INTRODUCTION:

1. Luke 13:31 says, The same day there came certain of the Pharisees
2. The Bible does not indicate whether or not these Pharisees were sincerely trying to help our Lord by warning Him of Herod s intentions to kill Him (13:31).
3. This Herod was Herod Antipas, the son of Herod the Great.
4. Their information may have been accurate since Herod was a dangerous man and had already killed John the Baptist.
5. However, it does seem unusual for the Pharisees to profess an interest in our Lord s safety. And it seems strange that the Pharisees would try to help our Lord since they themselves were trying to kill Him.
6. Judging from their past behavior, it would seem that they would be happy to see Herod kill our Lord and save them the trouble.
7. Some have speculated that Herod made an arrangement with the Pharisees. Albert Barnes said, Jesus was eminently popular, and Herod might not dare openly to put him to death; yet he desired his removal, and for this purpose he sent these men, as if in a friendly way, to advise him to retire. This was probably the reason why Jesus called him a fox (cf. Luke 13:32).
8. Herod was a crafty dissembler, so our Lord called him a fox (13:32). A fox is known for being sly and cunning.
9. Our Lord told the Pharisees, "Go ye, and tell that fox (13:33). Our Lord would continue His ministry of casting out devils and healing the sick.
10. Today and tomorrow indicated a short space of time. Apparently our Lord was referring to His impending death.
11. Barnes said, The words seem here to be used not strictly, but proverbially to denote a short space of time.
12. Then on the third day (13:32), He would be perfected, that is, His work on earth would be completed.
13. Nevertheless I must walk today (13:33). Our Lord could not die there because He had to die on Mount Calvary, right outside the city of Jerusalem.
14. He had no fear that Herod (or anybody else) would put Him to death in Galilee, because that was not to be (cf. Luke 9:22).
15. Our Lord knew that he would be betrayed by Judas Iscariot, and then tried on a charge of blasphemy. He knew no other court would have the right to deal with that crime but the Sanhedrim in Jerusalem.
16. Jerusalem was the place where the prophets died, and that is where our Lord was to die (cf. Luke 11:47-54). Therefore, our Lord s life was safe until He arrived at Jerusalem.
17. Our Lord s message to Herod was that He still had work to do, and when His work was over He would go up to Jerusalem to die.
18. After this interesting conversation, our Lord broke out in a lamentation over the impending judgment of Jerusalem (Luke 13:34, 35).
19. The hen gathers her little chicks under her wings when she sees danger coming (13:34). Judgment was coming.
20. Warren Wiersbe said, The Pharisees told Jesus that He was in danger, when in reality they were in danger! (The Bible Exposition Commentary).
21. Soon their house (their magnificent temple) would be left desolate. The Roman army would come in AD 70 and destroy both the city and the temple. And then the Jewish people would go into a long period of exile.
22. They would not see our Lord again until they would repent and say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord (13:35). This is a reference to our Lord s second coming.
23. The prophet Zechariah said they shall look upon Him whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn (Zechariah 12:10).
24. There will be a restoration of Israel, but not until our Lord returns.
25. This is the exposition of our text. In the time we have left, I would like to say a few words about the last four words in Luke 13:34 and ye would not!

 

I. THE FREE AGENCY AND ACCOUNTABILITY OF MAN

1. The Bible teaches the sovereignty of God, and the Bible also teaches the free agency and accountability of man.
2. Here in Luke 13:34 we see the yearning of God ( how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings ) and the stubborn refusal of sinful men ( and ye would not! ).
3. Every man is perfectly free to either accept or reject God s offer of salvation.
4. Recently I have read several articles about robots. When I was a child I learned about robots from comic books and cartoons on television, but nowadays robots are real.
5. In yesterday s newspaper, there was an article about a man in Hong Kong, who spent $50,000 building his own realistic robot. His robot looks exactly like the beautiful actress Scarlett Johansson. This robot is programed to giggle, wink and flirt with him. (I hope he doesn t marry it!)
6. Watson is a computer capable of answering questions. It was developed by IBM. This computer was specifically developed to answer questions on the quiz show Jeopardy! In 2011, Watson competed on Jeopardy! and received the first place prize of $1 million. What will a robot do with that kind of money???
7. Robots are smarter than people. They also make fewer mistakes than people, and they don't get bored with menial jobs.
8. There are presently millions of industrial robots working worldwide stocking shelves, analyzing documents, filling prescriptions, and handling other tasks that were once exclusively done by humans.
9. Last year, the Bank of England stated that machines might take over 80 million American and 15 million British jobs over the next 10 to 20 years, or 50% of the workforce in each of the two countries.
10. I don t think robots would make good pastors though, so I m not worried about losing my job!
11. I said all that to say this man is not a robot. Man is a free moral agent. God doesn t program us and tell us what to do or say. Men must be willing to be saved. God will not force them.
12. G. Campbell Morgan said, That is the very heart of sin Ye would not; the human will set up against the will of God. The human will set up against the will which had interpreted righteousness, and had expressed to men God s desire for human happiness and blessedness His claim was that had they but come to Him, He could have gathered the whole of them from the impending judgment of evil (The Gospel According to Matthew).

 

II. MEN SET THEMSELVES AGAINST THE WILL OF GOD

1. And ye would not! (Luke 13:34). It was God s will to save them, but they would not listen to the voice of God.
2. They would not believe the Gospel.
3. The Bible says it is God s will for all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the truth (I Timothy 2:4).
4. The Bible says God is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance (II Peter 3:9).
5. Luke 13:34 reminds us that sinners have been given opportunities to repent and be saved, but they have refused to believe they would not.

 

III. THE DANGER OF CROSSING THE DEADLINE

1. Behold, your house is left unto you desolate (Luke 13:35). The children of Israel had crossed the deadline.
2. There are many warnings in the Bible about crossing the deadline (cf. Proverbs 1:24-28).
3. Sometimes a nation can cross the deadline. Oftentimes, individuals cross the deadline.
4. Way back in Genesis 6:3, the Bible says, "And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man.
5. Sinners cross the deadline, and then God gives up on them.
6. God gives them up to the hardness of their hearts. Three times we read in Romans 1 God also gave them up (1:24, 26, 28).
7. Three times in the book of Jeremiah, the LORD said to Jeremiah, Pray not for this people (Jer. 7:16; 11:14; 14:11).
8. Pharaoh threatened Moses, and said to him, Get thee from me, take heed to thyself, see my face no more; for in that day thou seest my face thou shalt die (Exodus 10:28).
9. Moses answered him, Thou hast spoken well, I will see thy face again no more (Ex. 10:29). Pharaoh had crossed the deadline. There was nothing left but judgment for Pharaoh.
10. King Agrippa said to Paul, Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian (Acts 26:28). Almost but lost! King Agrippa had his opportunity but he rejected the Gospel.
11. He crossed the deadline.
12. Our Lord said, Behold, your house is left unto you desolate (Luke 13:35). Since that day, Israel has been set aside. They lost their place of privilege.
13. Individual Jews can be saved. The Bible says For there is no difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the same Lord over all is rich unto all that call upon him. For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. (Romans 10:12, 13).

 

CONCLUSION:

1. I know a man who thinks he has committed the unpardonable sin. He thinks he has crossed the deadline and there is no hope for him.
2. This fear has caused him great grief and unrest.
3. (By the way, the man is not a member of BBC and has only visited here once or twice.)
4. I have told him that since he is concerned about his spiritual condition, he could not have crossed the deadline.
5. Those who cross the deadline are proud, pig-headed, stubborn, foolish, indifferent, and defiant like Nabal, the husband of Abigail (cf. I Samuel 25:36-38).