Luke 13:31-33

Luke chapter 13 reading verses 31 through 33. The same day there came certain of the Pharisees saying unto him, Get thee out and depart, for Herod will kill thee. And he said unto them, Go ye and tell that fox, behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures. today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless, I must walk today and tomorrow in the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. Thank God bless to us, He is sacred and holy word. This morning. Recently in the United States, also in Canada, and other places, of course, the government has used intimidation against the church. Government mandates denied the right of the church to meet for worship. It’s pretty obvious as we look at this. There’s a hostility in the government toward the church. and so they forbid us to meet. Those pastors and members will refuse to comply with the order. Some were arrested, many of them were fined, they had police intervention, and you know the storyline that was in the news all the time. Everything was done in a very heavy-handed fashion. in order to intimidate the people got. Because if they didn’t punish one church, then all the churches would do it. It would have been better if all the churches just went ahead and did it. Pastors were thrown into jail, fines were excessive, all in order to keep other churches from testing the government mandates. Now, when we think about this, you must realize that this is nothing new. This has been going to. going on for ages. And even in our text, we see that Herod is opposed to Christ’s ministry and poses a threat to the Savior. King Herod was a threat to gospel preachers because remember, he’s the one to beheaded, John the Baptist. And here Jesus is warned of the danger. of conducting his gospel ministry in Herod’s jurisdiction. Some of the early Christians were arrested for their faith, their goods were confiscated, and eventually they were put to death. I want to speak on the use of intimidation today from this passage of Scripture. Now let’s talk about the Pharisees and King Herod. The last days of Christ’s minister, ministry on earth were filled with activity. Now, the Pharisees constantly opposed Christ’s gospel ministry and sought to discredit him as much as they could in front of the people. The religious leaders of the Jews were no friends of Christ. And so this warning about Herod here is not to be seen in a positive light, if they were concerned about the Savior’s welfare, they were concerned to stop him from preaching. Say, hey, you know, her it’s going to get you. So this warning by the Pharisees was not a, it’s not for the benefit really of Christ. It’s to stop him. And remember, the Pharisees were plotting to put Christ to death and find a way to do it. this warning was an intimidation tactic to prevent Christ from continuing to preach the gospel in Galilee, which was Herod’s jurisdiction. Thus, the political leadership was also hostile to Christ along with the religious leadership. Herod certainly hated the Lord. That was because of the Savior’s doctrine, which was basically the same as John the Baptist, whom he beheaded. Herod erroneously thought that the Lord’s growing influence threatened his reign. You remember that Herod was glad when he saw Jesus in Jerusalem later on. For he wanted his curiosity fulfilled. for gratified. Was he John the Baptist raised from the dead? Would he perform a miracle so that Herod could see it? And yet Herod, with his men, mocked Jesus Christ when he was sent to Herod from Pilate, and he treated him with contempt, arrayed him in a gorgeous robe to mock him about his being the king of the Jews and then Herod sent the Lord back to Pilate and hastened his destruction. He could have spared him as one of his subjects, but he did not. And so Herod will kill thee was really realistic. It was a realistic threat. For Herod had a chance to protect Christ, but he didn’t do so. And therefore, both the things, Pharisees and Herod were hostile to the Lord. And if the Pharisees could intimidate Christ by Herod’s threat, it suited them well. Now, you must be aware of the malice of Satan’s agents as you go through this life. All through Scripture, we find examples of intimidation tactics being used by Christ’s enemies. If you just read the book of Daniel alone, you’ll notice that both Daniel and his three companions are threatened with severe punishment for worshipping the true God. Either you’ll get cast into the fiery furnace or for Daniel, you’ll get thrown into the lion’s death. I think that those are both intimidation tactics. The disciples were commanded by the Jewish leadership. stop preaching in Christ’s name with threats of punishment and imprisonment. Nero contrived all sorts of punishments for Christians during his cruel reign as the Roman Emperor. He had Christians sewn up in the skins of various animals, and then he turned a lion or tiger loose on them to eat them up. He covered some Christians with wax. and set them on fire as human candles at his parties. So you shouldn’t be surprised at the length. The world will go to intimidate God’s people and control them is a common tactic. All these tortures and things of this nature were because in the Christians in the Christian’s position, they refuse to say Caesar is Lord and worship the emperor. So you should realize the craft and malice of the enemies of the gospel. Secondly, you should be encouraged by Christ’s example when you’re threatened. So how did Christ handle this threat in verses 32 and 33? Go ye and tell that fox, behold, I cast out devils and I do cures today and tomorrow. The third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless, I must walk today and tomorrow in the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem. Don’t be deterred from your path of duty because of threats. You’ll notice here that Jesus showed defiance when facing Herod’s threats here. He was not daunted by Herod, whom he calls a fox. Now, in calling Herod a fox, I think he was revealing his true character, is crafty, praying on others, and harmful to what is good. Christ speaks. here as a prophet, conveying God’s truth about hair. For normally, thou shalt not speak evil, the ruler of thy people, is what the law says. And you recall that at one point, when Paul was called before the Jewish council, he called the high priest a whited wall, and they said, would you speak to the high priest like this? He said, well, I didn’t know it was the high priest. But he mentioned, you know, that he should not speak evil of the leader of the people. But prophets had the liberty to do so. And God gave them the words to say. In Isaiah, we read here, the word of the Lord. ye rulers of Sodom, give here under the law of our God. In Ezekiel, our princes in the midst thereof, are like wolves, ravening the prey, to shed blood and destroy souls. So we find in scripture prophets could speak against the leadership, and certainly Christ being a prophet as well as a preacher, I could do so. Now, it’s true that Jesus knew that he was going to suffer and die soon. He expected it and saw it would come very shortly. Talks here about the third day. Now, he desired to inform Herod that he’s going to inform Herod that he’s going to continue to do his work. he’s going to cast out the devil. Was it going to work? Mirals the hearing. He’s going to confirm the doctrine that he preached for several days. And perfected seems to be to relate mostly here to Christ’s death, but it didn’t occur in three days’ time. And so there’s been some question about exactly what Christ means in this text, but I suggest maybe this is the best answer, that it might be a best answer. that it might have been that Jesus meant in two days, two days’ period of time, he would be leaving Galilee and entering into Pilots’ jurisdiction in Jerusalem. In other words, he’s finishing, he’s wrapping up his Galilean ministry, and he’s heading to Jerusalem because he knows that that’s where he’s going to die. And a prophet can’t. you know, can’t be, can’t die outside of Jerusalem, so to speak, because it’s always the leadership, the Jewish leadership that’s out to get the prophets of the Lord. So the point is he’s going to continue his gospel ministry, despite the threats, until his time to die comes. I think that’s the gist of what he’s saying here. Now, Christ’s example. here is this, do not be deterred by threats and danger, but continue doing God’s work. Now that’s not an easy thing to do, but it is, I think, following the Lord’s example. Now, in the book of Nehemiah, chapter 6, Shemaiah, Shemaiah endeavored to get to Nehemiah to stop building the walls of Jerusalem. He was a false prophet. And he told Nehemiah that his enemies will come to slay thee. Ye, in the night, they will come and slay thee. And he wanted him to hide in the temple and keep himself protected. And Nehemiah said, should such a man as I flee. Should I stop building the walls? Should I just hide out? He couldn’t do that. So despite the threats, you continue building the wall because that’s what God had given him to do. The thing is this, and we should realize this, you’re immortal until you finish what God has given you to do in this life. He’s not going to allow anything to happen to you until you you have finished the work that God puts you on the earth to accomplish. The place, the time, the manner of your death are in God’s hands just as surely as Christ’s death was in the Lord’s hands. And therefore, we should persevere in the path of duty, believing that God will preserve you until the time comes for you to leave. And so when man’s wrath and angers start up against you, we have to remember who’s in charge. Notice this also. You should study to have a heart, unafraid of man’s threats. There’s something about Christ’s words here that, I think, arrest your attention. Notice his frame of mind. There is no alarm. There’s no fear. when he’s told Herod wants to kill you. He’s not panic-stricken. He never contemplates halting his ministry and lying low in order to hide from Herod. Oh, that you and I could imitate him in this regard. And trust in God’s protective hand to keep us safe. It’s true that Jesus knew his time of death was coming, but it hadn’t come yet, and he still had work to do. You don’t possess such knowledge. We’re not sure about the future regarding our own time of death, exactly. Still, there’s a lesson here that should not be overlooked. You and I need to have the mind of Christ in this. and trust in the Lord. You should have an unshaken confidence about the things to come. To have a heart, not afraid of evil tidings, but one that is at peace trusting in the Lord’s will for your life. When Paul was imprisoned for preaching the gospel, notice his mindset. said, he didn’t know how things were going to turn out. His only concern was that Christ would be glorified, regardless of whether he was put to death, or whether he lived. For me to live as Christ and to die his gain, he said. He’s not worried about the outcome. He confidently awaits God’s will being done. He actually had a desire to depart and be with Christ, so facing death didn’t phase him. And you’ll notice he declared nevertheless to abide in the flesh is more needful for you, Philippians. Philippians 124. If God spares his life, it will be for the spiritual benefit of the people of God at Philippine. Let us endeavor to be like Paul that. because he’s content to live or die as God sees fit, and he was going to do the ministry as long as he could and do the work of God as best as he could under prison circumstances. Third thing here, you need an active faith to counter man’s threats. Jesus has absolute confidence that his whole life was ordered, by His Heavenly Father. In similar manner, your steps are ordered by the Lord, we’re told. For example, in Psalm 37, the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way. Though he fall, he shall not be utterly cast down, for the Lord upholdeth him with his hand. Our steps are also ordered by the Lord. So all things are working for your good. So whatever happens in your life, God controls. God sets a hedge about your life so that you cannot be harmed without his permission. We see this, of course, in the book of Job. When Satan wished to attack Job, God limited how far he could go. The Lord said unto Satan, and behold, he is in thine hand, God save his life. You can’t take his life. No one can take your life until God grants his permission. Now, if you believe these things as a Christian, you can remain calm and unruffled under man’s threats. It’s because our faith is not active enough that we often get ourselves in the trouble. We should daily pray that God would give us an act of faith and would trust in him, especially in difficult times. So you need a faith that is engaged, that’s steady, that’s constant. And this is the only way we can imitate the Savior here. Now let me conclude by saying this. You are assured Christ was perfect. by his sufferings. I shall be perfected is a remarkable expression. It seems to mean here, I shall be perfected by my sufferings in death. In other words, Christ shall finish the work which he came to do. And being made perfect by his sufferings, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him, according to Hebrews 5’9. Christ has done and suffered everything that is necessary for your salvation. You don’t have to add anything to it. It’s perfected. Be assured that he has not left anything for you to do, to satisfy, make satisfaction for your sins. Make sure you understand that. very clearly. Rest upon Christ entirely as the author and the finisher of your faith. He is a complete savior, and we should always recognize that, and trust in him to save our souls. May God bless to us, His secret and holy word. Let’s pray for a moment. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this opportunity. we’ve had to think about this passage and the intimidation of the world. We pray, Father, that we may be strong in this day and age in which we live. Help us, Father, knowing the weakness of our own flesh. We pray for strength and help. In the name of Christ, we ask these things with Thanksgiving. Amen. Thank you.