O Jerusalem, Jerusalem!

Luke 13:31-35

Key Verse 13:34

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!

Once upon a time Mahatma Gandhi said, “Live as if you die tomorrow; learn as if you live forever.” A lady paraphrased it a little bit: “Live as if you die tomorrow; dream as if you live forever.” Then she exhorted every woman to dream the dream of having her hair done better each and every day. Of course she maintains her webpage where she sells all kinds of hair products. Today, we would like to think about how to improve not just the way to have one’s hair done, but also the way we should relate ourselves with others in God’s love. 

So, today we would like to think about God=s great love as Jesus demonstrated it in making his final journey to Jerusalem.  

First, go and tell (31-33).

Look at verse 31.  “At that time, some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, "Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you." Here, “this place” refers to the area called Perea. It was located to the east of Jerusalem.  “Herod” refers to Herod the Tetrarch (which is more or less like the governor of a state in the U.S.). He is the one who murdered John the Baptist because John had rebuked him for taking his brother=s wife named Herodia. At that time, Herod the Tetrarch was the governor in charge of Galilee and Perea. Thus far Jesus served the messianic ministry primarily in the area of Galilee. Then from time to time he traveled to Jerusalem. Galilee is located to the north. Jerusalem is situated to the south. In between Galilee and Jerusalem was the land called Samaria. Both Galilee and Perea were inhabited by the Jews, whereas Samaria was populated with Samaritans. In those days Jews and Samaritans did not get along. Passing through Samaria was a short cut. But Samaritans did not allow Jesus to pass through. So, Jesus went to the eastern bank of the Jordan River, traveled through Perea and then was about to enter Judea to head for Jerusalem. 

To Jesus the journey to Jerusalem was a final one. By that time Jesus= popularity soared to the sky. A lot of people followed Jesus. The people who participated in the journey numbered hundreds if not thousands. Naturally every move of Jesus drew attention from the political leaders like Herod the Tetrarch. 

“Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.@ Why did Herod want to kill Jesus? We find a clue to the answer to this question from what Jesus said. Look at verse 32.  He replied, "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.'@ Here Jesus called Herod a “fox@. This is surprising. But it is an accurate description of Herod. A fox is a relatively weak animal. Revelation 5:5 says that Jesus is “the Lion of the tribe of Judah”. Let us compare a lion with a fox. Which one is stronger? The answer is obvious. A fox is no match for a lion in strength and bravery. Because a fox is an animal whose power is relatively weak, it uses cunning deceit to achieve its aim.  So, in order to push Jesus out of his territory, Herod used his gimmick by threatening to kill Jesus if Jesus did not leave the territory and go somewhere else. In this way he exhibited his fox-like character which is territorial. 

Look at verses 32-33 again.  "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.' In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next dayCfor surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!@ Now, let us think about the instruction:  “Go and tell that fox”. Why did Jesus ask the Pharisees to go and tell that little fox? And what were they to tell him? The message was, “I will drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.@ Jesus could have stopped there. But he added something more:  “In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day B for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!@ Here the word  “goal@ is indicative of his resurrection. The expression, “no prophet can die outside of Jerusalem@ reflects Jesus= knowledge of God=s will for him to die on a tree in Jerusalem. 

“Go and tell that fox.@ As the Lion of the tribe of Judah Jesus could have hunted him down and destroyed a weak animal like Herod. But Jesus did not do that. Rather, Jesus asked the Pharisees to go and tell Herod the blessed work Jesus came to fulfill, that is, the work of his healing, and the work of his sacrifice on a tree, and the fruit that would later come out of his sacrifice, that is, his resurrection (and thereby open the way to the Kingdom of God). At that time Herod was not ready to understand the point of the gospel. Yet, in my opinion, Jesus even wanted his enemy Herod to know the blessed work God sent Jesus to fulfill. What Jesus did to his enemies like Herod or the Pharisees reminds us of Jesus= command:  Love your enemies and do good to those who hate you.@ Luke 6:27

Second, how often I have longed to gather your children together (34-35; John 11:35)!

Luke’s gospel can be divided into four parts: Luke 1-2 (Jesus’ birth and John the Baptist); Luke 3:1-9:50 (Galilee ministry); Luke 9:51-19:41 (Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem); and Luke 19:42-24:53 (His passion and resurrection). As of Luke 13:34, Jesus had in his the sufferings he had to undergo in Jerusalem. And Luke 19:41 says that Jesus wept over Jerusalem. When Jesus said in Luke 13:34, “O Jerusalem, O Jerusalem”, he was in the same sentiment as in Luke 19:41. And each time he was thinking of the people of Jerusalem his heart was broken. And he wept for the people of Jerusalem. 

Why did Jesus weep? Why did Jesus become so sorrowful?  Look at verse 34.  “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!@

The words of Jesus show us that Jesus wept because people were not “willing@ to gather under his wings. Let us compare “the life under his wings@ with “the life that does not gather under his wings”. What does the life that does not gather under his wings look like? Look at 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.'" Two expressions stand out to describe the situation of the unwilling:  “your house is left to you desolate@; and  “you will not see me.”  Here the >house= refers to the temple in Jerusalem which again denotes the mind, heart, and soul of each person, where God desires to establish his dwelling.  “Desolate@ means  empty@,  abandoned@,  deserted@, or  forsaken@. When used as a verb it means, “demolish@, “destroy@,  “devastate@, or  “ravage@. The life of the one who rejects Jesus and his love as a shepherd sounds like lots of fun and excitement. But it is devoid of God=s grace and truth. It is without God=s glory. And it ends with a house which remains abandoned. When a house is unoccupied and remains unattended, what will happen to it? The answer is obvious. It will be inhabited by animals like spiders, rodents, or cockroaches. Such is the case with everyone who rejects Jesus the good shepherd. 

But the life of a man who is gathered under the wings of Jesus is different: it is as happy as chicks which are gathered under the wings of a hen. One person I know grew up on a farm. He spent most of his young adulthood on a farm where his parents had lots of animals. And he knows how a hen gathers her chicks under his wings. On the farm, food is always rare. So his family raised lots of chickens. How do you raise chickens? Very simple: a hen lays eggs, lots of them. Then you put the eggs, a dozen or so in a nest. Then the hen sits on them. Over a set period of time, the eggs hatch. Chicks come out. Watch then how the mother hen and the chicks go around everywhere together. The sight is truly lovely especially during the spring time.  And as long as the chicks gather together under the wings of the mother hen, they remain strong, healthy, fluffy, cute, and lovely. But if they stray, very quickly their life gets ruined. Jesus saw that the same thing would happen to all who are “not willing” to gather under his wings. 

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!@ 

You know it is hard for children to see their parents weeping. Have you seen your mother or father weeping? And have you thought about why they are weeping, if you’ve ever seen them weeping? I can tell you that not all parents weep for their children who are rebellious. Once upon a time I saw my father weeping ever so bitterly over the dead body of my grand father. But Jesus wept for his children who went rebellious.

It is interesting to note that Jesus wept even as he was about to sacrifice his life for their children. According to John, Jesus is the Creator God who made all things.  “Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.@ And Jesus made you and me. And he weeps for his children who are not willing. Yes. Jesus died on the cross for our sins. Yes. Jesus rose again for our justification. Yes. Jesus opened the way to the Father. But, still his heart remains broken when anyone remains unwilling to be gathered under his wings. 

Jesus who wept for the rebellious people tells us that Jesus is the embodiment of God=s great love for all people on earth. Had he not loved people, at least he could have ignored the rebellious. But because he loved and is still loving, and knowing that when anyone is unwilling to accept His loving care, there is nothing more he can do to prevent them from suffering endless loss, he ends up weeping for the unwilling. And who can possibly understand Jesus who had to weep and is still weeping for the people who are unwilling? 

Third, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord (35b).

Look at verse 35 again.  “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.'" This passage alludes to the fact that Jesus foresaw the day when those who are not willing would repent of their rebellion, and turn to him saying, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” This reminds us of what the Bible says about the kind of love Jesus came to teach us, that is,  the love that always hopes and  the love that never fails.

This reminds us of the truth that where there is love there is always the hope for restoration. Jesus is the Lord of love yesterday, today, and forever. As Jesus demonstrated his love for all, when we continue to share this love of God with many, the Lord will eventually recover all people who are rebellious back to the blessed relationship with him. 

In conclusion, this passage begins with his enemies pushing Jesus away from their territories. It then ends with Jesus weeping for rebellious people. Overall it comes with a lot of sad notes. But, at the end, we see a glimpse of God=s hope shining upon all who are rebellious, that is, the rebellious people coming back to the Lord saying,  “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.@ Overall then, the passage proves the truthfulness of God=s word that says,  “Love never fails.@ From this we all learn that each and every day we must stop rebelling, remember God=s love for us, and abide in His love. Then we can relate ourselves with those who are yet to know Jesus with the kind of love Jesus demonstrated for all of us with the hope to restore them back to the family of God. 

One word: O Jerusalem! 

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