1. Grace, mercy, and peace to you from God our Heavenly Father and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen. The message from God’s Word on this 2nd Sunday in Lent is taken from Luke 13:31-35, it’s entitled, “The Rejected Prophet,” dear brothers and sisters in Christ.
2. They say “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” If that’s true, then what fury—and hell—awaits those who scorn a mother hen who longs to gather her chicks under her wing? What fury is in store for those who spurn their Creator, the one who’s given them everything? What hell lies ahead for those who would even dare destroy the one sent to save them from such fury?
3. A gracious God had chosen Jerusalem to be his holy city, to receive a special measure of his attention and blessings. But time and time and time again she had rejected the men the Lord sent to deliver his messages. And now, in today’s text, the people of Jerusalem are on the brink of rejecting even their Creator and Savior as he comes to them in person, to reject the Prophet who is God himself. What fury! Yes, hell is waiting. But that’s not the point of our text. Instead, and amazingly, Jesus still longs to gather them, just as he still longs to gather all who time and again reject him, all of us. When Jerusalem has earned only wrath, Jesus, the rejected prophet will still go to the rejected city.
4. Nothing anyone could do, not even Jerusalem’s own rejection of her Savior, will prevent him from coming to her one more time, the one more time that also brings him to us. Deceit and threats won’t discourage Jesus from going to Jerusalem. The Pharisees try to deceive Jesus into turning and running. Luke 13:31 says, “At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” For some time now, Jesus has set his face to go to Jerusalem (9:51) These Pharisees sound so helpful. Are they different from the Pharisees who have been opposing Jesus every step of the way? More likely they’re trying to deceive Jesus into abandoning his journey to Jerusalem. If Jesus turns and runs, he’ll surely lose credibility with his following. But maybe the Pharisees are even more perceptive: they realize that any man who wants to be a leader of the Jews must establish himself in Jerusalem. Any ploy that could keep him away from there would surely foil his plans.
5. These Pharisees aren’t being helpful. They’ve already rejected Jesus and his purpose. On the other hand, very real threats of death do face Jesus in Jerusalem. Opposition has been building for a long time. Maybe not Herod at all, but the scribes and Pharisees are already plotting against Jesus (6:11; 11:53–54). Going to Jerusalem again really will be Jesus’ death (Jn 11:7–8, 16).
6. Jesus very well knows his fate. In fact, he has been stating it clearly to his disciples. In Luke 9:22 Jesus says, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised.” Jerusalem will reject Jesus. Yet, Jesus will go to Jerusalem and his death. Certainly, the pretend threats of Herod won’t deter him (Luke 13:32). But neither will the real threats (Luke 13:33). Jerusalem has a long history of killing the prophets sent to it. The Prophet Jeremiah faced death (Jer 26:8). Others suffered it. Jesus is a true prophet, the true Prophet, and to go to Jerusalem is his duty. Jesus goes to Jerusalem and his death in willing obedience to his Father.
7. Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem thus becomes the way of life for his every follower. A disciple of Christ can’t be deceived when life seems to offer an easier, safer way. We’d like to avoid confrontation, embarrassment, sacrifices for our faith. That is not an option. Every Christian must face reality: to be a follower of Jesus requires carrying crosses. We must go on Christ’s way today and tomorrow and the next day until he brings us to his goal.
8. So, Jesus isn’t afraid to go to Jerusalem, but why would he want to? They’ve scorned him! Even rejection by Jerusalem itself won’t keep Jesus from going to Jerusalem. If anything should cause Jesus to reject Jerusalem, it should be their repeated rejections of him (v 34)
9. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned! The Lord has tried and tried and tried again to love these rebels. How many times can one be hurt and not give up on loving? We understand. We’ve reached out, put our feelings on our sleeves, loved or offered our love, and been rejected. After a while, we pull back. Besides, what good is going to Jerusalem again anyway? They’ll just reject. Let ’em rot.
10. As we think about Jesus being rejected in Jerusalem as the very prophet of God that causes us to think about people who refuse to be helped. We all know such people. It’s the older man who refuses to see the doctor when everyone else knows he must. It’s the high school girl who refuses to ask her teacher for some extra support after school. It’s the husband who refuses to go to marriage counseling despite repeated pleas from his wife. It’s the young mom who refuses to ask advice from her own mother about rearing her children. It’s hard to watch people refuse help they so desperately need.
11. Do we understand how often we’ve rejected Christ’s love extended to us? He’s made us his chosen people, given us eternal life, and we say, “What have you done for me that I can use today?” In what ways are we resisting Jesus as He longs to gather us to Himself? From which parts of our lives are we refusing to receive His help? It’s tempting to think we aren’t as obstinate as the people in Jerusalem. That we would never be so dense as to reject Jesus and His Word. We would never refuse to be gathered by God.
12. And yet… each of us, in our own sinful way, resists the goodness and mercy of God. Maybe it is His good Law we refuse to follow. Maybe it is one of His gracious promises we refuse to believe. The good news is that God has gathered us together as His people. He has gathered us beneath the cross to forgive us. He has gathered us into a community to support and defend us. He is gathering us together at the Lord’s Supper, to feed us with His body and blood along with the bread and the wine to bless us with His love and forgiveness.
13. Do we understand how deserving we are of the fury of a lover scorned? For their rejection of the Messiah, Jerusalem will itself be rejected. Jesus says in Luke 13:35, “Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’” Jerusalem, the beloved city would be destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. Such fury! The place of God’s honor is now wherever Christ’s people are gathered around him in Word and Sacrament. But Jesus’ heart for his people will still send him to Jerusalem—for her and for us (Luke 13:35b).
14. Once more, on Palm Sunday, Jesus would come to Jerusalem and be acclaimed by these very words. Yes, he would be rejected and crucified. But this is exactly why he would come. This had been Jerusalem’s purpose throughout her history: to be the place God and man would be reconciled. What an honor! The highest honor! Jerusalem would be saved—all in her who repent and are gathered under Christ’s wing. And we are saved, by his rejection, despite our all too frequent rejections. We are now Christ’s chosen people to travel his way with him. Hell hath no fury for us. Our Prophet has come for us. Amen. Now the peace of God that passes all understanding guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus until life everlasting. Amen.
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