a sermon on Luke 13: 31-35
In this text, Jesus is warned that Herod wants to kill him, and he seems to tempt fate, by telling his friends that he’s not stopping what he’s doing and on his way to Jerusalem. It must have frustrated the people who made the dangerous journey to warn him.
I think they likely misunderstood his bravado in the face of their news. He was not dismissing their warning – he took it very seriously. He took it so seriously that he felt he needed to set them straight right there – Herod has no power except for the power that I give him. I will tell the world when it is finished, when I will die. It will be on my terms. I am calling the shots here – today, tomorrow, the next day when I die. Today, tomorrow, the next day when I rise again.
And I don’t know about you, but that is some kind of relief as we dig deeper into this season of Lent. Because when I call the shots, something always seems to go wrong. But when Jesus calls the shots – somehow even death on a criminal’s cross gets turned around.
We know that the warnings were prophesies of what was to come. Sometimes we can look at the future and imagine it all quite bright and rosy, but often we see heartache on the horizon. Turns out we all need to face it with a little bravado — come what may, I am going to do God’s work in the world.
For the whole sermon, click here.
