The perfect example of Jesus Christ is graphically portrayed in this passage in His calmness, His consecration, and His compassion.
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The Perfect Example of Christ
Luke 13:31-35
Jesus Christ, in His death, has provided salvation for us. But in His perfect life, He has provided an example for us. The Scriptures are very clear that not only is Christ our salvation, but He is also our example.
John 13:14-15, “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I gave you an example that you also should do as I did to you.”
1 Corinthians 11:1, “Be imitators of me, just as I also am of Christ.”
1 John 2:6, “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.”
This morning I want to point you to Christ as our perfect example, and exhort you to follow in His steps.
Luke 13:22 tells us that “Jesus was passing through from one city and village to another, teaching, and proceeding on His way to Jerusalem.” Jesus has steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem. He knows He will suffer and die there for the sins of His people. As He journeys to Jerusalem, He is continually teaching and preaching. We saw an example of His teaching last week, when someone in the crowd asked the question, “Lord, are there just a few who are being saved?” Jesus’ answer was not “Yes”, or “No”. In effect He told the man not to be preoccupied with how many are being saved. Rather, be preoccupied with whether you are saved. He tells the crowd that they must strive to enter through the narrow door, because on Judgment Day, there will be many who will want to enter but will not be able. They will be shocked and terrified to learn that they are shut out. They may have attended church, believed in God, got baptized, and cleaned up their lives outwardly. But Jesus will say, “I don’t know where you are from. Depart from Me, you evildoers.”
Once again, a comment by someone in the crowd, elicits some very powerful teaching by our Lord. A Pharisee tells Him, “Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You.” As we look at Jesus’ response, we are going to see His perfect life, which gives us a perfect example to follow. We are going to see His Calmness, His Consecration, and His Compassion.
1. The Calmness Of Christ
Go away, leave here, for Herod wants to kill You. Now, why did these Pharisees exhort Jesus to flee from Galilee, which was Herod’s area of jurisdiction? Was it because of their great love and concern for Christ? Were these Pharisees just trying to save Jesus from suffering and death at the hands of Herod? Well, that’s a little hard to believe! If there is one thing we know about the Pharisees, it is that they had no great love for Jesus. In fact in Luke 6:11 we read, “But they themselves were filled with rage, and discussed together what they might do to Jesus.” In Luke 11:53-54 we read, “When He left there, the scribes and the Pharisees began to be very hostile and to question Him closely on many subjects, plotting against Him to catch Him in something He might say.” The Pharisees hated Jesus, and were plotting to destroy Him. Why then were they urging Jesus to leave Galilee, under pretense that if He stayed Herod would kill Him? The answer is probably that they needed Jesus to leave the upper regions of Palestine, and come down into Southern Palestine, in the area of Jerusalem, because there they had more influence and power, and could bring about His execution. Jerusalem was where the Sanhedrin met, and therefore, they needed Jesus to move down into that area so that they could put Him on trial, convict Him, and execute Him.
It appears that Herod and the Pharisees were in league together. They had hatched up this scheme. The Pharisees made it look like they were just looking out for Jesus’ best interests. In reality, they were serving Herod’s interests. This Herod was the son of Herod the Great, the one who had all the babies in Jerusalem under two years old murdered, so that none of them could ever take his throne. When He died, he divided his kingdom into four parts and gave them to his four sons. His son, Herod Antipas received the part of the kingdom in which Galilee was located. Herod Antipas was an ungodly man. Earlier, John the Baptist rebuked him for his marriage to his brother’s wife. Herodias had been married to Herod’s step-brother, but she had divorced him and married Herod. When John the Baptist publicly rebuked Herod, John was arrested. Later, at a dinner party, Herod was so smitten with lust when Herodias’ daughter danced, that he promised to give her up to half of his kingdom. Herodias whispered into her ear to ask for the head of John the Baptist. Herod didn’t want to execute John, but because He had made this public promise, he had to do it in order to save face.
In Luke 9:7-9 and Matthew 14:1 we discover that when Herod reports of Jesus and His miracles, He assumed that He was John the Baptist risen from the dead. No doubt Herod was struggling with a guilty conscience, which led to fear Jesus. The one thing he didn’t want was for Jesus to stay in his kingdom. He just wanted him out. Who knows, but if Jesus remained in Galilee, Herod might become responsible for another murder. It was best just for Jesus to leave and get out.
It is most unusual for the Pharisees and Herod to work together. The Pharisees despised Herod because he was a Gentile ruling over them. However, at this point, they united because of their mutual hatred of Christ.
Go and tell that fox. Jesus knew that Herod and the Pharisees were in this together. That’s why He tells the Pharisees to go and give Herod a message. He knew that they had hatched this little plot together.
Now, why did Jesus call Herod a fox? Foxes are small and have but little power, but are cunning and stealthy. They are good at sneaking into hen houses and killing them. They were destructive. The Old Testament speaks of the little foxes that spoil the vines. He didn’t call him a lion, or a bear, but a little fox. Foxes were looked on as insignificant, a kind of third rate nuisance. Jesus was showing obvious contempt for Herod. He was saying that Herod was just a puppet king, without any real power and authority. Herod just wants to keep the peace in Israel. However, Jesus is leading around great multitudes, and Herod fears there may be some kind of uprising or rebellion. Thus, Herod wants Jesus out of Galilee. However, Jesus knows he is just a fox. Yes, he is conniving. He is sneaky in the way he goes about dealing with Jesus through the Pharisees. However, he has no real power. A fox is just a varmint, a nuisance, without any real power to kill a human being. Jesus knows that Herod can’t kill Him.
I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow… What does Jesus mean by this? He is simply saying, “I’m just going to continue on as usual. I’m going to continue going about healing the sick and casting out demons. I’m going to do this today, and tomorrow. You aren’t going to stop Me. I’m not on your timetable. I’m on God’s timetable. And My Father still has work for Me to do. Granted, I only have a short time left – just today and tomorrow and the third day, but until My hour has come, I will do the Father’s will, and You are unable to do anything to stop Me. I’m not going to hightail it out of Galilee just because you want to kill Me.” When Jesus speaks about today, tomorrow, and the third day, we shouldn’t understand Him in a wooden literal fashion. This is a proverbial expression that stands for a short but definite period of time. Jesus wasn’t afraid of Herod, or intimidated by His threats. He would continue to manifest the power of the kingdom. And when Jesus did go to Jerusalem, it wouldn’t be because He was running scared from Herod. It would be because His hour had finally come.
Application. Do you see how calm and collected and serene our Lord is? He is being threatened with death by the King of that region. But, He’s not thrown into a panic. He’s not afraid, or intimidated. He’s just as cool as a cucumber. There is no turmoil in his soul. Now, why was Jesus able to be so calm in this perilous situation? It was because He was doing His Father’s will, and that’s all that mattered. God’s will was for Jesus to continue to heal the sick and cast out demons for a limited time. As long as Jesus was pursuing His Father’s will, He experienced a calmness and peace in His soul. Brothers and sisters, if you desire to walk in peace in your soul, be about your Father’s business. Be doing God’s will. When we are not doing that we will experience turmoil, and fear in our souls. However, as long as we are doing the will of God, there is nothing to terrify or intimidate us. If we know we are in God’s will, we can face anything, whether it is being fed to lions, or being beheaded by ISIS soldiers. Let’s commit ourselves this morning to discovering God’s will and spending our lives in doing it. “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil.4:6-7).
2. The Consecration of Christ
Nevertheless. In spite of the fact that Jesus would continue to heal and cast out demons, He also knew that He had to journey on toward Jerusalem. Yes, He would be leaving the region of Galilee. But no, He wasn’t leaving because He was afraid of Herod. He was leaving and journeying to Jerusalem, because He was living according to God’s timetable and God’s will. Jesus knew it was the will of His Father that He suffer and die in Jerusalem for the sins of the world.
Reach My goal… perish. Jesus said on the third day He would reach His goal. What was that goal? Well, verse 33 is parallel to verse 32. In each verse Jesus speaks about today and tomorrow and the next day. However in verse 32 Jesus speaks about reaching His goal. In verse 33 Jesus speaks about perishing. What does that tell us? It tells us that Jesus’ goal was to perish. Jesus’ goal was to die. Jesus had known for a long time that He had come into the world to die for sinners. His whole life from birth had been moving slowly and methodically towards that final goal. At the very beginning of His ministry, John the Baptist had pointed the crowds to Jesus and said, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” Jesus told Nicodemus in John 3:14, “As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up; so that whoever believes will in Him have eternal life.” Jesus said in Matthew 20:28, “just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” Jesus knew that the reason He had come into the world was to die a violent death. That was His goal. That is what was at the end of His brief life. Every day He moved intentionally toward that goal.
I must. This word points to the Divine necessity. Jesus was under compulsion. He had to journey on to Jerusalem. This was the Father’s sovereign will for Him. This plan had been conceived before the creation of the world. 1 Peter 1:20 says “He was foreknown as the Redeemer before the foundation of the world.” From all eternity, the Father, Son and Spirit covenanted together to work out a plan of redemption for sinners. Therefore, Jesus must travel on to Jerusalem. His cross has been predestined before time began.
Application. Do you see the Consecration of Christ here? To consecrate yourself means that you are setting yourself apart or dedicating yourself to the service of God. That is exactly what Jesus is doing here. He has deliberately set Himself apart and has dedicated Himself to go to the cross to obtain redemption for sinners. Jesus knows that this will mean horrendous suffering and pain, physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The closer He got to the cross, the more He was struck with its horrors. In John 12:27 He said, “Now My soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, ‘Father, save Me from this hour’? But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Your name.” When the time had finally come, and Jesus went out to Gethsemane to pray, He told His disciples, “My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death” (Mt.26:38). In Luke 22:44 we read, “And being in agony He was praying very fervently; and His sweat became like drops of blood, falling down upon the ground.” Jesus knew what His death would involve, and He still deliberately and intentionally chose the way of the cross.
Brothers and sisters, Jesus is our example, not only in His calmness, but in His consecration. In fact, we will never be able to imitate Him in His calmness, unless we also imitate Him in His consecration. Have you deliberately and intentionally set yourself apart and dedicated yourself to the service of God, in spite of the pain or hardships it might entail? Are you following your Lord in consecration to God? What is God’s will for your life? Do you know what it is? If you are a husband and father, it is to love your wife as Christ loved the church, and to bring your children up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. If you are a wife and mother, it is to submit to your husband, and invest yourself in building character in your children. If you are an employee, it is to work as unto the Lord in all honesty and integrity. If God has called you to be a pastor, it is to faithfully discharge that work in spite of all the difficulties and trials that attend it. God has called all of us to be busy fulfilling His Great Commission. That means we must consecrate our lives to being in the harvest, loving lost people, sharing the gospel with them, and teaching those that respond to obey all Jesus’ commands. Oh, follow Christ’s example and consecrate yourselves to God’s service.
3. The Compassion of Christ
Jerusalem…the city that kills the prophets. In verse 33, Jesus said “it cannot be that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.” In verse 34 Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her!” Jerusalem was the capitol of Israel, the seat and center of Jewish worship. It was in Jerusalem that the temple stood, and where all male Israelites must come three times a year to worship and offer sacrifice. And it was also in Jerusalem where the powerful and influential religious leaders lived and convened in the Sanhedrin. Time and time again these religious leaders had killed the prophets that God had sent to them. In Acts 7:51-52, when Stephen was on trial before the Sanhedrin, he boldly declared, “You men who are stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears are always resisting the Holy Spirit; you are doing just as your fathers did. Which one of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? They killed those who had previously announced the coming of the Righteous One, whose betrayers and murderers you have now become.”
How often I wanted to gather your children. Here Jesus likens the children of Jerusalem to little chicks, and Himself to the mother hen. When a chicken hawk is circling above some chicks, the mother hen gathers her brood under her wings, so that the chicken hawk can’t pick them off. When a hailstorm is pounding down, the mother hen will gather her chicks under her wing to protect them from the hail. A hen gathering her brood under her wings speaks of protection. Jesus was saying, “How often I wanted to protect you, and you would not have it!” What was Jesus wanting to protect them from? Well, whatever it was, it was coming as a result of them killing the prophets and stoning those sent to her. Over and over again, God had sent prophets to the people of Israel, calling them to repent of their idolatry, and consecrate themselves to Him, but they would not repent, and instead persecuted and killed the prophets. Finally, Jesus Christ, the Son of God appeared in the world He had created. But they took Him and crucified Him. Later, Jesus’ apostles traveled throughout the world publishing the message of forgiveness and salvation through His shed blood, but they were persecuted, beaten, stoned, and killed wherever they went. As a result of this, the storm of God’s judgment was about to come upon Jerusalem. Jesus knows this judgment will come within 40 years, and how He longed to protect the people of Israel from it.
In Luke 19:41-43 the Bible says, “When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.” What is Jesus talking about? He’s talking about 70 A.D. when the Roman general Titus would destroy the temple and burn Jerusalem with fire. It is estimated that about one million Jews were killed in that awful siege. Jesus wants to protect the Jews from that awful devastation, but they would not have it. They didn’t recognize the time of their visitation. They would not admit that the Son of God had visited the Jewish people. Instead they cried out for His crucifixion. So, even though Jesus longed to protect them, they would not gather under His wings for protection. They would not bow to Him as king.
Behold, your house is left to you desolate. Because Israel would not bow to Christ as King and Savior, their house (their temple) would be left desolate. In several places, Jesus prophesied, “Not one stone shall be left standing upon another (in the temple) which will not be torn down.” The temple would be destroyed and left desolate. The Jewish priesthood would be no more. All animal sacrifices would cease. For all intents and purposes, Judaism as the religion revealed in the Old Testament would be abolished. Israel would be cut off. As Jesus said in Mt. 21:43, “the kingdom of God will be taken away from you (the Jewish religious leaders) and given to a people, producing the fruit of it (the church).
You will not see Me. Jesus is telling them that their day of mercy is gone. Jesus offered them protection and salvation but they refused Him. They were about to crucify Christ. Their temple and city would be utterly destroyed, and they would not see Him again. Jesus would be absent for hundreds of years. They would not see Him again. Until. This little word throws the door of hope open. Jesus seems to be speaking of His second coming. At that time, there would be a remnant of Israel who would see Him and receive mercy from Him. They are the ones who recognize Him as the Lord come from God. They believe Christ to be the Savior and Lord. When Jesus returns, they see Him and are separated to His right hand as His sheep who hear Him say, “Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.”
Application. Do you see Christ’s glorious example of compassion here? Jerusalem and its leaders were guilty of the most heinous crimes! They persecuted and killed the prophets, and then crucified the very Son of God Himself! Yet, Jesus is still wanting to protect them from the storm of God’s judgment. They must acknowledge Him as the Son of God and submit to His rule. But Israel would not do this. Notice the word, “How often I wanted to gather your children together… and you would not have it!” Even though their salvation was not decreed by God, yet still in Jesus’ heart there is compassion as He looks forward to their misery.
Oh, how we need to follow Christ’s example here, folks. We are surrounded by people everywhere who will not bow the knee to Jesus Christ. They neglect Him, ignore Him, or flat out reject Him. What should our attitude be toward them? Should we show utter contempt and hatred toward them because of their treatment of our Savior? No, we should feel compassion toward them. If they do not repent, their end will be much more miserable than those million Jews who died in the Roman siege of Jerusalem. They will be cast into an eternal hell. Oh, we should feel compassion for them, knowing they are headed for unending suffering and punishment. Rather than giving up on them, and despising them, let’s go to them with the message of the gospel, hoping and praying that God might perhaps grant them repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth, and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will!
Conclusion
Brothers and sisters, look once again at Christ’s perfect example. He lived a life of Calmness, Consecration, and Compassion. Are you following Him in these virtues? Are you imitating Him by displaying calmness, consecration and compassion? Which of these virtues are you striving to display, and which ones are you neglecting in your life? Let’s take some time to divide up into smaller groups where we can pray for one another.
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