By Rev. David Domanski. Sermon for March 16th, 2025 (Luke 13:31-35).
They say “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.” If that’s true, then what fury must be waiting for 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 lies ahead for those who would dare to destroy the one sent to save them from such fury?
Our 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 again the city 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 their Creator and Savior as He comes to them in person—they’re about to reject the Prophet who is God Himself. What fury God could unleash!
But that’s not the point of our text. Instead, and amazingly, Jesus still longs to gather
Jerusalem, just as He still longs to gather all who time and again reject Him—all of us. When Jerusalem has earned only wrath, The Rejected Prophet Will Still Go to the Rejected City.
Nothing anyone could do, not even Jerusalem’s own rejection of her Savior, will prevent Him from coming to her one more time. Deceit and threats will not dissuade Jesus from going to Jerusalem. In our Gospel today, we see the Pharisees try to deceive Jesus into turning and running (v. 31), but Jesus has set His face to go to Jerusalem (9:51)
These Pharisees sound so helpful, but are they different from the Pharisees who have been opposing Jesus every step of the way? They know that if they get Jesus to abandon His journey to Jerusalem, He’ll surely lose credibility with His followers.
But perhaps the Pharisees are even more perceptive than that: maybe 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 the capitol city would surely foil His plans. But one thing is certain—these Pharisees are not being helpful; they’ve already rejected Jesus and His purpose.
But it is also true that very real threats of death do indeed face Jesus in Jerusalem. Opposition against Him has been building for a long time. Perhaps not Herod at all, but the scribes and Pharisees are plotting against Jesus (6:11; 11:53–54). Going to Jerusalem again really will be Jesus’ death (John 11:7–8, 16). Jesus very well knows His fate. In fact, He has been stating it clearly to His disciples (9:22).
Jerusalem will reject Jesus. Nevertheless, Jesus will go to Jerusalem and to His death. The threats of Herod will not deter him (v. 32). But neither will the real threats (v. 33). Jerusalem has a long history of killing the prophets sent to it. Jeremiah faced death (Jeremiah 26:8). Others suffered death there.
But Jesus goes to Jerusalem and His death in willing obedience to His Father. Jesus’ journey to Jerusalem thus becomes the way of life for His followers too. A disciple of Christ cannot be deceived when life seems to offer an easier, safer way. We’d like to avoid confrontation, embarrassment, sacrifices for our faith. But these are not options. 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.
So Jesus is not afraid to go to Jerusalem, but why would He want to? They’ve scorned Him! If anything should cause Jesus to reject Jerusalem, it should be their obstinate and repeated rejections of Him (v. 34). The Lord has tried and tried and tried again to love these rebels. How many times can someone—even God—be hurt and not give up on loving?
We would understand if Jesus had given up on them. We’ve reached out, worn our hearts on our sleeves, loved or offered our love, and been rejected. After a while, we pull back. We tell ourselves: “What good is going to them again anyway? They’ll just reject me. Let ’em rot.”
But do we really understand? Do we understand how often we’ve rejected Christ’s love extended to us? He’s made us His chosen people, he has given us eternal life, and we say, “Ho, hum. What have you done for me that I can use today?” But Jesus still comes to us today—In His Word, at His Table, as He does daily in our Baptism, and a lot of the time, we still want something more exciting. Do we understand how deserving we are of the fury of a lover scorned?
I hope we all repent of our rejections of God’s love because for its rejection of the Messiah, Jerusalem was rejected (v. 35a). The beloved city was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. Such fury!
But because of what Christ did for us on the cross, the place of God’s honor is now wherever Christ’s people are gathered around Him in Word and Sacrament. But we are warned against welcoming and receiving Jesus one day only to reject Him the next. On Palm Sunday, Jesus entered Jerusalem with shouts of “Hosanna,” but just days later, He would be rejected and crucified by some of the very same people who had welcomed Him into the city. But this is precisely why Jesus would come. This had been Jerusalem’s purpose throughout her favored 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 would repent and be gathered under Christ’s wing. And we are saved too—forgiven despite our all too frequent rejections.
So, people of God, rejoice! For hell hath no fury for us. We are now Christ’s chosen people to travel His way with Him—and there is nothing left to deter us. Our Prophet has come to save us! Amen.