Please turn in your Bibles to Luke’s Gospel, chapter 13:31.
The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.
This morning we looked at the previous verses in a message titled, “When the Master Rises.” The dominating theme of the text was not God’s judgment, but the dangerous delay of people who waited too long. The Master rises, he shuts the door to his house, and many people find themselves outside the house unable to enter. The parable is part of Jesus’ answer to the question, “Are there few that be saved?” Today’s text happens on that same day.
Not all Pharisees were bad. The people divided Pharisees into seven different classes. There were “shoulder Pharisees” that wore their good deeds on their shoulders and performed them in sight of men. There were the “wait-a-little Pharisees”, who could always put off a good deed until tomorrow. Then you had the “bruised and bleeding Pharisees”, my personal favorite. No Jewish Rabbi could be seen talking to any woman on the street, not even his wife or mother or sister. But certain Pharisees went further, to not even look at a woman on the street; they even shut their eyes to avoid seeing the woman. So they ran into walls and houses, bruising themselves. These bruises became badges of piety that they showed off.
There were “pestle and mortar Pharisees, sometimes called “hump-backed Pharisees”. They walked bent over in a fake and cringing humility. We have “ever reckoning Pharisees” who always kept a balance sheet of their good deeds for God. “Timid and fearing Pharisees” were ever in fear of God, not helped but haunted by their religion. Finally there were “God-loving Pharisees.” So you may well have six bad Pharisees for every one good one (William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, The Daily Bible Study Series, Westminster Press, Philadelphia, 1975, 185). Here we have some who are trying to protect Jesus from the wrath of the wicked King Herod.
Protecting the Lord from Herod was noble. Caesar once said it was better to be Herod’s dog than his son, for he killed his sons in fits of jealous rage. But their concern was misplaced. Jesus had a cup to drink, a baptism with which to be baptized, and that involved suffering and death.
At several points in Church history people move from an offensive to a defensive, or even a siege, mentality. Rather than “striving,” “agonizing” to expand God’s kingdom and take territory from the enemy, we become complacently satisfied with holding to what we have. To prove my point I’ll direct you to Matthew 16:18. The Lord asked, “Who do men say that I am?” All the ideas of the people were wrong. He turns to Peter, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter speaks what we now call “the Great Confession.” “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” It’s because of this confession that Jesus says to Peter in verse 18, “And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
Jesus plays with words: “Peter” means “stone” or “rock,” and “upon this rock” meaning Peter’s confession, “I will build my church.” Who? Jesus builds it. God have mercy on us that we never think we build it. The last phrase shows how God builds his church: “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” When was the last time you saw gates attacking something? You don’t. Gates are defensive in nature. The Church storms (offense) hell (defense) and her gates can’t keep us out.
Verse 21 tells us that from that moment on Jesus shows the disciples what this offensive strategy costs. He must go to Jerusalem, suffer and die in order to be raised again on the third day. Our salvation rests on Christ’s resurrection. No resurrection, no salvation. But you can not have a resurrection unless you first have a death. That is the price. Not just anyone could do it. Salvation from eternity in hell demands the resurrection of the Son of God, only accomplished first by the death of the Son of God. In steps Peter. In verse 22, “Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” “No way, Lord. I have a better plan. I have an idea that is safer.” Jesus rebukes him sharply in verse 23: “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” Jesus knows that for the Kingdom to advance he had to “strive” and “agonize” (remember that the Greek word for “strive” is áãùíéæïìáé, where we get the word “agonize”) unto death, yet Peter calls for a full retreat, circle the wagons, get back to a safe village and hang on to what we’ve got! Jesus demands that to expand God’s kingdom you must shun the protective defense mentality and go on the offensive.
Some would use what I say to justify reckless financial management of God’s church. Let’s spend it all. Go into debt!” I even heard one pastor of a very colorful denomination comment, “I think any church that has savings is going to hell.” I call these guys Kamikaze Christians. They glow bright for a while and are soon extinguished and defeated. Jesus calls us to live by faith and live sacrificially, but not recklessly.
“Unless a corn of wheat fall to the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.”
Only Jesus could effectively die for us, atoning for our sins. But there are things that involve dying to yourself that only you can do. Someone hurt you and God tells you to forgive them and love them. He’s not telling you to love them “in spirit,” but in such a tangible way that lost people can see and recognize as God’s love. That love demand kindness, mercy and compassion. If you draw back into a defensive posture, trying to just hold on and not lose ground, you’re not storming the gates of hell. You’re not expanding God’s kingdom. You move from actively serving to passively existing. That might sound nice if you’re an introvert like me, but God orders us to move on and storm those gates.
There are times when you need to rest and recover. When we returned from overseas, we were so emotionally spent that we needed to rest. We spent several months doing little or no ministry outside of church attendance and family stuff. There is a time to heal. What I warn against is the slippery slope to Lazy Boy Christianity; it is a mentality that just tries to hang on rather than expand God’s kingdom.
Let’s return to our text in Luke 13:32. Remember, the Lord has just been warned by some good Pharisees that Herod desires to kill him. Jesus responds, “Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.”
A fox was seen as sly and destructive. In the face of danger, Jesus says something that he knows will get back to the king. In spite of the terror of Herod, “I work today. I work tomorrow. I do good. I do God’s will. Man will not stop me from obeying my Father.”
The last phrase depicts an attitude you and I must have if we are to storm hell’s gates. “The third day, I will be perfected.” We read that and know they crucified Jesus, and God the Father raised his Son from the dead. Why don’t we have that confidence? We storm hell’s gates… until someone in church hurts our feelings. Then we stir up another kind of storm. We storm hell’s gates as long as we’re not too busy. We “strive” and “agonize” to expand God’s kingdom as long as it’s safe. Is this what God intended? Is this following Jesus’ footsteps? No! he says, “I’m going to do good today, I’m going to do God’s will tomorrow. Obeying God is time-consuming, costly and so dangerous that you are going to kill me for doing it. But the third day, I will be perfected. That means “completed” or “fully mature.” Too often we storm Hell’s gates until someone hurts our feelings and then we bail out. The fruit never matures, the work incomplete, the mission imperfect. When we shed this husk and step into glory, we too will be perfected. Why, then, do we, as Peer, rebuke others serving God to the point of great sacrifice? Why do we hesitate to storm hell’s gates, instead circling our wagons, desperately trying to hold on to what we have? My dear, precious brothers and sisters, we have such a noble battle to fight. It will cost you. It rages in the living room and the sanctuary and the office. Don’t pull back. Storm the gates of hell.
How, preacher? Do I got to seminary. No, not unless God calls you. This is how you storm the gates of hell, as spoken by Christ in Mathew 5:44:
“But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven…” When you do this, you will see the Lord’s words of John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
That is the handle of your sword. Never, never let it go. The lost will see God’s love in you. The gates of hell will not prevail. God’s kingdom will advance.
