February 27, 2011 – Luke 13

Click here to read Luke 13 on BibleGateway.com

Sometimes we miss some of the undercurrents of Bible passages because we read them so fast. Most of us have probably read today’s chapter many times, but we may have missed an important point that we’ll look at today. (nice teaser paragraph, eh?)

Jesus is teaching on various subjects like mustard seeds, yeast, and how watering donkeys is related to healing. Suddenly, he is warned that Herod, the king, is look for him to kill him (which is kind of odd, since we learned a little earlier that Herod wanted to see Jesus to see if he was John the Baptist or to watch him do a miracle).

WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?

In any case, we tend to read this verse as a warning from Jesus’ friends: “watch out, Jesus. Herod is coming for you. Time to hit the road.” Here’s the ironic thing: this wasn’t Jesus’ friends who told him to run. It was the Pharisees. So now we have to ask ourselves why these people who were looking for a way to trap Jesus would suddenly warn him.

Option one: these Pharisees were friends of Jesus. There are several occasions where Pharisees became followers of Jesus, particularly Nicodemus. So, there is the chance that these were some Pharisees who were honestly looking out for Jesus’ well-being and wanted to help.

Option two: the Pharisees had ulterior motives. Jesus was most likely preaching in Perea at the time, an area to the east of Judea and Jerusalem that was under Herod’s control. However, if Jesus were to flee this area into Judea (Jerusalem), he would then be under the nominal control of the Roman governor, and more specifically within the reach of the Jewish leadership. In other words, the Pharisees may have been trying to frighten Jesus into leaving Perea and running into the realm of their control so they could nab him.

WORTHLESS LIKE A FOX

Regardless, Jesus frustrates their plans with the casual dismissal of Herod as a “fox,” a term for a sneaky but ultimately worthless person. Jesus wasn’t going to be deterred from his purpose by the threat of temporal authority, either from Herod or the Pharisees. He knew what He was called to do, and He wouldn’t allow anything to prevent Him from following God’s plan for Him.

What is trying to dissuade you from your purpose today?

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2 Responses
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