Grace, mercy, and peace be to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Amen! Dear brothers and sisters in Christ:
Jesus said: “Nevertheless, I must go on My way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33).
Jerusalem has a history. It has a very bloody history when it comes to God’s prophets. You see, whenever a prophet challenges the people to repent of their sins, they want to kill them. Our Old Testament reading from Jeremiah is a great example of this.
Nevertheless, Jesus is very determined as nothing can get in His way. He is going to Jerusalem – a city that He has chosen as His holy city, a city He has chosen to receive His special attention and His blessings.
But Jerusalem is also a city that has repeatedly scorned God’s special attention and has repeatedly scored God’s blessings. Time and time again, Jerusalem had rejected the men the Lord sent to deliver His messages. Nevertheless, God still longs for His holy and special city, just as He longs to gather all who time and again have rejected Him. Oddly enough when God’s holy city only deserved wrath, the Son of God will still go to Jerusalem, His chosen city, to save His chosen people – the entire world.
Nothing can get in the way of God’s saving plan, not even Jerusalem’s own rejection of her Savior. Jesus will not be deterred.
However, in today’s Gospel lesson Jesus appears to have received some unlikely friends – some Pharisees. They say to Jesus, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you” (Luke 13:31).
Now, why would some Pharisees wish to protect Jesus? Could they be sympathetic to Jesus? Could this be a genuine warning, or just a trick?
Why, all of a sudden, are there some Pharisees who appear to be helping Jesus? Or could it be that Herod Antipas had sent these Pharisees to get Jesus out of his territory?
We don’t know. But we do know this: over and over again, the Pharisees have rigorously attacked Jesus by provoking Him. And we do know that Jesus has accused the Pharisees of hypocrisy. So, could this be just another way to trap Jesus?
But it is more likely that the Pharisees are trying to deceive Jesus into abandoning His journey to Jerusalem. You see, if Jesus turns and runs, He would surely lose His credibility with His followers. But perhaps, the Pharisees are even more perceptive as they realize that any man who wants to be a leader of the Jews must establish himself in Jerusalem. So, any ploy that could keep Jesus away from Jerusalem would surely foil His plans.
If we are playing the odds, odds are that these Pharisees are not actually being helpful to Jesus.
But the Pharisees here have something very correct in their warning to Jesus – the threat to Jesus is real. Jesus does face a real threat of death if and when He comes to Jerusalem. And the threat may not actually be from Herod himself, who previously just wanted to meet with Jesus. Scripture doesn’t say why he wished to see Jesus. Maybe he was just curious about all the hubbub about Jesus? But then again, Herod Antipas was a man who couldn’t be trusted. Now, most likely, the threat was not from Herod himself but from the Jewish authorities who were already plotting against Jesus.
But Jesus already knows His fate. He has spoken clearly on His fate with His disciples saying to them following Peter’s great confession: “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised” (Luke 9:22).
Clearly, Jesus is not afraid of death. He has come to die. He knows His holy city will reject Him just as they rejected the true prophets He sent before Him. Nevertheless, Jesus is undeterred as He will go to Jerusalem to die.
So, certainly, those artificial threats of Herod will not deter Him. And neither will those real threats deter Him. Although Herod is certainly capable of killing Jesus, as his beheading of John the Baptist attests, but it would be Pontius Pilate who would be the one responsible in sentencing Jesus to death.
Undeterred, Jesus has set His face toward Jerusalem, a city with a long history of killing the prophets sent to it. Jesus will go to Jerusalem because it is His duty. Jesus will go to Jerusalem because it is the will of His Father.
“Nevertheless,” Jesus says, “I must go on My way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem” (Luke 13:33).
The Passion and cross are in full view as Jesus describes His destiny of being rejected. The goal is death. Nevertheless, Jesus’ passion must happen as it is Jesus’ divine mission.
You see, Jesus’ prophetic destiny of rejection, suffering, death, and resurrection must take place in Jerusalem, His holy city, the place where God dwells and atonement must take place.
“O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem,” Jesus says, “the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it!” (Luke 13:34a). Jesus’ lament here over Jerusalem embraces both the tragedy of Jerusalem’s sin of unbelief and spiritual bankruptcy. Yes, they had all the trappings on looking outwardly religious, but Israel was only going through the motions – with no faith behind it. They abandoned and ignored God’s Word and His Name.
Now, Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem also serves as the way of life for every Christian. You see, a Christian cannot be deceived when life seems to offer an easier, safer way. Now, we’d all like to avoid confrontation, embarrassment, and sacrifices for our faith in Christ. But that is not an option. Jesus said, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).
So, if you remain faithful to Christ, you will face confrontation. You will face hostility from family and friends. You will face embarrassment. You will have to make sacrifices for your faith. And all because God’s Word is the same yesterday, today, and forever. His teachings and His commandments do not change with the times.
Now, the world we live in today is far different than the world of twenty years ago. Today, Christianity is no longer viewed positively by the culture at large. Today, Christianity is treated negatively and even skeptically. When society changes for the worse, it affects us. Our changing culture puts pressure on Christians and that can affect us economically. Our changing culture can lead to confusion on core issues, such as marriage and sanctity of life, even among devoted Christians. The pressures from our culture do affect us physically, mentally, and spiritually.
God’s Word takes these temptations of this fallen world seriously and encourages us to keep the faith. Jesus says, “In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33).
So, even as we live in this fallen world, we should be encouraged as we continue to press on just as Jesus did on His way to Jerusalem.
But as we march toward the goal, we must be realistic. And the reality is this: to be a Christian requires carrying crosses. We must go on Christ’s way today and tomorrow and the next day until He brings us to His goal.
Jesus is not afraid to go to Jerusalem. Now, shouldn’t He reject Jerusalem, just as they rejected Him? God had tried and tried and tried to love His rebellious people. How many times can God be hurt and not give up on loving? And we’ve been there. We understand. I’m sure you have reached out to loved ones in inviting them to Prince of Peace or to another Lutheran church if they are not in the area. You have put your feelings on your sleeve. You have offered love and have been rejected. And after so many times, you have pulled back. Besides, what good is going to Jerusalem anyway? They will just reject my invite again.
Do we really understand? Now, how often have we rejected Christ’s love extended to us? God has made us His chosen people. He has given us eternal life and all by grace through faith in Jesus Christ alone. But how often have you rejected Christ’s love by skipping the Divine Service in search for something more exciting? Jesus comes to us here today, and every Sunday or Monday, in His Word and Sacraments. Do you understand how deserving we are of God’s wrath by rejecting His grace?
But Jesus suffers rejection for your sake, so that you aren’t rejected by God the Father. Jesus laments at the unfaithfulness of Jerusalem saying, “How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Luke 13:34). Jesus’ stern judgment is painful to Him as He came to gather the entire world. He doesn’t desire anyone to be lost.
Here, we see the darkness of sin through the rejection of Jesus. But Jesus would die for the very ones who rejected Him. Again, Jesus is persistent. He desires all to be saved and He is delaying wrath for the sake of repentance.
Today, Jesus gathers the true Jerusalem wherever Christ’s people are gathered around Him in Word and Sacrament. Here, you receive His blessings!
Jesus would be rejected in Jerusalem and crucified outside God’s holy city. But this is why He came. He came to fulfill Jerusalem’s purpose: to be the place God and man would be reconciled. Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets would become the place of salvation, so that all who turn from sin and to Christ are all gathered “together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Luke 13:34). By Christ’s rejection, we are saved, despite our all too frequent rejections of Him. By Christ’s rejection in Jerusalem, He has atoned for yours and my sins. The Final Prophet who fulfills the prophets’ prophecies has paid our punishment, our ransom, for our sins. Despite our unfaithfulness, Christ is ever faithful even to those who reject Him. So, may we repent of our unfaithfulness and receive God’s grace won for you and me through Christ’s atoning death through which He gives us forgiveness, life, and salvation in His Means of Grace – His Word and Sacraments. Amen.
The peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord. Amen.
+ SOLI DEO GLORIA +
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