On
that same day, some Pharisees came, saying to him, “Get out of here, and go away, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem.’
Luke 13:31-33
Luke 13 [22.] He went on his way through cities and villages, teaching, and traveling on to Jerusalem. One said to him, “Lord, are they few who are saved?”
He said to them, “Strive to enter in by the narrow door, for many, I tell you, will seek to enter in, and will not be able. When once the master of the house has risen up, and has shut the door, and you begin to stand outside, and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’ then he will answer and tell you, ‘I don’t know you or where you come from.’ Then you will begin to say, ‘We ate and drank in your presence, and you taught in our streets.’ He will say, ‘I tell you, I don’t know where you come from. Depart from me, all you workers of iniquity.’ There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth, when you see Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and all the prophets, in God’s Kingdom, and yourselves being thrown outside. They will come from the east, west, north, and south, and will sit down in God’s Kingdom. Behold, there are some who are last who will be first, and there are some who are first who will be last.”
Luke 13 [31.] On that same day, some Pharisees came, saying to him, “Get out of here, and go away, for Herod wants to kill you.”
Luke 13 [32.] He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem.’
Luke 13 [34.] “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you refused! Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Meaning:
Jesus is travelling through the territory of Herod Antipas, teaching in towns and villages on his way to Jerusalem (Luke 13:22). Some Pharisees come with a warning that Herod wants to kill him. Jesus’ answer shows that neither threats nor rulers will turn him from the path his Father has set.
- “Herod wants to kill you”
This Herod was Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, who ruled Galilee and Perea. He had already imprisoned and beheaded John the Baptist, who had rebuked him for taking his brother’s wife (Luke 3:19-20; Mark 6:17-18). When he heard about Jesus, Herod said, “John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things?” (Luke 9:9). The threat was real.
Why did Pharisees warn him? Some may have been genuinely concerned, for not all Pharisees were hostile. Others may simply have wanted to drive Jesus out of the area, perhaps even acting with Herod’s approval. Luke does not tell us their motive, and Jesus’ reply does not depend on it.
- “Go and tell that fox”
In Jewish speech a fox was a picture of cunning, and also of a small, destructive animal compared to a lion. Jesus is not intimidated. He calls a powerful ruler by a name that exposes his craftiness and his limited importance. Jesus sends Herod a message: he will carry on with his work.
- “today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission”
Jesus describes his ministry as continuing on a set course. He casts out demons and heals, and he will reach his goal at the appointed time. The words “today and tomorrow, and the third day” express a short, definite period fixed by God, not by Herod. Many readers also hear an echo of his resurrection on the third day, which he had already foretold: “The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up” (Luke 9:22). On the cross he would declare, “It is finished” (John 19:30).
- “it can’t be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem”
Jesus speaks with bitter irony. Jerusalem, the holy city, was where God’s messengers had again and again been rejected and killed. He had already said that “the blood of all the prophets” would be required of that generation (Luke 11:50). Jesus knows that his death will take place not in Galilee at Herod’s hand, but in Jerusalem. That is why, “when the days were near that he should be taken up, he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). The next verses contain his lament over the city (Luke 13:34-35).
Herod would meet Jesus only at his trial, when Pilate sent him across. Then Herod “hoped to see some miracle done by him,” but Jesus gave him no answers (Luke 23:8-9).
The Significance of Luke 13:31-33
- Unshaken by threats
Jesus was not ruled by fear of powerful people. He knew his life was in his Father’s hands, and he continued doing good until the appointed time.
- A mission with a goal
Jesus’ path to Jerusalem was deliberate. His death was not an accident or a defeat but the completion of his mission to save.
- Faithfulness in daily work
“Today and tomorrow” Jesus kept serving people. Followers of Jesus are called to faithfulness in each day’s task, trusting God with the outcome.
Cross-References:
Luke 9:9: "John I beheaded, but who is this, about whom I hear such things?" Herod’s interest in Jesus.
Luke 9:51: "he intently set his face to go to Jerusalem," Jesus’ determination.
Luke 9:22: "The Son of Man must suffer many things, … and the third day be raised up." The goal of his mission.
Luke 23:12: "Herod and Pilate became friends with each other that very day," Herod meets Jesus at his trial.
Conclusion: When some Pharisees warned Jesus that Herod wanted to kill him, Jesus called Herod a fox and declared that he would go on healing and casting out demons until he completed his mission at the appointed time. His death would come in Jerusalem, the city that killed the prophets, not by Herod’s schemes. Jesus walked toward the cross freely and with purpose.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible