At that time some Pharisees came to him and said, “Go away, leave this area because Herod wants to kill you.” 32 He replied, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and I perform healings today and tomorrow, and on the third day I accomplish my purpose. 33 Yet I must continue on my way today, tomorrow, and the following day, for it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem.’
34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how many times I yearned to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were unwilling! 35 Behold, your house will be abandoned. [But] I tell you, you will not see me until [the time comes when] you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Jesus is warned that Herod wants him dead, yet he continues on the road to Jerusalem where opposition grows and destiny waits. The scene holds two notes at once: fearless resolve and tender mercy.
Some Pharisees report that Herod intends to kill him (v. 31). Whatever their motives, the threat is real; Herod Antipas executed John the Baptist. Jesus does not panic or hide. He answers with measured clarity and a firm timetable shaped by the Father’s will, not by Herod’s. Luke’s phrasing leaves room for nuance: not every Pharisee is uniformly hostile (cf. Lk. 7:36; 13:31). What ultimately matters is not party labels but whether a person listens to Jesus and follows him.
“Go and tell that fox” (v. 32) signals that Herod is crafty but not sovereign. Jesus says he is casting out demons and healing “today and tomorrow,” and “on the third day” he will accomplish his purpose. In Scripture, “third day” can mean the completion of a course of action; here it also foreshadows the Resurrection. The kingdom advances through liberation and restoration now—freedom from evil and the healing of lives broken by sin and suffering—and it reaches its goal in the Paschal victory that cannot be stopped. Luke later notes that Herod and Pilate become “friends” over Jesus (Lk. 23:12), showing that both political rulers and religious authorities will unite in opposing him—yet God still advances his saving plan.
He adds that he must continue “today, tomorrow, and the following day,” because “it is impossible that a prophet should die outside of Jerusalem” (v. 33). The point is not geography but Israel’s story: Jerusalem is the city of the Temple and the center of God’s promises, yet it is also the place where many of God’s messengers were rejected. Jesus names himself with the prophets and signals that his death will be both an act of divine purpose and a verdict on hardened refusal.
The tone then shifts from resolve to lament. “Jerusalem, Jerusalem” doubles the name in grief and love (v. 34). Jesus wanted to gather her children “as a hen gathers her brood under her wings,” an image of protective care. The picture recalls the refuge offered by God’s wings in the Psalms, where shelter and fidelity meet (cf. Ps. 91:4). The tragedy lies in the next phrase: “but you were unwilling.” The failure is not in God’s desire to save but in the city’s refusal to be gathered. Set against threats, the lament shows that judgment comes from a heart that first offers shelter. Human malice intensifies; Jesus’ obedience remains; mercy still calls; refusal hardens into desolation.
“Behold, your house will be abandoned” (v. 35) warns of desolation. “House” most naturally points to the Temple—Israel’s visible center of worship. If Jerusalem refuses the one who brings God’s presence, the house stands empty of its true glory. Yet the final word is not permanent rejection but a future recognition: “You will not see me until [you say], ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” This echoes Ps. 118:26 and anticipates both the acclamation at Jesus’ entry and the hope that Israel will one day acknowledge the Messiah. Judgment is real, but the call of mercy continues.
St. Cyril of Alexandria (376–444) notes that Christ’s comparison to a hen is deliberate: he “cherishes as a mother” those he would gather, stretching out his arms on the cross as wings of mercy. St. Augustine (354–430) reads the lament as a mirror of human freedom: God summons; grace goes before; yet refusal has consequences because love does not coerce. The tenderness and the warning belong together.
Threats, whether political or personal, do not set Jesus’ timetable. The kingdom’s works—deliverance from evil and healing of wounded lives—continue until the “third day” when the Father’s plan reaches its end in the risen Lord. At the same time, Jesus’ sorrow over Jerusalem warns us not to refuse him in quiet ways. You can be very religious and still keep your heart closed to being gathered by him. The sign of being gathered is not mere affiliation but a heart that allows itself to be sheltered and reordered under his wings.
“Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord” is more than a line for liturgy. It is the right response to the One who approaches with truth and mercy. The city that kills the prophets meets the Lord who still longs to gather her children. That tension—judgment announced, and his invitation to be gathered still remaining—frames the days ‘today and tomorrow’ as the time to let ourselves be found and nurtured by him.
Lord Jesus, steadfast on the road and gentle in mercy, gather us under your wings. Free us from fear, from craftiness of heart, and from the refusal that keeps us far from you. Make us willing, and keep us close. Amen.
____________________
Sources and References:
- The Holy Bible, New American Bible, Revised Edition (2011), Lk. 13:31-35; cf. Ps. 91:4; Ps. 118:26.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre, The Navarre Bible: Luke (in The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition, 2008), notes on Lk. 13:31-35.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al., eds., The Paulist Biblical Commentary (Paulist Press, 2018), commentary on Luke 13.
- Brown, Raymond E., et al., eds., The New Jerome Biblical Commentary (Prentice Hall, 1990), §36: Luke, on 13:31-35.
- St. Cyril of Alexandria (376–444), Commentary on Luke (homilies on Lk. 13:34).
- St. Augustine (354–430), Sermons and Expositions on the Psalms, on divine summons and human refusal (cf. Ps. 118).
Comments