Luke 13:31-35

(Luke 13:31-35)

The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.  And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.  Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.  O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

Some Pharisees came to Jesus and told him to leave. Herod is trying to kill Jesus. This Herod refers to Antipas, the son of Herod the Great. According to Luke 3:1, this Herod Antipas was the king of Galilee, and his younger brother, Herod Philip, was the king of Idurae and Dragonit. The stage of Jesus' activity overlaps with this area of Herod Anfipas. The Pharisees admonished Jesus to some kind of exile. Their words sound pretty thoughtful to Jesus, but they are actually threats. They either delivered Herod's command, or they scared Jesus with Herod's excuse. It is clear that Herod was uncomfortable with Jesus at the time.

 

The story of Jesus' relationship with Herod is found in Luke 9:7-9. People at the time thought of Jesus as John the Baptist, or Elijah, or one of the prophets alive. Herod heard these rumors, and he was nervous. In Luke 9:9, "And Herod said, John have I beheaded: but who is this, of whom I hear such things? And he desired to see him. "The case of Herod killing John the Baptist" is described in detail in Matthew 14:1-12 and Matthew 6:14-29. John the Baptist openly criticized Herod's marriage to his wife Herodias after the death of his brother Philip. That was the reason, and John was eventually beheaded.

 

John the Baptist was a righteous man of his day and a prophet who was fully supported by the people. It was the voice of the wilderness that awakened the conscience of the times. Many people in Jerusalem and Judea came to the Jordan River and were baptized by John. Jesus was baptized like that. People looked at John and wondered if he was the Messiah. We can imagine what Herod's heart would be like, who bent John's neck. He was trying to get rid of even Jesus. That is why he is now sending the Pharisees to try to make a last-minute compromise.

 

Herod's family was originally notorious. Herod Antipas' father is the famous Herod the Great. Herod the Great appears in Matthew Chapter 2. When the Magi visited Jerusalem to worship the baby Jesus, born in Bethlehem, Herod attempted a covert deal with the Magi. When they find the baby Jesus, ask Herod to know when they return to their homeland. However, the magi went back without notifying Herod. Herod orders to kill all newborns under the age of two. Herod Antipas seems to have inherited the madness of his father Herod the Great.

 

Why did people at that time view Jesus as the reincarnation of John the Baptist? Jesus asked his disciples who people thought of Himself. The answer is what Herod felt uncomfortable to hear. When Jesus heard the answer that he was one of John the Baptist, Elijah, or the prophet, he asked again, "What do you think?" Peter is the Christ of God. As can be seen here, the answer to the question of who Jesus is, that is, the question of Jesus' identity, is divided into two.

 

The first is the answer of being a prophet. John the Baptist and Elijah are all prophets. Even though people are not Christians, they are consistent with seeing Jesus as a prophet. So is Judaism, and so are Muslims. There are two main roles of the prophet. One is receiving the word of God and proclaiming it to people. John and Elijah the Baptist, Isaiah and Jeremiah, and other prophets in the Bible all received the word of God through their own spiritual experiences. The other is the moral reformer of individuals and society. Prophets are a kind of revolutionary. It makes sense that people in Jesus' day saw Jesus as a prophet. It was because it seemed to be trying to change this world right through the Word of God.

 

Herod was uncomfortable with these prophets, because the king-centered order was shaken by them. The king cannot tolerate it. Even in the Old Testament, the prophets were in tension with the kings. The prophets and priests who had the same religious functions differed in position. Priests were conservative, contributing to the stability of the monarchy, while the prophets continued to struggle with the monarchy. The prophets constantly challenged the king's absolute power.

 

Jesus was clearly standing in the prophetic tradition. Otherwise, people would not have thought of Jesus as the reincarnation of John the Baptist, and no matter how sensitive Herod was to public opinion, he would have thought to get rid of Jesus. The fact that Jesus was crucified is proof of this. The crucifixion is a political institution. Those who participated in the bloody revolution were executed mainly in that way. The Roman Empire also crucified thousands of slaves and commoners who participated in the revolution. Jesus is by no means a bloody revolutionary and has nothing to do with political initiative. However, from the standpoint of a politician, it was clear that things that were bound to feel such a threat came from Jesus.