day no. 16,299: go tell that fox!

Luke 13:31–32

At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course.'"

Let us enroll for a moment in Jesus' School of Defying Tyrants and learn a lesson or two:

Herod had plans for Jesus. The Pharisees here inform him of them. Herod wants Jesus dead. But Jesus has plans of his own. He has a list of things He wants to do and He intends to get to all of them. Jesus doesn't sit on His agenda. He proclaims it and pursues it boldly. He isn't shy about saying what He's wanting to do and He isn't lazy about working hard to make it happen. Jesus doesn't merely respond to the Pharisees who deliver the message, but to Herod who sent it.

The Pharisees, however, have plans as well, the least of which includes getting Jesus to shut up. So they used what they believed to be a trump card: outside authority and internal self-preservation. They appeal to an outside authority and bring it up in order to bully Jesus with the threat of someone who isn't there, but will be shortly if He doesn't comply. They also appeal to basic self-preservation in assuming that the threat of death would motivate Jesus to comply. 

Jesus check mates them on both accounts. He is not only NOT phased by the appeal to outside authority, He doubles down and says, "Yes, make sure and give him a message from Me," and then proceeds to call Herod a derogatory term in front of the Pharisees (thus defusing that bomb) and telling them to repeat the words back to Herod (thus throwing a grenade of His own).

Additionally, He throws back the threat of death at them as well in foreshadowing His own death and resurrection. In other words, if death is the best they can do, they may want to find better firepower because He isn't afraid of death. He came to die... and overcome death. The One they are talking to was born to die and has His sights set on killing death on a Roman cross.

Jesus said, in a sense, "Tell that tyrant, 'I'm just getting started.'"

Let us learn these lessons well and faithfully follow His example.