Commentary - Luke 13:31-35

Bird's-eye view

In this potent section of Luke's gospel, we find Jesus responding to a threat on His life from Herod Antipas. His answer reveals His absolute sovereignty over the timeline of His own redemptive work, His contempt for the petty authority of earthly rulers, and His settled determination to go to Jerusalem to die. This confrontation is not a detour but a key moment that clarifies the nature of His mission. The passage then transitions seamlessly from a rebuke of a tinpot tyrant to a heartfelt, covenantal lament over the capital city of Jerusalem. Jesus, the true King, mourns the city that has historically rejected and murdered God's prophets, and which is about to culminate its long history of rebellion by killing the Son. He expresses His deep, maternal desire to gather and protect His people, a desire they have tragically refused. The passage concludes with a pronouncement of judgment: their "house," the temple and the entire old covenant system it represents, will be left desolate. Yet, a glimmer of hope remains in the final line, a prophecy that they will not see Him again until they are brought to a place of repentance, ready to welcome Him with the words of Psalm 118.

This is Christ the King, utterly in control, moving inexorably toward the cross. He is not a victim of circumstance but the willing sacrifice who sets His face like a flint toward the place of His appointed suffering. The passage is a microcosm of the gospel: the clash between divine authority and earthly pretenders, the tragedy of human rebellion, the deep pathos of divine love, the certainty of judgment, and the final promise of a saving welcome for those who repent.

Outline

Context In Luke

This passage occurs within the large central section of Luke's Gospel often called the "Travel Narrative" (Luke 9:51–19:27), where Jesus is resolutely making His way to Jerusalem. The theme of this journey is prominent; Luke 9:51 says He "set his face to go to Jerusalem." This section is filled with teachings on discipleship, parables about the kingdom, and increasing conflict with the religious leaders. The immediate context includes teachings on the narrow door (Luke 13:22-30), which emphasizes that many who assume they are in will be cast out. Our passage, with its focus on Herod's threat and Jerusalem's destiny, heightens the sense of impending crisis. Jesus is not meandering; He is on a collision course with the centers of political and religious power. This lament over Jerusalem serves as a profound foreshadowing of the more extensive Olivet Discourse (Luke 21) and the events of Passion Week, where the city's rejection of her King will be finalized.

Key Issues

The Inevitability of the Cross

One of the central truths thundering through this passage is the absolute control Jesus has over His own destiny. He is not a pawn being moved about by Pharisees and petty kings. The Pharisees come with a warning, perhaps sincere, perhaps a ruse to get Him to move along. Herod wants to kill Him. But Jesus' response is one of majestic authority. He is on a divine timetable, and no one can disrupt it. His work of casting out demons and healing will continue on His schedule, not Herod's. He will "finish" His work on the third day, a clear pointer to His resurrection. And where must this work be completed? Jerusalem. It is a divine necessity, a "must," because Jerusalem is the appointed place for the killing of the prophets. Jesus is not trying to avoid death; He is marching straight toward it. He is not a victim fleeing a predator; He is a king advancing on the place of His great triumph, which is the cross. This is not fatalism; it is sovereignty. The cross was not an accident; it was an appointment, and Jesus is determined to keep it.

Verse by Verse Commentary

31 Just at that time some Pharisees approached, saying to Him, “Leave and go from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”

The motivation of these Pharisees is ambiguous. Are they genuinely concerned for Jesus' safety? Or is this a ploy, perhaps cooked up with Herod, to scare Jesus out of the region of Galilee and Perea, which was Herod's jurisdiction? Given the general animosity of the Pharisees, the latter is more likely. They want Him gone, and a threat from the man who beheaded John the Baptist would seem like a potent way to achieve that. But whatever their motive, they function here as messengers of a worldly threat. They represent the voice of human prudence, of self-preservation. "Run away, save yourself." It is the same satanic logic that Peter voiced when he rebuked Jesus for speaking of His death, and which earned him the sharp reply, "Get behind me, Satan!"

32 And He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish.’

Jesus' response is one of magnificent defiance and sovereign authority. First, He dismisses Herod with a contemptuous epithet: "that fox." A fox is not a lion. It is a cunning, sly, but ultimately second-rate creature. Jesus is unafraid. He sees Herod not as a king with real power, but as a conniving politician. Second, He sends a message back to this fox. He declares His present work, casting out demons and healing, will continue unabated. "Today and tomorrow" is a colloquial way of saying "for the short and determined time I have left." He is on a divine schedule, and Herod cannot touch it. Third, He declares the completion of His work: "on the third day I finish." The Greek word here is teleioumai, which means to be perfected or to complete a goal. This is a clear, though veiled, reference to His death and resurrection. His work will not be cut short by a fox; it will be brought to its triumphant completion on the third day.

33 Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day, for it is not possible that a prophet would perish outside of Jerusalem.

Here Jesus states the divine logic for His movement. He "must" journey on. This is not a geographical compulsion but a theological one. His path is set. And why? Because of Jerusalem's unique and tragic role in salvation history. With solemn irony, He states that it is "not possible" or "unthinkable" for a prophet to be killed anywhere else. Of course, prophets had been killed elsewhere, but Jerusalem had become the epicenter of Israel's covenant rebellion. It was the city of the great King, the site of the temple, and therefore the place where the rejection of God's messengers reached its symbolic and historical climax. Jesus is not going there to avoid Herod; He is going there to meet His destiny at the hands of the chief prophet-killers of the world.

34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, just as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you did not want it!

The tone shifts dramatically from sovereign defiance to heartfelt lament. The repetition of the name, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem," conveys deep emotion, a sorrowful pathos. Jesus, the God of Israel in human flesh, indicts the city for its bloody history. It is the city that kills the very messengers sent to save it. Then comes one of the most tender and beautiful images in all of Scripture. He expresses His longing for His people using the metaphor of a mother hen gathering her chicks. It is a picture of fierce, protective, nurturing love. A hen will sacrifice her life to protect her brood from a predator. This is the heart of God for His covenant people. "How often" He had desired this. But the tragedy is found in the final clause: "and you did not want it." The divine offer was met with human refusal. This is the mystery of compatibilism in its most poignant form: God's genuine, expressed desire for His people's good, and their culpable, stubborn rebellion.

35 Behold, your house is left to you desolate, and I say to you, you will not see Me until the time comes when you say, ‘BLESSED IS HE WHO COMES IN THE NAME OF THE LORD!’ ”

The lament now turns to a verdict. Because of their refusal, judgment is coming. "Behold, your house is left to you desolate." The "house" refers primarily to the temple, the heart of their national and religious life, but by extension it means the entire covenantal order of Old Testament Israel. It will be abandoned, emptied of God's presence and protection. This was a prophecy fulfilled with terrifying precision in A.D. 70 when the Romans destroyed the city and the temple. But even in this declaration of judgment, there is a final, forward-looking promise. "You will not see me until..." This implies that one day, they will see Him. The condition for this future sight is repentance and faith, expressed in the welcoming words of Psalm 118:26. This is the cry that the crowds would shout on Palm Sunday, though the leadership would reject it. It points to a future time when Israel as a people will turn and recognize their Messiah. Judgment is certain, but the door to grace is not finally shut.

Application

This passage confronts us on several levels. First, it forces us to reckon with the absolute sovereignty of Christ. Our lives are not dictated by the "foxes" of this world, the politicians, the economic forces, the cultural pressures that threaten us. Christ is on His throne, and His purposes will be accomplished on His timetable. We are not to live in fear, but in faith, carrying out our assigned tasks of ministry ("today and tomorrow") until our Lord brings our work to its completion. We must learn to dismiss the threats of petty tyrants with the same holy confidence that Jesus displayed.

Second, we see the heart of God. It is a heart that longs to gather and protect. The image of the mother hen should shatter any cold, stoic caricature of God. He is a God of passionate, protective love. And if we have taken shelter under His wings through faith in Christ, we should find immense comfort in this. But we also see the tragedy of rejecting that love. The most terrible words here are "you did not want it." This is a warning against all religious presumption. It is possible to be in the very center of religious activity, in "Jerusalem," and yet to have a heart that refuses the gathering call of Christ. We must examine our own hearts. Do we truly want Him, or do we just want the benefits of His religion?

Finally, the passage reminds us that rejecting Christ has consequences. A house abandoned by God is a terrifying thing. Western civilization was a house built on the foundation of the gospel, and we are now watching as its inhabitants furiously demand that Christ depart. The result will be, and already is, desolation. But the final word is hope. The promise remains that one day, every knee will bow, and many tongues will confess, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord." Our task is to be the heralds of that coming King, calling all people everywhere to find their only true safety under His wings.