Jesus is heading for Jerusalem to die. Nothing will stand in the way of that goal. Jerusalem is the completion or fulfillment of his mission because his death and resurrection there is the fulfillment of his mission. But Jerusalem, because she rejects God’s King, will also experience desolation.
What does determination look like? A front row forward burrowing into the try line underneath the defence? A World War 2 Japanese kamikaze pilot committing hara-kiri by aiming his fully-laden plane down the funnel of a US destroyer. That certainly takes a bit of focus. But Jesus in this passage steels himself with such determination that he heads towards Jerusalem and certain death.
When this interaction happens, Jesus is probably in Galilee[1]. This is King Herod’s turf (Luke 23:7). Jesus is heading towards Jerusalem[2]. He’s going through cities and towns along the way when some Pharisees come to him. They give Jesus a free tip, and a bit of insider information. We don’t know why. We know that the Pharisees are not Jesus’ biggest fans. Maybe they want to silence him. Anyway, this is what they say. Verse 31:
Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you. (NIV)
Run, Jesus, Run. Herod wants to kill you. Well, Jesus has a message for them to deliver to Herod.
Jesus calls a spade a spade. Jesus calls Herod ‘that fox’. Verse 32:
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. (NIV)
Now, this isn’t permission to call people nasty names. Jesus is simply calling a spade a spade. That fox is Herod Antipas or ‘The Tetrarch’. His track record shows him a fox, that is, a cunning carnivore, sneaking around in the dark, looking for prey to destroy and devour. If Jesus was accused of defamation, he could easily have produced the truth defence. Herod had killed John the Baptist[3] for after dinner entertainment, after he got a little bit of excited by his step-daughter’s strip tease. He killed John so that he wouldn’t lose face (Matthew 16:14-28). And Herod Antipas came from a long line of foxes. His dad was Herod the Great. He was the one who killed all the babies in Bethlehem because he was afraid that one might be a king (Matthew 2). Perhaps it’s ‘like father like son’. Perhaps the Pharisees were right. Perhaps Herod wants Jesus dead. So Jesus might very well have had something to fear.
But Jesus’ isn’t afraid of Herod. The journey continues. And Jesus will make the most of the trip. On the way, Jesus is teaching (Luke 13:22), healing, and driving out demons (Luke 13:32). But Jesus is working to a deadline. The time he has left to teach, heal and exorcise is short, and soon going to come to an end. Notice Jesus says, ‘Today and tomorrow’. Figuratively, this is a short time.[4] Jesus’ exorcism and healing ministries will soon give way to something much more important. These ministries dealing with people’s temporal problems are a function of his Christ’s mercy and compassion. But they are done ‘along the way’. Jesus’ ultimate mission is actually for him to be finished off in Jerusalem. But the healing and exorcism ministries are not Jesus’ goal.
Jesus said, ‘and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ Literally, on the third day, he will be finished, he will be completed.[5] For soon, on the third day, Jesus will fulfil the purpose of his coming. And Jesus has only one finish line. Verse 33:
In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day - for surely no prophet can die outside of Jerusalem!
That is why Jesus isn’t afraid of Herod or Galilee. The Pharisees say, ‘Run Jesus, run, Galilee is dangerous’. But Jesus says, ‘Galilee is nothing. No prophets die in Galilee But Jerusalem … That’s where prophets die. So that’s where I am going. They will finish me off.’
Jesus takes no detour. No deviation is allowed. Jesus is a prophet. He has a job to do. Jerusalem is the only place for him. Because his job is to die. Jesus is like a kamikaze pilot heading to his target.
What do you do when you meet people with a death wish, who tell you they must be killed? How do you respond to them? You keep smiling and nodding. You speak soothingly. You make no sudden moves. Then you wait for an opportunity, and when you get one, you run. You call the police, the security hotline, the bomb squad, the army, the Airforce, all of them. You stay away from people with a death wish. They are too risky. They have no limits. They are unreasonable. Who knows what they will demand? They sacrifice their own lives. They expect their followers to do the same.
Listen to the demands Jesus makes of would-be followers along the way. ‘Deny yourself, pick up your cross daily, follow me’ (Luke 9:23) Try saving your life, and you will lose it. Lose your life for me, and you will save it (Luke 9:24). Forget about your job. Forget about dad’s funeral. Forget about kissing mum good-bye (Luke 9:59-62). Come with me and die.
Friends, this is our Jesus. Going to his death, he demands the daily death of all who follow him. It would be unreasonable, and insane, were he not God.
You’ve got to ask, why? Why does Jesus have a death wish? He’s heading for certain death. Well, Jesus journey to Jerusalem started in Luke chapeter 9. It started with Peter’s realization that, ‘Jesus is the Christ’. That was when Jesus’ started talking about his own death. So in Luke 9:22 we read:
The Son of Man must suffer…and … be killed and on the third day be raised to life. (NIV)
During the transfiguration, when Jesus’ appeared in glorious metamorphosis, Moses and Elijah spoke with Jesus about his departure, literally, his ‘exodus’, which he was about to bring to fulfillment at Jerusalem (Luke 9:30-1). Then later, in Luke 9:51, we read that ‘As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem.’ (NIV)
Jesus looked to death because he looked through death. He saw his ‘exodus’, that is, his resurrection and his departure to the Father’s right hand in his ascension. This was when Jesus would be taken up to heaven as Risen King of the Universe.
Jesus also mentioned ‘the third day’ in Luke 9:22. Similarly, Jesus says in Luke chapter 13 verse 32, ‘On the third day, he will reach his goal’, and in verse 33, ‘I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day.’ His words have a double entendre, a double meaning. Jesus will die, but he will also rise. For Jesus, death is the doorway to life. And so the reference to ‘the third day’, while being a reference to a short period of time, is also a reference to his coming resurrection ‘on the third day’, that we confess in the Apostle’s Creed. And looking back with the benefit of hindsight, we can see Jesus leaving these hints throughout his steely-faced journey towards the death his father had set before him.
But Jesus is not the only one who seems to have a death wish in this passage. For Jerusalem has a death wish—a death wish shown by her attitude to Jesus.
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! (NIV)
Jerusalem is a petulant child, or a stubborn and obstinate mule. She will not come to Jesus, despite all her privileges. Of all the cities in Israel, God chose Jerusalem. He put his name there and his temple there. God put his human kings there—David and Solomon, Hezekiah and Josiah—they all called Jerusalem home. And still Jerusalem will not come to God and his Christ.
Despite all Jesus’ efforts, Jerusalem remains unwilling to move. And not only does Jerusalem resist Jesus efforts during his time on earth. They have a long history of refusing the voice of God and the Messiah. The voice of Jesus through the prophets was frequently ignored.
Isaiah the Prophet shows that God’s heart has always been to gather Jerusalem to himself, and for them to repent. In chapter 31, Isaiah says:
“Like birds hovering overhead, the LORD Almighty will shield Jerusalem; he will shield it and deliver it, he will ‘pass over’ it and will rescue it.” Return to him you have so greatly revolted against, O Israelites. (Isaiah 31:5-6 NIV)
And we also read this from Jeremiah 26:1-10, written 600 years before Jesus became a man. God begs them through his prophet:
Early in the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah King of Judah, this word came from the LORD: “This is what the LORD says: Stand in the courtyard of the LORD’s house and speak to all the people of the towns of Judah who come to worship in the house of the LORD. Tell them everything I command you; do not omit a word. Perhaps they will listen and each will turn from his evil way. Then I will relent and not bring on them the disaster I was planning because of the evil they have done. Say to them. “This is what the LORD says: If you do not listen to me and follow my law, which I have set before you, and if you do not listen to the words of my servants the prophets, whom I have sent to you again and again (though you have not listened), then I will make this house like Shiloh and this city an object of cursing among all the nations of the earth.” The priests, the prophets and all the people heard Jeremiah speak these words in the house of the LORD. But as soon as Jeremiah finished telling all the people everything the LORD had commanded him to say, the priests, the prophets and all the people seized him and said, “You must die! Why do you prophesy in the LORD’s name that this house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate and deserted?” And all the people crowded around Jeremiah in the house of the LORD. (Jeremiah 26:1-10 NIV)
Listen to my servants the prophet I have sent them to you again and again (though you have not listened). And this was the voice of Jesus in the mouth of Jeremiah.
And 600 years later, Jesus comes—the one and only Son, and not just a prophet. And Jesus as God the Son calls them to himself in person. He longs that they come to him, and be gathered to him. But they don’t want to. They stick their bottom lip out, and say ‘No, we won’t!’ They are not willing.
And perhaps Jesus looks out at us with that same longing. Perhaps you have heard Jesus calling, again and again. Or perhaps you hear his voice for the first time today. You hear Jesus calling you, to come and be gathered to him, as a hen gathers up her chicks. And up until now you have not wanted to come. You have exercised your democratic right to say ‘no’.
Well now Jesus still begs you. He says, ‘Come under my wing, in the warmth next to my heart. Leave your sins and come to me. I long for you to come to me.’
Wouldn’t it be a shame if you didn’t gather to this Jesus? Why choose death? Why have a death wish, like Jerusalem? He had a death wish so that we don’t have to have one. Jesus take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. He longs for us to repent, leave our sins, and live (Ezekiel 18:31-2). God our Saviour longs for everyone to be saved. He wants all people to come to a knowledge of the truth (1 Timothy 2:4)
But old habits are hard to break. And Jesus knows Jerusalem won’t turn to him. Judgement will surely come on Jerusalem, so surely that Jesus’ declares it then and there. Verse 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’.
Like Jeremiah before him, Jesus declares the city forsaken and desolate. He gives Jerusalem up to her own devices. The worst judgement of all is to be left to our own devices without God. ‘You don’t want me’, says Jesus. ‘Fine. I won't further impose myself on you.’ For Jesus will only visit Jerusalem once more, when he will be greeted as King of the Jews in triumph (Luke 19:38). His disciples borrow a donkey and roll out the (metaphorical) red carpet. And then Jesus is humiliated and judicially murdered, being accused of being the King of the Jews.
So on the one hand we have Jesus, with his intense longing for Jerusalem, his repeated invitations and pains to woo her, his desire to have her back, and on the other we have Jerusalem and her unwillingness to come to him, her consistent rejection of him, her pains to resist him, and her desire to have him dead. It’s inevitable that in this relationship, someone is going to end up in tears.
As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only know on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days are coming when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognise the time of God’s coming to you. (Luke 19:41-44 NIV)
It is not Jerusalem who weeps in repentance. It is Jesus who weeps in judgement. For Jerusalem’s days are numbered. God had come in the person of Jesus, and Jerusalem had missed it. About 30 years later, the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, in AD 70. But Jesus also weeps about something else, the thing that would bring Jerusalem peace, his own death in which he suffered for Jerusalem’s sins, and the world’s, and in which he took your punishment, and mine. And the thought of it makes him cry. He weeps over it here and is overwhelmed with sorrow by it in Gethsemane (Matt 26:38).
In the end Jesus is the reluctant kamikaze pilot. Jesus didn’t have a death-wish. But he did wish to taste death for everyone.
13:31At that very time, some Pharisees came to him, saying, ‘Leave and depart [from here], because Herod wants to kill you 13:32 And he said to them: ‘You [pl] go[6] say[7] to that fox, “Look, I’m going to cast out demons and complete [the task of] healing today and tomorrow, and on the third [day], I am going to be finished"[8]. 13:33 [Moreover], I have to depart [9] today and tomorrow and the [third] day, because no prophet should perish outside Jerusalem. 13:34 Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to you. How I wanted to gather together your children [as a hen gathers] her own brood of chicks under her wings, and you were unwilling. 13:35 Look, your house is left[10] to you [desolate]. I say to you, ‘You will certainly not see me until it comes about that say, “Blessed is the one coming in the name of the Lord” (Psalm 118:26).
In Matthew 23:37-9, this same saying comes after the triumphal entry (Matt 21:1-11, cf. 9). Jesus is in Jerusalem, and the words come as the culmination of Jesus’ woes on the Pharisees, the challenge to ‘fill up then the measure of the guilt of your fathers’ (Matt 23:32), a warning that Jesus will send them prophets who they will kill and persecute, and the declaration that the guilt of all the righteous blood will be on this generation (v. 35). Bock sees it most likely that the speech was given ‘on multiple occasions’[11] rather than the account has been relocated. Thus, Matthew’s reference to Psalm 118 is eschatological, whereas Luke’s probably refers to Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem.
[1] Rienecker & Rogers, Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, 182.
[2] In the same hour, i.e. at the same time that Jesus went though the towns and villages as he made his way to Jerusalem.
[3] Bock, Luke: BECNT, 2:1247.
[4] Ibid.
[5] PP1S teleioo I complete, finish: I wonder whether this is a divine passive. God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement.
[6] Aor Pass Ptcp Nom Pl Masc.
[7] Aor Act Impv 2nd Pl.
[8] PPI1S teleioo I complete, finish; I am brought to completion: Rienecker & Rogers Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, 182.
[9] Pres Mid Ptcp.
[10] ‘You have it entirely to yourselves to possess and protect, for God no longer dwells in it and protects it': Rienecker, 182.
[11] Bock, Luke: BECNT, 2:1244.