Luke
13:31–35 What
we will study this time in Jesus Mourns Over Jerusalem…01. Herod the Fox (Luke 13:31-32); 02. The Blood of Jerusalem (Luke 13:33);
and 03. The Rejection of Jerusalem (Luke 13:34-35).
01. Herod the Fox (Luke 13:31-32)
Luke 13:31 This Herod is Herod Antipas, who was the governor of Galilee. His father was Herod the Great. Herod the
Great was the Herod who ordered the death of all male babies two years
old and younger when he realized that the Magi tricked him (Matthew 2:16-18).
When Herod the Great died in 4bc, his estate
was divided among three of his sons, Archelaus, Herod Antipas, and Philip. After the death of Herod the Great, Joseph and his
family came back to Nazareth from Egypt (Matthew 2:13-15) when Archelaus began his
reign over Judea (Matthew 2:19-23). Herod
the Great and his second wife (out of ten, Mariamne I) had a couple of sons,
most notably Aristobulus. Aristobulus married Bernice of Salome and they had a daughter named Herodias. Herodias married her uncle, Herod Philip and they had a
daughter named Salome. On a trip to Rome, Herod
Antipas seduced his brothers’ (Herod Philip) wife Herodias, who was his niece.
When he returned, he divorced his own wife, and married Herodias. John the Baptist rebuked and reprimanded Herod Antipas for
marrying his brother’s wife, and then Herod Antipas threw John into prison
(Matthew
14:3-4; Mark 6:17-18; Luke
3:19–20). Josephus (Ant. xviii. 5. 2) tells us that Machaerus is the
name of the prison.[1] Machaerus
was located on a hill overlooking the east part of the Dead Sea. The Greek word
that is used for “rebuked” in Luke 3:19 is (G1651 ἐλέγχω ĕlĕgchō) and it means to tell a fault, to express strong disapproval of
someone’s action, reprove, correct [2]. With the accusative of person it
means “to show people their sins and summon them to repentance.”[3]
Solomon said, “A
scoffer does not love one who reproves him, He will not go to the wise.”
(Proverbs
15:12) Obviously, Herodias didn’t like
John the Baptist (Mark 6:17-20), and
at Herod Antipas’ birthday, Herodias had her daughter, Salome (from her first
marriage with Herod Antipas’ brother, Herod Philip) dance seductively for her
stepfather. Herod Antipas was so pleased with the dance of his stepdaughter
Salome, he offered to reward her in any way that she desired. Herodias prompted
Salome to ask for the head of John the Baptist on a platter (Matthew 14:6-12; Mark 6:21-29).
Salome then married Philip the Tetrach (her
great-uncle), the son of Herod the Great and Cleopatra of Jerusalem (Herod the
Great’s fifth wife).
Up until now, Dr. Luke has never
recorded an account where we see the Pharisees in an unfamiliar role, and that
is warning Jesus about a supposed threat instead of their usual mode of attack.
So even though they were still plotting on how to get rid of Him, they feigned
concern for Jesus’ life. Up until now, all we have seen regarding the Pharisees
toward Jesus can be summed up in Luke 11:53, where Dr. Luke tells us that “the scribes and the Pharisees
began to assail Him vehemently, and to cross-examine Him about many
things,” The Pharisees and lawyers began
to oppose Jesus fiercely. They were constantly questioning Him, plotting
against Him, and hoping to catch Him saying something wrong.[4]
Also, Dr. Luke has never recorded, or will record an instance where we see
Herod Antipas, wanting to kill Jesus. Instead Dr. Luke records the opposite,
where Herod “sought to
see Him” (Luke
9:7–9 cf. Luke
23:8). The addition of the word Greek word for “I” (G1473 ἐγώ ĕgō)[5] shows that
it is with great emphasis that Herod says, ‘I, I beheaded John’[6]
(Luke 9:9) revealing
that Herod had a guilty troubled conscience.[7] “So he sought to see Him.” (Luke 9:9), this is written in the imperfect
active, meaning that Herod keep on
seeking to see Jesus.
Some
would say that the Pharisees made up this threat about Herod wanting to kill
Jesus to scare Him out of Herod’s territory and bring Him to Jerusalem. There are also those who say that Herod didn’t want the blood of
another prophet on his hands (John the Baptist cf. Luke 9:7–9; Luke 23:8), so he
convinced the Pharisees to issue this threat to try to get Jesus to leave his
territory. In Perea as in Galilee, both of which
were ruled by Herod, the people admired Jesus, and the Pharisees accomplished
little; in Jerusalem this would be different. Their motive was to scare Jesus
out of Herod’s territory, to get him to Jerusalem as fast as possible.[8]
Luke 13:32 “And He said to them, “Go, tell that fox…”” Jesus,
speaking to the Pharisees calls Herod “that
fox” (Luke 13:32). We have the
expression, “Sly as a fox” which of course means that someone is cunning,
shrewd, and crafty. To call a king “that fox” in public is also to defy him and any threat of his power.[9] Luke 13:32 “Behold, I cast out demons and
perform cures” Jesus notifies Herod as also these Pharisees that he will not
for one moment change his course because of any power of man. In the message to
Herod he refers only to his miracles, but not because Herod would not
understand about his teaching—its substance he did not need to understand, that
teaching was Jesus’ work he certainly understood—but rather because the divine
power and the majesty of Jesus were revealed in his miracles, for which reason
also the expulsion of demons is placed first.[10] He who is master of demons and diseases remains serenely
undisturbed by any barking of a tricky fox.[11] Here we see Jesus
saying that He will not be bound by a person in power, even if that person was
the one who had John the Baptist beheaded, or was involved with the religious
leaders against Him (Matthew 22:16; Mark 3:6; Mark 12:13). Just like His reply to
the disciples of John (Luke 7:22),
Jesus gives the casting out of demons and
the healing of the sick as signs of the Messiah’s works.[12] Luke 13:32 “today and tomorrow, and the third day” This of course cannot be
taken literally, but is used as expressive of
successive steps of His work yet
remaining, the calm deliberateness
with which He meant to go through with them, one after another, to the last,
unmoved by Herod’s threat, yet the rapid
march with which they were now hastening to completion.[13] It indicates that His
time is short, and it will not be changed because of threats from Herod. Luke 13:32 “I shall be perfected.” (τελειουμαι [teleioumai]) This is written as a
theological passive, meaning that God is the agent. Jesus is not speaking of
the completion of a process in His person but of the goal He is about to reach.
Let Herod threaten as he will, Jesus will not be killed in Herod’s territory; He
will be killed and in His death reach the goal set for Him by God (the verb is
passive) only in Jerusalem, and that soon.[14] Jesus is saying here,
“I finish my course, I attain completion.”[15]
02. The Blood of Jerusalem (Luke 13:33)
Luke 13:33 “it cannot be”
(οὐκ ἐνδεχεται [ouk endechetai]). It
is not accepted, it is inadmissible…The shadow of the Cross reaches Perea where
Jesus now is as he starts toward Jerusalem.[16] Even Herod cannot change the plan and
the will of God. Luke 13:33 “for it cannot be
that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.” It cannot be allowed.”[17]
This does not mean that no prophet was ever killed outside of Jerusalem, for
John the Baptist was killed according to Josephus (Ant. xviii. 5. 2) in the Machaerus
prison.[18] Machaerus
was located on a hill overlooking the east part of the Dead Sea. By long
prescription it had been established that Jerusalem was the proper scene for
these tragedies.[19] (cf. 1
Kings 18:4; 2 Chronicles 24:20–21; 2 Chronicles 36:15–16; Nehemiah 9:26;
Jeremiah 2:30; Jeremiah 26:20–23;
Lamentations 4:13–14) But could it be that the prophet that
Jesus was referring to Himself as the prophet that “cannot…perish outside of Jerusalem”, and thus alluding to what Moses prophesied in Deuteronomy 18:14–22.
03. The Rejection of Jerusalem (Luke 13:34-35)
Luke 13:34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” The
repetition of the name conveys an expression of affection and concern,[20]
(cf. Luke 10:41; Luke 22:31; Acts 9:4). The name Jerusalem means “foundation of peace”[21]
or “city of peace”, but it has not been a city of peace. Luke
13:34 “the one
who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!” For
in Jerusalem was where many of the prophets sent by God to her were
killed and stoned (Acts
7:51–53). Jesus spoke of this in His
parable of the landowner in Matthew
21:33–46. It seems clear that Jesus was
speaking of the nation of Israel that had been carefully prepared by God to be
His fruitful vineyard (cf. Isaiah 5:1–7). The care of the vine had been
committed to the nation’s religious leaders. But they had failed to acknowledge
the Master’s right over them and had treated His messengers and prophets badly.
They ultimately would even kill His Son, Jesus Christ, outside Jerusalem (cf. Hebrews 13:12).[22]
Yet, Jerusalem is the first place that Jesus commissions His apostles to
preach at in Luke 24:44–48. Throughout the Old Testament we see that the children of
Israel abandoned YHWH, turning their backs on Him (Nehemiah 9:26; Nehemiah 9:30; Psalm 81:11–13; Proverbs 1:24–30; Jeremiah 7:23–24;
Jeremiah 44:4–6;
Hosea 11:7;
Zechariah 1:4). Next we now see the heart of this outburst by Jesus, “How often I wanted to gather your
children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
but you were not willing!” (Luke 13:34) We
see similar pictures like this in the Old Testament where a bird is described
as a protector (cf. Deuteronomy
32:11;
Isaiah 31:5). Jesus lamented for the city
and longed to protect it as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, that is,
tenderly and lovingly, even though the people were not willing. His entire
ministry up to this point had been to offer the kingdom to the nation.[23]
What an amazing picture of Jesus this is! For as the little chicks would scurry
underneath the protective wings of their mother when even the shadow of a
predator was seen, while they shivered with fear, they knew that they were safe
because they were under the wings of their mother. So too does Jesus do for us,
and just as that mother hen would be willing to spill her own blood so that her
brood under her wings would be saved, so did our loving Saviour willingly laid
down His life so that we may have eternal life.
In Psalm 17:8 and Psalm 61:4, David
talks about hiding under the shadow of the wings of YHWH. There are many who
believe that David here is referring to the cherubim in the Holy of Holies of
the Temple.
Cherubim appear in two
iconographic contexts within the tabernacle: 1. the cover of the ark of the
covenant (כַּפֹּרֶת, kapporeth). [24]
(1
Kings 8:7) 2. the curtains of the
tabernacle, which had two-dimensional cherubim woven into them (Exodus 26:1, 31)[25] The cover of the Ark of the Covenant was adorned with solid gold
cherubim. The wings of the cherubim met in the center, forming the seat of
Yahweh’s throne (Exodus 37:9). The cover of the Ark of the Covenant formed
the throne itself, while the ark functioned as its footstool…Exodus records
that Moses met with Yahweh, who spoke “from between the two cherubim” (Exodus 25:22).[26] Luke 13:34–35 “but you were not
willing! 35 See! Your house is left
to you desolate;” But since the nation, which had even killed the prophets, had
rejected His words, He would now reject them. Jesus stated, Your house is left
to you desolate (aphietai,
“abandoned”). “House” probably refers not to the temple, but to the whole city.
Though He would continue to offer Himself as the Messiah, the die was now cast.
The city was abandoned by the Messiah.[27] Luke 13:35 “is left to you desolate” “Is
being left to you” means “You have it entirely to yourselves to possess and
protect; for God no longer dwells in it and protects it.”[28] (Jeremiah 12:7; Jeremiah 22:5) Luke 13:35 “and assuredly, I say to you, you
shall not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘Blessed is He
who comes in the name of YHWH!’”
Jesus states that the people of Jerusalem will not see Him again until they
shout ‘Blessed is He
who comes in the name of YHWH!’ Their shouting of ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of YHWH!’ is a quote from Psalm 118:26. When the people of Jerusalem shouted Psalm 118:26,
it was at the Triumphal Entry of Jesus (Luke
19:28-44), but when the Pharisees heard this, they “called to Him from the crowd, “Teacher, rebuke Your
disciples.” 40 But He answered and said to them, “I tell you that if these should keep silent, the stones
would immediately cry out.”” (Luke 19:39–40) Why did the Pharisees try to get Jesus to tell
the people to be quiet? Because every
Jew knew that when the Messiah came, they were to sing Psalm 118!
[1] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Mt 14:3). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[2] Arndt, W., Danker, F. W., & Bauer, W. (2000). A Greek-English lexicon of the New Testament
and other early Christian literature (3rd ed., p. 315). Chicago: University
of Chicago Press.
[3] Kittel, G., Friedrich, G., & Bromiley, G. W.
(1985). Theological Dictionary of the New
Testament (p. 222). Grand Rapids, MI: W.B. Eerdmans.
[4] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 237). Wheaton, IL:
Victor Books.
[5] Strong, J. (2009). A
Concise Dictionary of the Words in the Greek Testament and The Hebrew Bible
(Vol. 1, p. 25). Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software.
[6] Farrar, Frederic William. Cambridge Greek Testament
for Schools and Colleges http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/cgt/view.cgi?bk=41&ch=9
[7] Nicoll, Sir William Robertson. The Expositor’s Greek
Testament http://www.studylight.org/commentaries/egt/view.cgi?bk=41&ch=9
[8] Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (pp. 755–756). Minneapolis,
MN: Augsburg Publishing House.
[9] Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (p. 757). Minneapolis, MN:
Augsburg Publishing House.
[10] Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (p. 757). Minneapolis, MN:
Augsburg Publishing House.
[11] Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (p. 757). Minneapolis, MN:
Augsburg Publishing House.
[12] Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke
(p. 349). London: T&T Clark International.
[13] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the
Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 113). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[14] Lenski, R. C. H. (1961). The Interpretation of St. Luke’s Gospel (p. 758). Minneapolis, MN:
Augsburg Publishing House.
[15] Jamieson, R., Fausset, A. R., & Brown, D. (1997). Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the
Whole Bible (Vol. 2, p. 113). Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.
[16] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Lk 13:33). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[17] Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke
(pp. 350–351). London: T&T Clark International.
[18] Robertson, A. T. (1933). Word Pictures in the New Testament (Mt 14:3). Nashville, TN:
Broadman Press.
[19] Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke
(pp. 350–351). London: T&T Clark International.
[20] Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke
(p. 291). London: T&T Clark International.
[21] Shepherd, C. E. (2016). Jerusalem. In J. D. Barry, D.
Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott, … W.
Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible
Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[22] Barbieri, L. A., Jr. (1985). Matthew. In J. F.
Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The
Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p.
70). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.
[23] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 242). Wheaton, IL:
Victor Books.
[24] Knuth, S., & Mangum, D. (2016). Cherubim. In J. D.
Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott,
… W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible
Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[25] Knuth, S., & Mangum, D. (2016). Cherubim. In J. D.
Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott,
… W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible
Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[26] Knuth, S., & Mangum, D. (2016). Cherubim. In J. D.
Barry, D. Bomar, D. R. Brown, R. Klippenstein, D. Mangum, C. Sinclair Wolcott,
… W. Widder (Eds.), The Lexham Bible
Dictionary. Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press.
[27] Martin, J. A. (1985). Luke. In J. F. Walvoord & R.
B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge
Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 242). Wheaton, IL:
Victor Books.
[28] Plummer, A. (1896). A critical and exegetical commentary on the Gospel according to S. Luke
(p. 352). London: T&T Clark International.
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