Title: Lamentations
Author: Christopher Harbin
Text: Luke 13:31-35; 19:41-44
Jesus ruffled feathers along the course of his ministry. Not everyone was out to get him, even among the named religious groups and their leaders. There were still many who had come to oppose him at seemingly every turn. They had taken offense at his teaching, because it was inconvenient and had too much against the established norms of life and their religious practices. Rather than focusing on rules, rites, and regulations, Jesus' words were just too open-handed toward the no-account scum who did not contribute to society in the accepted ways. The only path they could see to deal with him was to shut him up for good. Then life could go back to normal. Normal wasn't great, but it was known.
Some among the Pharisees had risen in opposition to him, trying to call him out and get him in trouble with the people. Other Pharisees, perhaps a minority among them, approached him with a warning of political forces that were moving against him. Herod, in particular, was on a warpath to silence Jesus, whom he took as some sort of renewal of John the Baptist's opposition he had tried to stamp out unsuccessfully. Telling Jesus of their concerns for his safety, they encouraged him to leave the area around Jerusalem to put himself somewhere beyond Herod's easy reach.
Jesus' response was unexpected. It's not that he did not take the threat seriously. He saw it as nothing to avoid. He sent word telling Herod he was remaining in the region. He would continue his public ministry of healing for another two days before entering Jerusalem directly on the third. He would be in Jerusalem where every prophet met their death at the hands of political forces opposed to the ways of Yahweh. He would be easy to find. He would not be hiding in any remote corner.
Then Jesus continued addressing the threat before him. He decried how over the centuries Jerusalem had been the scene of opposition to the ways of ...
Author: Christopher Harbin
Text: Luke 13:31-35; 19:41-44
Jesus ruffled feathers along the course of his ministry. Not everyone was out to get him, even among the named religious groups and their leaders. There were still many who had come to oppose him at seemingly every turn. They had taken offense at his teaching, because it was inconvenient and had too much against the established norms of life and their religious practices. Rather than focusing on rules, rites, and regulations, Jesus' words were just too open-handed toward the no-account scum who did not contribute to society in the accepted ways. The only path they could see to deal with him was to shut him up for good. Then life could go back to normal. Normal wasn't great, but it was known.
Some among the Pharisees had risen in opposition to him, trying to call him out and get him in trouble with the people. Other Pharisees, perhaps a minority among them, approached him with a warning of political forces that were moving against him. Herod, in particular, was on a warpath to silence Jesus, whom he took as some sort of renewal of John the Baptist's opposition he had tried to stamp out unsuccessfully. Telling Jesus of their concerns for his safety, they encouraged him to leave the area around Jerusalem to put himself somewhere beyond Herod's easy reach.
Jesus' response was unexpected. It's not that he did not take the threat seriously. He saw it as nothing to avoid. He sent word telling Herod he was remaining in the region. He would continue his public ministry of healing for another two days before entering Jerusalem directly on the third. He would be in Jerusalem where every prophet met their death at the hands of political forces opposed to the ways of Yahweh. He would be easy to find. He would not be hiding in any remote corner.
Then Jesus continued addressing the threat before him. He decried how over the centuries Jerusalem had been the scene of opposition to the ways of ...
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