The text this morning is from the Gospel according to Luke, the thirteenth chapter:
At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. 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.’ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
Thus far the text.
My dear friends in Christ,
Please do not think that the Pharisees, in any way, were concerned for the life of Jesus. They didn’t care for Him at all; they just wanted Him to go away. This lack of care, this lack of concern, would eventually turn to hatred, which would eventually turn murderous. And that’s the way it always is. When we position ourselves in such a way that we just want to ignore what we’re hearing, it eventually turns to hatred and then it turns to murderous, evil thoughts.
It’s exactly what’s happening in our country right now. I heard a poll this week that started out with one word association question. You know word association, right? If I say Green Bay, you say Packers. If I say Milwaukee, you might say Brewers or beer. If I say snow, you might say cold or white or see ya! This poll found out what political group the person identifies with, Republican or Democrat. If the person was a Republican, the pollster would say, “Democrat.” If they were Democrat, they would say, “Republican.” The person would then say the first word that popped in their head. You know what the overwhelming first response was? “Hate.” Hate was the first response. We’ve devolved so far in this country that we can’t even have conversations with people who have different ideas than we have without lumping them into some group and hating them.
We’ve gone from a country united with one mission of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness (we can talk about whether or not that was a good idea in and of itself, but still) who are able to respect and help each other in whatever is needed, to being separate groups of people living in one country with wildly divergent opinions and hating absolutely everyone who believes differently than we do. I guarantee you, if this continues, if civility cannot be restored, if we cannot see our neighbors as people beloved by God, people for whom Christ died, there will be another war coming. It’s the only thing that can happen.
Honestly, it was the same for the Pharisees. It was their way or the highway. But Jesus had ticked them off and so often that it gone from just this putting up with Him to working towards killing Him. Today’s lesson shows us they were even lying about their ruler in order to get rid of Jesus. Herod wasn’t trying to kill Jesus, well, not this Herod. Herod the Great, this Herod’s father, did try. Remember the flight of the Holy Family into Egypt, escaping Herod’s killing of all the little boys in Bethlehem under the age of two? Herod had tried and failed. This new Herod, Herod’s son, didn’t want to kill Jesus; the Scriptures tell us that he had actually become quite intrigued by Him. But the Pharisees lied about their ruler in order to scare Jesus.
And Jesus wasn’t having it. Jesus would go out from that area, but he wanted to make sure the Pharisees knew it had nothing to do with them or with Herod. It had everything to with the fact that Jesus had more to do and more places to do it in, but He must head now to Jerusalem. It wasn’t going to be too long now, and the Pharisees in another area would succeed in killing the Great Teacher. But, it wouldn’t be where He was that He would lead to the slaughter. Jesus knew where He must go; it would be the same place all the prophets would suffer under the guilt of the people: Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, the City of Peace, was the place of great injustices to men of God bringing the Word of God. It would be no different for Jesus, the greatest prophet ever to live, and certainly the prophet foretold from the time of Moses. Men who bring the Word of God to the people don’t tend to fare well in the hands of others. When you stand upon the Word of God, unflinching, unwavering, it makes people upset. What do you mean I need to stop gossiping about Susan? You legalist! What do you mean I should forgive Edna? You know-it-all! What do you mean sex before marriage is wrong? You judgmental hypocrite! What do you mean homosexuality is wrong? You bigot! What do mean all faiths aren’t equal? You racist!
It’s how it goes, honestly. You can’t say a word against the religion of today’s culture, a religion called secularism, without being shouted down in the marketplace. Just look around you. Watch an internet video. We hate and hate and hate. Maybe you’re starting to get an idea of what Jesus faced wherever He went. He was hated and despised. He was rejected and grief-stricken. He was pierced, crushed, and judged by men. He bore all things that we might bear none. Jesus took all these angry words, all these judgments, and He made them His own.
Think about this, that if someone were to call you a bigot, how hard would you fight against it? I’d fight pretty hard. I’m not a bigot and I don’t want people to think I am. But, when Jesus was mocked and jeered, He didn’t answer a word. In fact, it’s as if He took every call and made it His own. It’s as if He said, “Yes, I’m a bigot, and I’m the biggest bigot that ever lived. And I’m a racist. And I’m a hypocrite. And I’d a know-it-all. And I’m a legalist.” He made all these and more His own, that He might die for them, that when you are called the same, you may look to the Christ who was crucified for you and see that these are things that carry no weight any more. You should not be a bigot or a liar or a racist or anything sinful, but when you are accused of being, you need not answer a word, for the Lord has already been judged for you.
He had to go to Jerusalem for this. It was necessary. The prophets die in Jerusalem, and Jesus, the greatest prophet, would die the greatest death, under exile from man and judgment from God. But Jesus doesn’t go there in His own judgment. You would expect Him to go in angry, but He weeps. He cares for the people who would kill Him. Later on in Luke, Jesus prophesies what will happen, that the Romans will come and slaughter the people, that they will even go so far as to eat their own young, and, yeah, that happened. He prophesies that Rome will knock down every wall and building and temple column and leave nothing standing; and He was right. But, He doesn’t say it angrily, He doesn’t say it judgmentally. He says it with kindness and compassion. He says it wishing they knew what they were doing. He says it wishing they recognized that the Savior was literally in their hands.
And so it is with us, when the world attacks us. We are free to let the world’s attacks hit us without consequence. And we look at the world and pity it. We bring it the Good News, and when the world rejects its Jesus, we prophesy against it. The Lord has told us that time itself is ending, and the time is coming when not a single stone will be standing on another, when the people will beg for mountains to fall on them rather than face the judgment of God. He has told us the time is coming for the Day of Judgment. But Jesus doesn’t say it angrily. He says it with kindness and compassion, hoping the world would turn from its wicked ways. He says it with pity for He knows they are rejecting Him, and thus rejecting life to receive instead eternal suffering. He says it wishing the world knew what it was doing. He says it wishing they recognized that they Savior could literally be in their hands, in their mouths, in their ears.
And so He is for you, my friends. The Savior has prophesied against the world; and you are safe in this place. For while the world would take hold of and crucify its Savior, the crucified Savior begs you to take hold of Him and receive Him. He begs you to hear His Word, to be washed, to receive and eat and drink His body and blood. When the world attacks you, flee to the refuge of the Church. The world would kill the prophets sent to it, but the Church should not. The Church will not. The Church, the true Church, will always gladly hear the Word of God, hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it. The Church, the true Church, will want the Lord of All as often as He would come to them, in Word and in Sacrament.
When the world is against you, He is for you. When the world would make you suffer, it made Him suffer more greatly. When the world would persecute you and hate you and despise you, it hated Him more. And when the world comes against you with all that it has, let it. Fear not the world, which can only destroy your body. Preach to it of the One who will destroy the world, body and soul, in hell. And preach to it the same One who would bring it life, if only, like you have been lead to do, they would turn and repent and believe the Gospel. And you do believe the Gospel, the Good News of salvation, the free forgiveness of your sins from the cross and the promise of everlasting life. You do believe it, for there is no other hope in the world. Hope must come from outside this world; and so it does. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord, even Jesus. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now may the peace of God which passes all human understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus, our Lord! Amen.
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