At that time some Pharisees came to Jesus and said to him, “Leave this place and go somewhere else. Herod wants to kill you.” He replied, “Go tell that fox, ‘I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.’ In any case, I must press on today and tomorrow and the next day—for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”

What do you do when your life is threatened? What about your livelihood or your reputation?
I find this passage so rich. Jesus communicates a lot here, with just a brief dialog. Notice who brings this concern to Jesus … it is the Pharisees. They act like they have concern for him, yet Jesus sees right through this. He calls them out by saying, “Go tell that fox … “. This was a reference to Herod and it demonstrates how tight the Pharisees were with Herod. They communicated frequently. They may have even conspired with Herod in this very scheme to get Jesus to leave for fear of his life.

Now Jesus had a few options in response to Herod’s threat: 1) He could have gathered his crowds and come against Herod, 2) He could have tried to cozy up to the Pharisees and compromise his mission, or 3) He could have allowed fear to overcome him and run away.

He did none of these things. Instead, he challenged Herod while staying true to his God-ordained mission, and he kept on serving God.

One thing strikes me that was not readily apparent to the Pharisees: since Jesus had already, in his mind, sacrificed his life for God’s purposes, and planned to go to a cruel death on the cross for the forgiveness of our sins — Herod’s threat of death did not phase him.

Instead Jesus stood undeterred. He states that he would continue to do God’s work of healing and casting out demons, and implies that Herod can just try to stop him. So bold is the faith of Jesus!

And then Jesus mourns for the city of Jerusalem. The city where many of the prophets have been rejected and some killed. In a foreshadowing of his death on the cross, he references this. And he also mentions that on his next return, they will shout, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.” This must have been bitter-sweet for Jesus: to know that many would love him at the beginning of the week and then call for his crucifixion at the end of the week.

So my takeaways today are: 1) Stay true to your mission and do not be deterred, 2) In my mind, I can sacrifice myself now for the cause of the good news about Jesus, so that when threats come I am already free from any power that fear can hold over me, and 3) Everything happens in God’s perfect timing so I need to submit my goals and plans to his sovereign calendar. Jesus did this when he withdrew from Jerusalem to wait until God’s planned time for him to come back.

Lord Jesus, thank you for demonstrating a firm commitment to God and his calling on your life. I am inspired to prepare myself for a similar stand so that I will act like Jesus in the moment. Strengthen my faith, O God I pray!