"Herod That Fox" Sermon preached February 28, 2010 Text: Luke 13:31-35, thinking especially of verse 34 where Jesus says, "O 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, but you were not willing!" A. There's a story told about a football player named George Cafego, during the early days of pro football. He was playing for the old Brooklyn Dodgers team against the New York Giants. Just before the half ended, he broke away over the left tackle. First one man hit him, then another, but Cafego kept going. Finally, five players from the New York Giants team ganged up on him, and he still plowed toward the goal. He eventually started falling down, just as the timer's gun went off to signal the end of the half. One spectator shouted, "Amazing! They had to shoot him to stop him" (Herman L. Masin. For Laughing Out Loud, New York: Scholastic Book Services, 1954). "They had to shoot him to stop him." A good description of unstoppable determination. That's what we see in Jesus in this morning's Gospel lesson. Nothing was going to stop Him or steer Him off course from doing His Father's will. They'd have to crucify Him to stop Him, and even that wouldn't work! B. 1. Herod made threats against Jesus. Verses 31-33 say, "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 drive out demons and heal people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.' In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day--for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!'" Jesus knew His enemy, Herod. He calls him "that fox." Herod was like a fox. He was tricky, deceptive, crafty, and unworthy of trust. Jesus knew Herod was an adulterer, living with his brother's wife. And he was a murderer because, to please Herodias, he had John the Baptist's head cut off. Herod was a tyrant who would do anything to get rid of anyone who opposed him. How many of us would stand up to a person like that? It would be hard! No doubt, it wasn't easy for Jesus either. Jesus responds to Herod's threats by saying that He'll continue doing the work God sent Him to do. And He'll do it according to God's schedule, not Herod's. After that, He WILL leave, not because He's afraid of Herod and his threats, but because it's God's will that He die in Jerusalem. Jesus was committed to God's will, regardless of any obstacles or threats to His life. 2. Are we committed to God's will like that? How do we respond to danger and threats that come because of our faith? If we sometimes feel scared or like running away, we shouldn't be too hard on ourselves, because some of the most godly men in the Bible did the same thing. God told Jonah to go preach to the people of Nineveh. He was supposed to tell them that if they didn't turn from their wicked ways and repent, God was going to destroy their city. What did Jonah do? He got in a boat and headed in the opposite direction from Nineveh. Elijah was one of the mightiest prophets in the Old Testament (1 Kings 17- 19). He called fire down from heaven to prove that the prophets of Baal worshipped no god at all. By his prayers a 3 year famine was stopped. He even raised a widow's son from the dead! Yet when the wicked queen Jezebel threatened to kill him, he ran like a chicken to get away from her. God understands our fears. He knows our weaknesses. But He still encourages us to stand firm against the enemy. Paul asked the Christians at Ephesus to do that in Ephesians 6 (10,13) he says, "Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might...Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand." The classic example of standing up to an enemy was when Luther took his stand against the Roman Church and the State. His words still inspire us today. He said, "My conscience is bound to the Word of God. Here I stand. I cannot do otherwise. God help me!" God asks each of us to stand up to the "Herod" in our lives -- no matter what that might be. He calls us to serve Him and do His work even in the midst of opposition and threats. 3. Fortunately, we have a shelter of protection to go under when things get tuff. Psalm 91 (:1,2,4) says, "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, 'He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.' ...He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge..." The picture here is that of God protecting His people like a mother hen protects her chicks by covering them with her wings. Jesus takes that picture from the Old Testament and applies it to Himself in this morning's Gospel lesson. He says, "O 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, but 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.'" (Lk. 13:34-35). Jesus compares Himself to a mother hen in His love for Jerusalem, the Jewish nation, and the world. 4. Maybe you've seen a mother hen and the way she cares for her chicks. The mother hen is extremely protective. When there's danger close by, like another animal or a storm, the little chicks run to their mother. She spreads her wings out and they take shelter underneath her. Even at night the mother hen cares for her chicks. When it starts getting dark she usually goes into some kind of a shelter. Then she makes a clucking sound, and one by one the chicks snuggle under her wings -- safe and secure for the night. Maybe when Jesus was a boy He saw a mother hen and her chicks in His backyard. As He looked over Jerusalem, He may have thought to Himself, "This is what I wanted to do for you: protect you, feed you, and give you shelter, but you would not come to me." Jesus wanted to save and protect Israel from the real fox -- Satan. But they refused the help He offered. Even worse, They plotted with the Roman authorities, whom they considered their enemies, to kill Jesus. But it wasn't only the Jews; your and my sins killed Jesus too. He willingly sacrificed Himself for the Jews, for you and me, and for all people. His wings are still outstretched as a place of refuge for anyone who will come to Him in faith. 5. Jesus' example shows us how we should love and pray for those who oppose us, hate us, and who would even kill us because of our faith in Christ. In Matthew 5 (:43-44) Jesus says, "You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you..." God calls us to love those who hate us. The reason we love them is because we love Jesus and that's how He treated His enemies. 6. On the night before he was burned at the stake for his biblical views, John Huss sent a letter to his friends that said: "I write this in prison and in chains, expecting tomorrow to receive sentence of death, full of hope in God that I shall not swerve from the truth, nor adjure errors imputed to me by false witnesses ... In the truth which I have proclaimed, according to the gospel of Jesus Christ ... I will, this day, joyfully die." 7. Jesus did a similar thing for you and me! He loved us to the point of dying on a cross! He shed His blood to save all people who believe in Him. As His followers, He calls us to love one another and to serve others in the same way He did. Who or what is the 'Herod' in our lives? There may be others who dislike us, criticize us, maybe even threaten us because of our stand for Christ. What can we do? Where can we go? How do we find peace? Under the protective wings of our Savior Jesus! There we find strength and protection for every problem, no matter how great or small! There we find strength to love our enemies, strength to do good to those who persecute us, strength to pray for those who hate us. Like Herod, like a fox, the devil is constantly after us to destroy our faith. But the arms of Jesus are always outstretched and waiting, like a mother hen waiting for her chicks. When we face opposition to our faith, let's run under the shadow of His wings, move close to the warmth of His love and grace, and stay there. Nothing can ever harm us when we're close to the Lord! Amen.