The Sorrow Of Jesus For Jerusalem
THE SORROW OF JESUS FOR JERUSALEM
LUKE 13:31–14:6
Jesus laments over Jerusalem, the symbol of Israel’s spirit.
Verses 31-33. The Lord must still have been within the boundaries of Herod’s territories, which embraced both Galilee and Peraea (see “hence,” 31). A map will help understanding at this point. It is impossible to say whether the Pharisees’ warning was sincere concern, or a subterfuge to be rid of the Lord, to drive him into Judea. Some among the Pharisees did not deserve the reputation which the majority had earned, eg Nicodemus and Gamaliel. Jesus evaded Herod, sent him a message of contempt, and when brought face to face with him, had nothing further to add.
13:34-35. Luke anticipates. The sad remark about Jerusalem leads him to record here the lament over the city which was delivered from the summit of the Mount of Olives some weeks later. It must be remembered that a tidy and ordered narrative, with visible historical and geographical sequence, was not necessarily Luke’s first object. The prime need was to record. There was a sense of urgency in his mind. He was free while Paul lay in custody at Caesarea to collect and set down the precious information. He died, if sudden silence bears that interpretation, before he could write the sequel to Acts, and much of his material may have been left in the form in which he first recorded and classified it. Hence some puzzles for commentators.
14:1-6. The strict Jew ate three times on the Sabbath. This was probably the midday meal. It is not impossible that the presence of the afflicted man was designed to trap Christ into yet another Sabbath violation. He used again the devastating argument of the legislation over the care of animals which did contain the elements of mercy and compassion (compare 13:15 and John 5:17). They gave to the beasts that which they denied to suffering man. The beasts, after all, cost money. Human life was cheap. Where Christianity wavers, it grows cheap again.
Notes 13:32: “fox”—noted for slyness and cruelty. “Today and tomorrow”—“a brief time longer.” 14:1: lit. “kept on watching him;” Gk. implies close scrutiny with suspicious motive. The guests would be invited as a religious duty. 14:5: once again Jesus answers their thoughts. Notice “immediately”—they would treat this as a case for urgency.