“Go Tell That Fox”
Luke 13:31-35
I’ve been working on booking a flight for me and Connie to Guam to see our kids this summer. You almost need a law or a physics degree to figure out airline schedules and if you are flying from anywhere here in the south you are going to have a layover in Atlanta—it’s inevitable. And how they figure their airfares is another mystery—it can almost be like playing the stock market—the prices go up or down depending on the day and the time you go online to check.
One man tells of wanting to go on vacation. He couldn’t decide whether to go to Salt Lake City or Denver. He wanted to visit Denver, but the money was tight, so he decided to let the amount of the fare make his decision for him. He called an airline and asked what the fare was for Denver.
“Airfare to Denver is $300 per person,” said the reservation agent. Then he asked, “What about Salt Lake City?”
“Oh,” said the agent, “we have a really great rate right now to Salt Lake City…only $99, but there is a stopover.” “Where is the stopover,” the man asked. And the ticket agent said, “Denver.”
What a crazy system! I hope the guy was able to stay in Denver once he got there…but who in the world knows. Usually, it pays in life to know your destination before you set out on your journey.
Jesus knew where He was going. He probably never had a set of written goals—a bucket list so to speak—but there was no hesitation about where He would end up. Jesus always had His eyes on Jerusalem—the Holy City. This was His destiny and thus His destination. This was God’s will for His life.
He knew what it would mean to go to Jerusalem. He tells us in our text this morning: “Surely no prophet can die outside of Jerusalem!” Jesus knew that going to Jerusalem would be fatal for Him and yet He didn’t turn back—as most of us probably would have. He was committed. He was courageous. Most importantly, He cared too much to turn back. For whom did He care? For you and for me!
But first, Jesus had some work to do. That’s where we find Jesus this morning—at work! Have you ever wondered if Jesus kept office hours? Am I the only weird person here this morning? It says here that Jesus was driving out demons and performing cures, but it doesn’t mention the time of day or the day of the week. Before entering the ministry, I had a friend inquire as to what my office hours would be, and I think I said something like ten to twelve on Sunday. It’s true that I don’t have office hours like some of you do. I don’t punch a time clock like some of you do. With my laptop in tow and my book bag packed I can work from any location. Some of my days start very early in the morning and end very late at night and as I have shared with some of you, I don’t feel like I have a real job because I enjoy what I do.
Most of the churches I’ve served my office was in the Parsonage and I didn’t have a secretary until my last appointment. In Warwick my office was something like eight steps from my bed and if I was struggling to sleep, which occurs often, I would just get up and walk to the office. And a staff meeting could take place in my bathroom with me looking in the mirror.
Jesus didn’t keep office hours which I guess is good since He didn’t have an office. He worked when His work presented itself and that’s how the work of the kingdom is. It presents itself and then it’s up to us to respond or just sit on the sideline. It doesn’t come to us when we want it or how we want it but come it will.
Luke is a little misleading at the beginning of our text as to whether Jesus is in Jerusalem or He is on His way. In his Gospel Luke refers to Jerusalem ninety times while the entire remainder of the New Testament only mentions it forty-nine times. In some of the research reading I did this week most agree that Jesus is on His way to Jerusalem. I also read where “One can simply say that from Luke’s standpoint the ministry and the rejection in Jerusalem are accomplished facts and can be so described in advance, just as Luke treats Jesus’ death and resurrection as accomplished facts prior to their occurrence.”
Whichever it is and wherever Jesus was our reading says, “At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, ‘Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” My first thought upon reading this was, “What are the Pharisees up to?” Why were they trying to move Jesus on? Why were they warning Jesus? Were they really trying to set Him up?
To this point you could rarely put Jesus and the Pharisees in the same sentence without some form of conflict—they continually harassed Jesus about the laws that He and His disciples didn’t follow and how He spent time with sinners (Thank God!) and tax collectors. He even broke bread with those considered to be the low lives of their society (OMG – How dare he).
We need to remember that Jesus did have some Pharisees who would be considered friends. Remember Nicodemus, the Pharisee who came to Jesus in the night searching for answers—and Joseph of Arimathea. Both men could have been a part of this group warning Jesus—it was, after all, these two who asked for permission and took Jesus down from the Cross to bury Him in the borrowed tomb.
Whoever they were and whatever their motive these men have come to warn Jesus that Herod has a contract out on His life and wanted Jesus to go away forever [Jesus was used to having a contract on His life]. Jesus was a threat to Herod—He was seen as a troublemaker who might be the focus of a revolution. Jesus had become more popular that Herod and Herod wasn’t the kind of man who was willing to share the spotlight.
To His visitors Jesus calls Herod a fox. I could think of some other very colorful names for Herod as I’m sure you all could as well. By labeling Herod a fox, Jesus implied that Herod wasn’t a lion. Herod considered himself a lion, but Jesus pointed out that Herod was the opposite of a lion. Jesus cut Herod down to size, and Jesus’ audience may have had an inward smile of appreciation. Jesus’ reply goes far beyond any Herod. It is a sign of Jesus’ courage—no Herod or host of demons was going to stop Him from doing His work.
A preacher once began his sermon like this: “As I understand our relative positions, my job is to preach the sermon, and your job is to listen to the sermon. Now, before I begin, I have a favor to ask of you. If you get to the end of your job before I get to the end of my job, would someone please let me know?” Jesus
was telling the Pharisees that they could go and tell Herod that His work wasn’t done, and He wasn’t quitting until it was.
This response was a sign of the trust that Jesus had in God—who alone determines the times and the seasons—and will keep His own until their word is spoken, and their work is done. Thus, Jesus teaches us a doctrine of providence: we may not understand God’s dealings—but His hand is not shaken—His throne will never be taken from Him. Those who obey are in His care and may walk unafraid.
After His lesson on the doctrine of God’s providence Jesus mourns over Jerusalem, knowing that it is there that He will be tried in a mock trial—He will be beaten within an inch of His life—scorned—insulted—betrayed and die. He says, “Look, your house is left to you desolate.” This doesn’t mean the Temple, though the Temple is included in the meaning. It means home—the home of the spirit of men. How is it in your home?
In British Columbia there was a man by the name of Ike who tells the story about his grandpa’s hen house which burned to the ground one day. Ike arrived just in time to help put out the last of the fire. As he and his grandfather sorted through the wreckage, they came upon one hen lying dead near what had been the door of the hen house. Her top feathers were singed brown by the fire’s heat, her neck limp. Ike bent down to pick up the dead hen. As he did the hen’s four chicks came scurrying out from beneath her burnt body. The chicks survived because they were insulated by the shelter of the hen’s wings. Jesus longed to gather everyone together, “as a hen gathers her chick under her wings, and you were not willing.”
I wonder if Jesus doesn’t weep over our land as He did His own land long ago—for certainly we are just as far from serving God in our daily lives as were they. Jesus set His eyes toward Jerusalem because He cared for Jerusalem.
In a small Swiss town, there was a cathedral. It was called the Mountain Valley Cathedral. There has been a great deal of money spent on the wonderful stained-glass windows and tall arch ceiling. The cathedral also boasted of an outstanding pipe organ. The organ was designed in such a way that when it was played, people could hear it from all over the valley. As the people would work on their farms, they could often hear the organ as it was played. It gave great joy to the people of the valley for many decades.
Then one day the valley became silent. The organ was in need of repair. They called in one expert after another and yet no one was able to solve the problem. Specialists from all over Europe were asked to help and still no one was able to fix it.
Then one day when all hope was gone, an old man came to the cathedral. He asked if he could work on the organ. The sexton agreed and the old man worked for two days. On the third day, there was the sound of music all through the valley. People dropped what they were doing and ran to the cathedral. When the old man was done playing, the sexton asked why it was that he had been able to fix the organ after so many had failed. The old man said, “I am the one who built the organ, and I am the only one who can fix it.”
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This was the cry of Jesus as He looked over the city of Jerusalem. He wanted to fix the people, but they would have nothing to do with Him. The truth is that only the One who made us can fix us.
Eastman First Methodist Church 