START WITH SCRIPTURE:
Luke 13:31-35
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OBSERVE:
Sometimes we find it easy to forget the human nature of Jesus because we are so focused on his divine nature. Jesus, we must remember, was born into a particular time with its own cultural and political context. He was fully God, but he was also fully man, and was a man of his own time though he transcends time.
And in this passage, we see a range of emotional nuance and reaction that reveals his personality in ways we may easily overlook.
The first thing that happens is somewhat extraordinary — a group from the Pharisees come to warn Jesus of a plot against him! This is unusual because ordinarily throughout the Gospels, the Pharisees are hostile to Jesus. In fact, members of the Pharisees themselves plot against Jesus!
Of course, this wasn’t universally the case. Nicodemus was a Pharisee, and he not only seeks an audience with Jesus (John 3), but later defends Jesus in a public forum (John 7:45-52), and also assists Joseph of Arimathea in burying Jesus after the crucifixion (John 19:38-40).
It is important to remember that though the majority of Pharisees may have opposed Jesus, there were certainly a few who became convinced he was the Messiah. Ironically, Jesus was closer in doctrine and practice to the Pharisees than he was to the Sadducees or the Herodians.
Like the Pharisees, Jesus accepted the authority of the entire Hebrew Bible — the Law, the Prophets and the Writings. He believed in angels and the resurrection from the dead. Where he differed from them was in their reliance on the “oral law” that had developed as a kind of external authority second only to the Scriptures themselves in the opinion of the Pharisees.
In this passage, we catch a glimpse of Jesus’ sense of humor. He is not naive. He says of the suspected plot of Herod:
“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.”
Although it may be hard to imagine, Jesus’ comment about that fox is a somewhat light moment. He isn’t being disrespectful. He is simply pointing out the political craftiness, cynicism and shrewdness of Herod, which is confirmed as we read of the House of Herod from sources such as the ancient historian Josephus. Herod’s father, Herod “the Great” (so called), was more than willing to ruthlessly murder prominent members of the community and even his own family members for his own ends. Herod Antipas, his son, was no doubt capable of the same.
But what Jesus emphasizes is that the political manipulations and threats of Herod will not keep Jesus from his ministry:
“I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.”
The third day of course is an unmistakable reference to his own resurrection in Jerusalem.
He underscores this reference by what he says next:
Yet today, tomorrow, and the next day I must be on my way, because it is impossible for a prophet to be killed outside of Jerusalem.
Jesus is very clearly aware that he is going to Jerusalem to die, in fulfillment of the prophecies. Following the Transfiguration, the Gospel of Luke tells us that Jesus’:
face was set toward Jerusalem (Luke 9:53).
And in Luke 13:22, just prior to our current passage, we are told:
Jesus went through one town and village after another, teaching as he made his way to Jerusalem.
We have seen a flash of Jesus’ sense of ironic humor; now we see an example of his pathos:
Jerusalem, 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!
We get a sense of his deep compassion for this holy city, the home of the temple of the Lord. His imagery of the hen and her brood, so down-to-earth, suggests a deep love for his people. But there is also a deep sadness here, as he resigns himself to the fact that he will be rejected in Jerusalem.
And with this sense of resignation comes the prophecy:
“See, 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.’”
The question I have about this last statement is about the time frame. What are the events that Jesus is anticipating? Obviously, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where he will be greeted by cheering crowds who will shout:
“Blessed is the king
who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
and glory in the highest heaven!” (Luke 19:38).
This seems the most logical interpretation of these words, that he is referring to his imminent arrival in Jerusalem. But there also seems to be a tone here that suggests events that will happen after his crucifixion and resurrection.
He will elaborate on the fate of Jerusalem when he arrives on the heights overlooking Jerusalem, and we are told:
he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God.” (Luke 19:41-44).
Jesus foresees the horrific destruction of Jerusalem by the Roman legions under Titus in 70 A.D, almost forty years in the future.
Jesus is able to read his own times and the future with equally deft and accurate awareness.
APPLY:
We all know about I.Q., but there are other dimensions to our lives that may be more difficult to measure. There is also Emotional Intelligence, sometimes called E.Q.
E.Q. is the ability to read relationships and situations and empathize with others with self-awareness and sensitivity.
Jesus demonstrates his high E.Q. as he encounters the threat from Herod. He is able to shrug off the danger with a joke. At the same time, Jesus expresses his deep compassion and grief as he considers the disastrous future that awaits the city of Jerusalem.
How will we respond to the compassionate love of Jesus?
RESPOND:
This seems to me to be one of those passages that clearly teaches the doctrine of free will.
Jerusalem will be given the opportunity to receive Jesus as Messiah. Some there will do so. But most of the citizens of Jerusalem will either be indifferent to his sufferings, or will actively seek his execution.
We are reminded that we also have a choice about how we are to respond to Jesus. He longs to welcome us to himself. Will we be gathered to him, as a brood is gathered under the wings of their mother hen? Or will we reject Jesus?
He waits with open arms. What shall we do?
Lord, as I consider our world today, and my own country, I sense the same pathos that you expressed about Jerusalem. How you wish to gather us all to yourself, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings! And yet how many of us are rejecting your love through scornful disbelief, crass consumerism, or narcissistic self-indulgence? May I be one who finds refuge under your wings, and somehow turn others toward you as well. Amen.
PHOTO:
"How often would I have gathered you together..." by Matt Gullett is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 2.0 Generic license.
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