Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint Luke
On that day,
Some Pharisees approached Jesus and said to him:
«"Leave, get out of here:"
Herod wants to kill you.»
He replied to them:
«"Go tell that fox:
Behold, I cast out demons and perform healings.
today and tomorrow,
And, on the third day, I reach the end.
But I must continue on my way
today, tomorrow, and the day after,
because it is not suitable
that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.
Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
you who kill the prophets
and who stones those sent to you,
How many times have I wanted to gather your children together
like a hen gathering her chicks under her wings,
And you didn't want to!
Behold, your temple is abandoned to yourselves.
I declare to you:
you won't see me anymore
until the day comes when you will say:
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! »
– Let us acclaim the Word of God.
It is not fitting that a prophet should perish outside the city
Why Jerusalem embodies our rejection of the light and God's call for reconciliation.
At the heart of the Gospel according to Saint Luke, a brief, strange, and poignant phrase resonates like a verdict: «It is not fitting that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.» In saying this, Jesus does not resign himself: he reveals the heart of human history, this dramatic back-and-forth between divine faithfulness and our repeated refusals. This article is addressed to those who, believers or seekers of meaning, wish to understand why this saying remains relevant: not a condemnation, but the opening of a path of lucidity, compassion, and inner conversion.
Context
The passage in Luke 13:31-35 occurs at a pivotal moment in Jesus' public ministry. He is walking toward Jerusalem, knowing what awaits him there. Some Pharisees, perhaps well-intentioned, come to warn him: Herod wants to kill him. Jesus responds with quiet strength: "Go tell that fox..." His path is not dictated by the machinations of power, but by faithfulness to his mission.
The prophecy he then utters—"I must continue on my way: today, tomorrow, and the day after"—inscribes the time of his life within a logic of fulfillment. Everything converges on Jerusalem: the site of the Temple, the center of faith, and also a symbol of tragic rejection. This is no coincidence; it is within this tension that the mission of the prophets is accomplished. Jerusalem's misfortune lies in having rejected the messengers. The tragedy is universal: every human heart, every community, knows the temptation to reject what is unsettling.
The pathos of the passage lies in the double meaning: on the one hand, the inexorable announcement of the Passion; on the other, the tender lament: "How often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings." Beneath the maternal image, one senses the mercy of a wounded God.
Luke, the evangelist of mercy, wants to show that Jesus does not die because he fails: he dies fulfilling love to the very end. The prophecy does not end; it is consummated in the supreme revelation of the Cross. This text thus becomes a key to understanding all of sacred history: Jerusalem is the mirror of our humanity, oscillating between vocation and rejection, between hope and resistance.
Analysis
The central idea of this passage is paradoxical: the necessity of rejection. Jesus doesn't simply say that he risks dying in Jerusalem; he affirms that it is "fitting" for it to happen there. This verb indicates a spiritual fittingness, an internal coherence with God's plan. The prophet dies where the word must be heard, even if it is not.
This consistency aligns with the entire movement of the Bible: from the blood of Abel to that of Zechariah, the prophets suffered the fate that truth imposes on consciences. Their death does not discredit their message; it renders it indestructible. Jesus follows in this lineage and brings it to its culmination.
The expression "Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets" transcends geography: it points to the human heart, the seat of both worship and rejection. Even where God desires to dwell, resistance arises. This universal tension constitutes the truth of salvation history.
The image of the hen gathering her chicks contrasts sharply with the harshness of the diagnosis: divine tenderness does not fade in the face of refusal. It does not force, but constantly offers. Thus, the prophecy is not vengeance, but patience. Jesus' judgment on Jerusalem is a call to hope: "You will not see me again until the day comes when you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'" The formula is transformed into the Paschal promise.
Luke presents here a theology of time: "today, tomorrow, and the third day" represent the stages of salvation history. "Today" signifies mission, "tomorrow" fidelity, and "the third day" resurrection. The prophet's death in Jerusalem is therefore not a failure, but the culmination of a logic of love.
Prophetic courage in the face of power
Jesus did not flee from Herod; he continued. This episode illustrates the discernment of true courage. Prophetic courage is not recklessness; it consists of persevering according to a mission received. In the contemporary world, where truth is unsettling and the fear of conflict paralyzes, this text encourages us to speak clearly without giving in to fear.
The image of Herod the "fox" recalls the cunning of power that manipulates fear to divert people from the truth. Jesus responds not with violence, but with faithfulness: to heal, to deliver, to fulfill. This defines every Christian vocation: to fulfill one's mission, even if it leads to the cross.
Applied to our lives, this means: not compromising our conscience to please others. Speaking the truth, gently, remains a prophetic act. Like Jesus, each of us can confront the "Herods" of our time—the logic of profit, domination, cynicism—through peaceful constancy and the rejection of fear.
Inner Jerusalem: The Resistances of the Heart
Jerusalem is not just a city; it is also our inner sanctuary. The Temple, a symbol of encounter, becomes the stage for rejection. Every life experiences this tension: God wants to dwell in our hearts, but we often prefer to keep Him under control.
The phrase «how often I have longed to gather you together…» reveals an emotional struggle: God desires our unity more than we ourselves. Our modern world, scattered and fragmented, needs to hear this cry of love. Salvation begins by acknowledging our resistance: fear of being loved, fear of losing our autonomy, and otherness experienced as a threat.
To meditate on this passage is to accept naming the places where we say, "Not here, Lord." The spiritual path is one of gradual reopening. Conversion does not consist of becoming perfect, but of ceasing to stone the Word with our indifference.
God's unfailing tenderness
The maternal comparison—the hen and her chicks—is unsettling. In patriarchal biblical culture, this bold image conveys a theology of mercy. God is not merely king or judge: he nurtures, he protects, he waits.
Even after rejection, tenderness remains. This insistence overturns our perceptions: God's love is not conditional upon our acceptance. It persists like a silent offering. Thus, in every situation of closure, the possibility of return remains.
This mercy grounds our trust: if God has not abandoned Jerusalem, he abandons no one. Every life can become a reopened Temple, a place of praise rediscovered.
Implications
The discourse on Jerusalem is not only about ancient history: it is relevant to our spheres of life.
- Personal life: To discern our refusals, our attachments, our complaints. To pray that God's truth may no longer be experienced as a threat but as a light.
- Community life: Encourage free speech, listen to minority voices in our churches. Prophecy is not reserved for a few; it permeates the entire body.
- Social life: to defend truth and justice without giving in to discouragement; to reject destructive irony; to respond to evil with a faithful presence.
- Spiritual life: Embrace the slowness of the "three days": God works in stages. Perseverance in prayer keeps the flame alive amidst rejection.
Each person can make their "inner Jerusalem" a place of transformation. This path requires combining lucidity and gentleness, courage and humility. The union of these virtues reflects the very path of Christ.
Tradition
The Church Fathers commented extensively on this passage. Origen saw in it divine pedagogy: God does not impose his salvation, he offers it until patience is exhausted. Saint Ambrose emphasizes that "salvation cannot be refused without pain." Jesus' lament is therefore the expression of a wound of love.
In the liturgy, this phrase echoes the Passion chant: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"—the cry of the triumphal entry followed by the acclamation of the Crucified. Jerusalem thus becomes the scene of a paradox: the death of the prophet prepares the life of the world.
Monastic spirituality often reinterprets this text as an invitation to remain "on the journey": to persevere in daily life, not to flee from inner confrontation. For Saint Bernard, Jerusalem represents the soul called to become a dwelling place of peace, after the turmoil of rejection.
Meditation prompts
- Read slowly the passage from Luke 13:31-35.
- Visualize Jesus walking, determined but full of compassion.
- Identify the inner place where you refuse to hear his word.
- To hear his voice calling you: "How many times have I wanted to…"«
- To offer this closed space to his love; to remain in silence.
- Conclude by repeating: "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."«
This meditation can be experienced during morning prayer or before sleep. It transforms the text into a space of encounter where refusal becomes openness.
Current challenges
In a world saturated with information and noise, the prophetic voice is often stifled. How can we recognize today those "Jerusalems" who refuse the light? They go by other names: career, opinion, fear of losing their position or image.
Challenge #1: The relationship to power. Free speech disrupts the balance. Yet Christ invites us to speak truthfully without hatred. This requires cultivating a strong inner life so as not to depend on the opinions of others.
Challenge #2: The crisis of trust. Many believe that God has nothing left to say in the face of tragedy. Luke's text responds that God does not abandon us: he walks with the city he loves, even when it is destroyed.
Challenge #3: Spiritual wear and tear. Repeated rejections can be discouraging. Christ, however, continues on his path. His perseverance becomes a model of endurance.
These challenges demand nuanced responses: neither naivety nor cynicism. Faith lies between courage and compassion, lucidity and hope. Jerusalem remains a place of possibility: where all seems lost, blessing can be reborn.
Prayer
Lord Jesus,
You who walk towards your Passion without slowing your pace,
Give us your quiet courage.
You did not flee in the face of Herod's threats;
You continued on your way,
preferring love to fear, truth to calculation.
Teach us to recognize, within ourselves and around us,
Jerusalem's refusals.
When our hearts close the doors, knock even more gently.
Remind us that you want to gather us under your wings.
May your tender gaze transfigure our anger,
May your patience disarm our resistance.
When the world kills the prophets, let us be protectors of their voices.
When our cities stifle silence, let us become artisans of peace.
And when our paths become heavy,
Remember your three days:
the present day of the struggle,
the tomorrow of loyalty,
and the third day, the day of light.
Then our lips will be able to say, with renewed joy:
«"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"»
Amen.
Conclusion
This passage from Luke is not simply a lament; it reveals a spiritual method. See clearly, do not flee, remain in tenderness. Everyone can become a prophet in their own life: by rejecting indifference, by choosing fidelity over fear.
Staying the course "today, tomorrow, and the day after": this is the wisdom of Jesus. This simple steadfastness transforms the world more surely than any speech. Jerusalem will eventually recognize its King; our own hearts too, if we allow the word to be fulfilled within them.
True conversion is not about avoiding the cross, but about accepting it out of love. There, the prophet dies — and the Kingdom is born.
Practical
- Read Luke 13:31-35 every Friday during Lent.
- Name what, within you, resists the truth.
- Take one concrete step towards reconciliation each week.
- Listening to a contemporary prophetic voice (homily, testimony).
- Keep a prayer book for the "wounded cities".
- Offering a day for those facing rejection.
- Repeat every evening: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.
References
- Jerusalem Bible, Gospel according to Saint Luke, chapters 13 and 19.
- Origen, Homilies on Luke.
- Saint Ambrose, On the Gospel of Luke.
- Saint Bernard of Clairvaux, Sermons for Lent.
- Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium, §43-49.
- André Louf, Convert every day.
- Jean-Claude Sagne, Christian prophecy today.
