all of this, what we must deduce is that at the very most, Herod may have issued a threat, hoping that Jesus would move away, so that peace could be maintained in His area of Jurisdiction.

But even this is unlikely.

It seems far more likely based on the weight of evidence that the Pharisees were using a made-up threat, or a non-contextualised statement made by Herod (twisting what he was saying) in order to try and get rid of Jesus.

They were attempting to intimidate Jesus, and so have him leave their area.

What a convenient way to do it… to threaten!

This leads us to consider our second main point, and that is...

2. The Certainty of Christ’s Completed Work (vv.32-33)

In the context of this threat that is issued against Jesus, Christ responds in a couple of different ways.

In verse 32 we read…

The very first impression that we get from Christ’s response is that He was anything but intimidated.

In fact, he sends quite a strong message back to Herod via the Pharisees.

He doesn’t assume that threat is false, or even try to address it from that context.

He simply responds as if what they’ve stated is true.

He beings with the words… “Go tell that fox...” What was this referring to?

Why use the term “fox?”

Two things should be noted.

In one sense the fox was cunning.

The statement by Jesus was one that was intended to convey a sense of the low, cunning nature of Herod.

In the ancient world, the fox was considered to be an animal without dignity or honour.

It was certainly not a complement.

In this sense, Jesus was portraying Herod as one that was cunning and sly, and not to be trusted.

On the other hand, the fox was a weak animal, particularly in comparison to a lion.

Christ’s response is thus quite forthright.

He is not concerned about Herod, or any threat that he may or may not have issued.