Luke 13:31–35
The Second Sunday of Lent | 16.03.25 | Luke 13:31–35 | Evan McClanahan |
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “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. 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.’ 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! 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.’”
A New Reckoning Over Jerusalem
Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.
In our Gospel Lesson this morning, we see Jesus showing off his most movie star-esque qualities. He stands up to authority like a true outlaw and defiantly dares Herod to come after him. He speaks truth to power, putting his enemies „on blast,“ as the kids say today.
It is quite powerful. And pretty cool, too. He calls Herod a “fox,” and declares that he is going to go into the belly of the beast – Jerusalem itself – for he knows his fate is there. He tells the powers-that-be what work he is going to do. He isn’t asking permission, and he isn’t afraid of anyone.
But the second half of his speech turns from defiant to tragic. For he mourns over Jerusalem and what Jerusalem has become. Perhaps even by Jesus‘ own day, Jerusalem’s name was ironic or just plain sad. It means „city of peace,“ and you probably know that the English „Salem“ is the Hebrew „shalom,“ meaning „peace.“
But Jerusalem was not a place of peace, and it hadn’t been for a long time. Sure, perhaps during some of Saul’s reign, some of David’s reign, and some of Solomon’s reign, the citizens of Jerusalem enjoyed unparalleled peace and prosperity, relatively speaking. Things weren’t perfect, but they were the high water mark of Israel’s history. But throughout the scripture, we see warfare, idolatry, and a lot of scheming. And according to Jesus, it is the place where prophets go to die.
There is a reckoning taking place today concerning Jerusalem and Israel. Some of that reckoning is quite disturbing, with literal white supremacists confidently voicing their points-of-view on things. You will probably not stumble upon them in social media, but even in purported Christian circles, there are anonymous men who have decided than can and should think Post WWII norms, and maybe even rethink the Holocaust. Mind you, these are not white supremacists in the way that term was being used a few years ago to describe some kind of nebulous, systemic point-of-view held by people who were just, you know, white. I mean there is a kind of rebellion against our historic friendship with Israel and a new dislike of the Jews. As I said, unless you are in certain corners of social media, you will probably avoid this reality, and for the sake of your general well-being, I hope you do.
There is a far more modest reckoning which does not go so far as something as evil as racial supremacy, but does posit that Christians and Jews, while holding much in common, do have substantial disagreements, perhaps more than we commonly admit. And, as war rages in Gaza and as the current leadership in Israel seem to want it to expand and want our nation’s assistance, there is some fresh pushback.
And then there is a view – largely in dispensational camps – that there is theological significance to the establishment of Israel as a nation in 1948 and the second coming of Jesus is tied up to this nation. You probably know that many “Amageddon clocks” started in the late 1940s with Israel being re-established. Israel and America have a cosmic connection then, so we should be strategic allies and military partners with the nation state of Israel. We are even bound to as Christians. I have seen Christian churches with star of David flags in their sanctuary so tied together are the fates of Christians and the state of Israel.
Well, I’m not in the first or the last camp, that is for sure. I view Israelis pretty much like I view Peruvians or Russians or the Chinese. They are human beings. A – if we are being honest – pretty small number of them believe what is in the Old Testament. Israel itself is largely a secular state. For those who do take the Scriptures seriously, they, by definition, reject our Lord and Savior Jesus, which does not make them any worse than anyone else, of course. For many in our own nation reject Jesus! But it does establish a divide between us.
Israelis, or might I say Jews, are exceptionally intelligent as a group and disproportionately successful. I strongly believe the adage that if they laid down their arms there would be war and if their enemies laid down their arms, there would be peace. They are, indeed, a good and important ally in a part of the world that has important canals, oil, and Muslim governments that seem interested in killing Christians. See Syria this week. So I am largely pro-Israel. But I don’t see them as a new enemy that is pulling the strings behind every evil in the world (a view that is becoming more common I’m sad to say) or as tied to our own fate as followers of Jesus.
One day, I hope to visit Israel. Perhaps when I do I will have some kind of spiritual experience. But if only for historical and sentimental purposes, I would like to see where Jesus taught, healed, was crucified, and risen. And I know when I go, the Israelites will welcome me and show me excellent hospitality.
But, make no mistake: there is a break, a fissure between us and Israel. Jesus describes it and he predicts it in this text and others. Jerusalem is not a safe place for our Lord and there are literally evil men who cannot wait to kill him. Heck, even the Pharisees in our passage this morning are on Jesus‘ side, warning him not to go to Jerusalem because it isn’t safe. In the New Testament, when the Pharisees are the good guys, you know things are really dark in Jerusalem.
This is the time of year when we are confronted with the worst sin, the gravest evil, and the most unjust use of power in the crucifixion of Jesus. We will want to be mad at those who perpetuated this evil. And as Jesus himself knows, Jerusalem had become a cauldron of dangerous and double-minded men who hid behind God’s Law while they punished the innocent. He literally has to go to Jerusalem because that is where they kill prophets.
But Rome was no better. Crucifixion, after all, was a Roman way to execute a criminal. It was especially tortuous and cruel, forcing the dying man to choose between indescribable pain and death by asphyxiation. So for those who, in this cultural moment, are championing Western European culture and starting to see Jews as an enemy again, we should see in the cross the evil that all men are capable of. It is our hands that crucify Christ, and it is for our sins that his death atones. We are responsible for the death of Jesus. There is no need to point the blame anywhere else, or to ever have such an evil idea that your culture has escaped guilt for Jesus’ death.
That is why there is no room in the Christian mind for racial bias in any direction. Yes, Christianity does build a culture that often creates justice, beauty, education, concern for the poor, and many more goods besides. But those goods are due to Jesus’ goodness and changed hearts by his grace, not because of cultural superiority.
What is so lovable about Jesus is that he is tough, he is strong. And yet, look at what he does at the end of this text. He knows he must go to Jerusalem, where he will be killed, and he goes. He went to Jerusalem for you, and for me. Because in spite of the evil in all of our hearts, he is perfect love. Might we, especially those of us who are conservative and perhaps prone to frustration when law and order are lost, remember the heart of Jesus, who loved even his enemies and died for those who killed him.
In the name of the Father, and of the +Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
©Evan McClanahan
First Lutheran Church
Houston, Texas, USA