Killing the Messenger

                  Luke 13: 31-35

 The thirteenth chapter of Luke is rich with events. Jesus is making his way through the towns and villages of Judea, journeying toward Jerusalem. In this chapter, he talks about the need for repentance. He tells stories and parables. He stops to heal a disabled woman. He talks about the kingdom of God, comparing it to a mustard seed and to leaven, to how small they begin and how big they become. Someone asks: “will those who are saved be few?” Jesus answers that the door to heaven is not wide, but narrow, that many who seek to enter it will not be able. He seems to say that those who cannot enter will be able to see the prophets of the kingdom from a distance, but  even so close, will not be able to enter.

Then there is this not as famous story about Jesus. As Jesus is talking, some Pharisees arrive. While most of what we read in the gospels is disparaging of the Pharisees and their incessant legalism, not all of them were like that. Jesus did have friends among the Pharisees. Some of them approach him to warn him. “Get away from here,” they say, “for Herod wants to kill you.” In context, Jesus must have still been in the region of Galilee. Herod’s jurisdiction did not extend to Jerusalem where Pilate was in charge. Herod has already had John the Baptist beheaded, so he is certainly one to be feared. So some of Jesus’ friends, drawn from the ranks of the Pharisees, warn him of the danger.

This is a scene of messengers and messages. There is Luke, the writer of this passage. He has a reason for giving us this scene over many others he might have selected. There are the Pharisees. They bring a message of warning. There is irony here, that a group known principally for its legalism comes here to warn of the long arm of the law of Herod. There is Jesus, who responds with a message of his own. And there is the audience, the audience then and the audience now. There is a message here for us as well.

Jesus talks about his mission, that he has a job to do. He says that regardless of the Herods of the world, he must go on his way until he finishes his course. He still has demons to cast out and cures to perform, and the threat of danger is not sufficient reason to deter him from his ordained course. And that, I think, is why the passage is here. Luke wants us to know, to experience as if we were actually there with Jesus, that Jesus has a ministry, a divinely ordained ministry, that it must go on to its fulfillment regardless of human opposition.

So we see Jesus confronted with real danger, but with a warning which might allow him to act for his personal safety. He declines. That is something else that Luke wants us to see, that Jesus didn’t take the safe route. Even when he had a choice, he chose his ministry over his safety.

The Greek word for messenger is angelos (αγγελοϛ). It means one who is sent. Angels from God are present throughout the Bible, appearing to Mary, to Joseph, to Mary Magdalene and others. In every case, they bring a message from God. In every case, they say “Fear not.” This passage is no exception. Here, we see messengers in very human form delivering a message. The Pharisees are just as much from God as if they had the wings of angels, for God intended that they deliver this message.

Jesus answers with his own message. Go tell that fox I have things to do. I will finish my ministry. If he wants me, he can find me in Jerusalem. That’s where my ministry will be completed. Jerusalem, the home of so many prophets unheeded, is my destination also. Jesus calls Herod a fox, perhaps because he is sly or clever, but more likely because he is of little importance to Jesus. In the literature of the time, foxes were often viewed as insignificant. Power was attributed to the lion, not the fox. And Jesus doesn’t call Herod a lion. Jesus is looking forward. He has a date with destiny and he knows not only the time, but the place.

Jerusalem. Jesus calls it the city that kills the prophets; that stones the messengers. It is not kind to those who bring the news. We are reminded of other times and circumstances. In the book of 2 Samuel, a young Amalekite soldier brings the crown of Saul to David. The soldier has taken the life of the wounded king rather than have him perish from his own sword. David rewards the soldier’s truth telling and judgment with an execution. The messenger was killed for the message he delivered.

More contemporary to our story is that of John the Baptist, who brought Herod the message that his marriage was not lawful. For that, John was beheaded. Today, we have laws to attempt to protect whistleblowers, those who tell the truth about what their employers are really up to. Those laws are designed to protect these messengers, from danger. Sometimes the laws work. Many times they don’t. Killing the messenger has deep roots in the history of mankind.

The word Jerusalem is used three different times in two verses. Luke is calling attention to it. This is where the people of God gather. This is the home of the Temple. This is the city of destiny. Jesus talks about Jerusalem as if he were its mother, longing to gather in his children as a hen gathers her chicks. But his lament—and his pronouncement—is that such is not to be, for Jerusalem, meaning God’s people, will not allow it. They resist the message and cast out the messenger.

Of course, Jesus knows that his message is falling on deaf ears. He speaks of Jerusalem’s forsaken house, perhaps in reference to the Temple, but more broadly alluding to the people themselves. They have rejected both the messenger and the message. He says they will not see him again until the end of the age, quoting the Psalmist in Psalm 118: “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.”  

Jesus also knows his time on earth is drawing short. He is on his way to Jerusalem to meet his destiny—to complete his ministry. At this point, the Gospel is not yet fully written. There is still the passion—Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection—yet to be accomplished. That is the rest of the message, but not the end of the ministry.

Luke and the other gospel writers are messengers. They tell the story of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. They tell us why we should believe. They are the eyewitnesses and the interviewers of the eyewitnesses. They use the written word to record the events that changed not only their lives, but also the lives of all who believe the message of the gospel.

But the ministry is far from over. Jesus promised the coming of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter. He promised to build his church upon the rock of people like Simon Peter. And that he did. Jesus did send the Holy Spirit to dwell in our hearts and he did build his church. Even today, the Church is the rock upon which Christianity rests. It is Christ’s messenger, the angelos who carries on with his ministry. We are the hands and feet and yes, the mouths with which his message is delivered.

There are forces and powers today who would silence the messenger. But as the angels say with every message they bring, we must Fear not. There is good news to tell, and there are people here and around this community and all over this world who are waiting for us to bring that message. We are the messengers because we are the Church. We cannot be silenced. Our message cannot be corrupted. It is life itself that Jesus promises. We are the wings of that promise. As Jesus showed us, sometimes the messenger must lay down a sacrifice. But the message will never die until he comes again in the name of the Lord. And we have work to do---kingdom work!