Luke 13:31-35 If you haven’t had a chance to read it yet, click here: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke%2013%3A31-35&version=NLT
Were some of the Pharisees trying to protect Jesus? Or at least prevent him from being murdered by Herod? Maybe. Maybe they were just trying to get Jesus out of town because they didn’t want more conflict with Rome. Maybe they were tired of him making them look foolish. I don’t know. I don’t think any of that is the main reason why Luke recorded this. I think mostly it serves to set the stage for a monologue that gives us an important glimpse into Jesus’ heart and state of mind.
I see a couple things here that are pretty consistent with everything else Jesus said and did.
One, he was a man on a mission. He knew that his final destination on earth was Jerusalem and that he was going to be murdered there just like so many of the prophets who had foretold Jesus’ coming. He was fully prepared to go there, but he also knew he had work to do before that time came. He was working on his father’s schedule and he knew Herod posed no threat apart from God’s plan. Herod was powerless to touch Jesus until it served God’s purpose, so Jesus was entirely unconcerned by him.
Two, he truly loved Jerusalem and the children of Israel. God had planned from the start to use Israel to reveal himself to the world. Jesus, who was by nature God, loved Israel and longed to protect and bless her. But like every other person and nation in history, Israel tried to forge their own path without God. Because God had specially chosen Israel, the rejection was especially tragic, but it wasn’t terminal.
In the final verse here Jesus hints that he will come back for her. We are going to see the fulfillment of this promise at least begin in chapter 19, but Jesus seems to be hinting at a time when it is fulfilled even more fully.
I think looking at Jesus’ heart for Israel helps us understand God’s heart for humanity. In a way similar to God choosing Israel to demonstrate his plan for all nations, God chose our species to reflect his nature to the whole world. He gave us many of his own capacities so that we could live like his ambassadors on this planet. His capacities for complex reasoning and creativity enable us to act like him, but they also enable us to act in opposition to him. Giving us the capacity to freely choose to reflect him required that we also be free to reject him.
Apparently God thought the fact that some of us would choose his way was worth the pain of rejection by others. He longs to gather us under his wings. He longs to protect and bless us, but we are often unwilling and God allows us to refuse him. He is persistent in offering kindness and healing, but he is respectful in allowing our rejection.
God’s heart is unlike any heart I have ever known. I hope he will empower me in greater measure to reflect it to the part of his world in which he has placed me.
