“Go Tell That Fox”

February 21, 2016
The Second Sunday in Lent


GOSPEL LESSON: Luke 13:31-35 [Jesus Predicts his Suffering and Death]
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.”
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.’ 33 In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!
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! 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.’”
P: This is the Gospel of our Lord.
C: Praise to you, O Christ.

In the Gospels the Pharisees have a bad reputation of always opposing Jesus, but there were a few good Pharisees. Nicodemus was one of them, and so were those who came to warn Jesus in today’s Gospel story.
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.”

This was a real threat. King Herod had already killed John the Baptist who had spoken against the king. It seems that Herod had made real plans to kill Jesus also. Jesus was always talking about the coming of the Kingdom of God, so Herod was probably worried about his own rule. But Jesus was not worried about Herod because now was neither the place nor the time yet for Jesus to die.

It was not the place because Herod’s territory was north of Jerusalem in the northern province of Galilee. Jesus knew that his mission as the Messiah Prophet was to die in Jerusalem. He said,
“for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!”

The city of Jerusalem had a history of killing prophets who spoke the word of God to people who did not want to hear it. And besides, Jerusalem was where the Temple of God was, and Jesus must die as the sacrificial Lamb of God. Jesus was not afraid of being killed by Herod, but he knew how dangerous Jerusalem would be. And yet Jesus loved the city and the people who lived there. He wanted to keep them safe, he wanted to save them from danger, but the people refused to believe and trust him. They looked for safety elsewhere, and that would lead to their death and destruction. The words of Jesus are sad. They speak of his love for the poor ignorant fools there. And they also speak a prophecy of doom.
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! 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate.”

Jesus was not worried about King Herod because it was neither the place nor the time yet for Jesus to die. Jesus knew the plan of God. Jesus knew the future. He knew he would be greeted into the city on Palm Sunday as the Messiah King, Son of King David. Then people would wave palm branches and sing Hosanna, Banzai to the King! That would be the next time that Jesus would visit the city of Jerusalem. And so he said,
“I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

Jesus knew the plan of God, and so he was not afraid of being killed by Herod. And so Jesus said to the messengers,
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.’ 33 In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!

One of the main things we learn from this Gospel text is that Jesus knew the plan of God. Before going to Jerusalem he predicted his suffering and death three times. It was the plan of God that Jesus suffer and die in order to forgive our sin, in order to give us resurrection and eternal salvation. Jesus would be tempted to change that plan. The devil tried it. The messengers in today’s Gospel reading advised Jesus to run away. When he was crucified, he was mocked to come down off the cross and save himself. But he trusted the plans of God.

Jesus knew his future, but we do not know our futures. Oh, of course, we know that after we die Jesus will raise us up from the dead and give us eternal life in heaven. But between then and now, we really do not know what lies ahead. We make plans the best we can, we study, we work, we play, we worship, and we worry a lot. Often we are like the chicks of Jerusalem that Jesus spoke about. Jesus is like a mother hen who wants to gather her chicks under her wings and give them protection. But we chicks like to run around and play and do not come to Jesus when danger comes. Jesus called King Herod a fox. I have heard stories about foxes. If a fox gets into a hen house, it will kill all the chickens. It will not eat any, but just kill and kill.

Herod is dangerous, but Satan is even more dangerous, and of him we should be scared~~scared enough to run and hide under the protective wing of Jesus. He spreads his arms out wide on the cross. In the face of danger, the cross is safe for us because that is where Jesus is. Because our sins are forgiven at the cross, it is the safest place of all.

Jesus followed the plan of God to the cross in Jerusalem, to the grave, and to hell where he declared victory over the devil. Jesus will come again to give us eternal salvation. We may not know what tomorrow will bring, but we know that Jesus wants to take care of us, and so we find peace in him. We celebrate that in the communion liturgy when we sing, “Hosanna in the Highest.”
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”

Amen.

Michael Nearhood, Pastor
Okinawa Lutheran Church


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