Sermon Tone Analysis
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31 At that time, some Pharisees approached Jesus and said, “Go!
Get away from here, because Herod wants to kill you.”
32 Jesus said to them, “Go, tell that fox, ‘Look, I’m throwing out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will complete my work.
33 However, it’s necessary for me to travel today, tomorrow, and the next day because it’s impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.’
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those who were sent to you!
How often I have wanted to gather your people just as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.
But you didn’t want that.
35 Look, your house is abandoned.
I tell you, you won’t see me until the time comes when you say, Blessings on the one who comes in the Lord’s name.”
Introduction: The War
I, like many folks, have been following the events coming out of Ukraine in the last few weeks is disbelief and horror.
A global nuclear super power is trying to lay waste to a country it wishes to claim for itself, and doing some unspeakable things along the way.
But what they didn’t expect was how much resistance they would face.
When this thing started, it was believed that Russia would take over Ukraine in about 2 days.
That was 3 weeks ago.
Part of it is that Ukraine has a surprisingly good leader, human quote machine Voladimeir Zelensky.
“I don’t need a ride, I need ammunition.”
“You know where I am.
Come and get me.”
“It is obvious: We will be.
It is obvious: We will be free.”
How does someone summon such courage when facing down the barrel of one of the world’s super powers threatening violence and death?
It turns out, this isn’t a new story...
Bible Breakdown
The Fox- Herod Antipas
Competing Kingdoms
Herod the Great is the Herod when Jesus was born.
When he died, his kingdom was divided between his three sons.
Philip got the east.
Herod Antipas got the Galilee
Archelaous got Jerusalem.
Archelaous blew it pretty fast, so Rome gave his area to an up and coming star Pilate.
Philip too got in to trouble, and so now Herod Antipas has everything that isn’t Jerusalem.
This is an uneasy alliance to say the least.
How do you keep a kingdom together?
Lions
Pilate relied on brute strength and sheer force of will to keep things in order.
Pilate routinely crucified anyone who came anywhere near Jerusalem and threatened his rule.
As a matter of fact, historians record that shortly after the Good Friday story, the Roman Emperor recalled Pilate for killing too many people, and causing unrest among the citizens.
The image for this kind of leader in this culture was that of a lion.
A lion doesn’t hide, isn’t afraid.
A lion is the king of the jungle, and knows it.
A lion is a brutal and vicious killer.
Pilate is a lion.
But not everyone is a lion...
Foxes
Foxes in the first century mind are people who are sneaky, caniving, scheming, and well…whimpy.
These are the kinds of leaders that keep their kingdoms together by making deals in the shadows.
These are the kinds of leaders who find unique ways to torture their opponents, and blame it on someone else.
These are the kinds of leaders who are master manipulators of the people, gaslighting them to think that the only truth is whatever the leader tells them is true.
Herod is a fox, to be sure.
And in fact, what we see here is Herod working on a scheme to get rid of Jesus and not have blood on his hands.
It’s the Pharisees that come and tell Jesus to get out of town, unless he wants to be killed.
When was the last time you remember in the Bible the Pharisees being on Jesus’ side?
Herod is working with the Pharisees to try to push Jesus out of Herod’s region, and in to Jerusalem.
Herod is trying to make this Pilate’s problem, not his.
Fear
In either case, whether you’re a fox or a lion, when you have power and you want to keep it, the best thing to do is to instill fear in people.
You can puff up your chest and put your lion’s mane on display for all the world to see, and be just a brutal dictator.
You can crucify enough people that the most brutal regime on earth pulls you back a little bit.
You can bomb hospitals and maternity wards.
You can hype up news stories to make sure that loyal viewers will be shaking in their boots.
You can push people in fear to be someone else’s problem.
You can make veiled threats.
You can ponder worst case scenerios out loud.
You can keep people in a suspended state of fear without ever firing a bullet.
Whichever type of leader you are, the kingdoms of this world are fueled by division and fear.
I wonder if there’s another way
Mother Hen- Jesus
I don’t have time for threats- I’m about healing work.
Lately I’ve been talking with a whole bunch of folks about how busy we all are.
The pandemic seems to be on the way out, and all of the activities we used to take part in are starting to make up for lost time, doesn’t it seem?
We’ve got soccer and band and plays and musicals and meetings and lunches and...
Jesus in this passage is busy too, but it’s interesting what is keeping him busy.
Essentially Jesus says to these Pharisees “Go tell that fox...”
A) Jesus knows exactly what kind of leader that Herod is.
B) Jesus also knows that the Pharisees aren’t speaking for themselves.
He sees right through them.
I don’t have time for the fox.
I have people who can’t walk that need to be healed.
I have people who can’t see that I can restore their sight.
I have people who have demons and darkness in them, and I can bring them light.
As always, Jesus is all about the healing work.
Jerusalem- This thing goes all the way to the top
Luke’s gospel is interesting, because it keeps Jesus on this trajectory towards one place and one place only.
Over and over and over again Jesus keeps saying that he’s going to Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, the capital city.
Jerusalem, the center of religious and political life.
Jerusalem, all the way to the top.
This would essentially be like Jesus making trouble with the Governor in Harrisburg and then saying “You know what, let’s take this down to DC.”
Once again, this might sound like an empty thing, not that important for our understanding today.
But you have to hear the political threat that Jesus is making underneath all this.
This is a big time threat to both lions and foxes alike.
Mother image for God- Does this make you uncomfortable?
Jesus does something that I think most of our modern world gets squeemish with.
He uses a feminine image of himself, and therefore of God.
So many folks think of God as a white guy with a big beard in the sky who is looking to zap anyone who gets out of line.
First of all, I’ve got nothing at all against white guys or big beards, clearly!
And any quick examination of the Bible will show images of a God that is masculine, powerful, and even sometimes vengeful and punishing.
But...
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