Sermon Notes — March 16, 2025
Luke 13:31-35
March 16, 2025
Soul Food: Nourished With Courage
Dr. Craig Goff
In our text today from Luke 13, Jesus is displaying, among other things, an enormous amount of courage. He expresses courage in the face of threats to his life.
We are all familiar with the expression, “consider the source.” It is a very helpful bit of advice to keep in mind. If a person threatens to kill us, it is going to be helpful to ask ourselves if the person has the means to carry out that threat.
According to the report of the Pharisees in Luke 13, Herod wants to kill Jesus. You know, King Herod. Do you think King Herod who killed his own sons and other members of his family when it was politically expedient had the means to kill Jesus? Do you think Herod would have any qualms about killing anyone he saw as a threat to his power in any way? Not likely, so Jesus is displaying extraordinary courage in this text.
As we all know, there are a lot of ways courage can be expressed. I want to just talk about a couple in light of our text. One way you see courage expressed is when a person takes action in a dangerous situation that puts them at risk.
The house is on fire. A child is trapped inside. It takes courage to run into that house and try to save that child when you know it might be the last thing you ever do. That takes courage; and I think we see Jesus expressing that kind of courage in other contexts.
But another way we see courage expressed isn’t just in responding to an immediate dangerous situation, but in anticipating a dangerous situation that might be far ahead and being willing to take steps toward addressing that situation.
That is the courage we see Jesus displaying in his response to the Pharisees who come to warn him about things that will happen if he doesn’t protect himself by running away.
The actual danger in that setting is in the future. The Roman soldiers with their clubs, and their whips, and their nails used to pierce human flesh into beams of wood are a long way off. There is no immediate danger present.
But Jesus knows, and the good ole cream of the religious crop, the Pharisees, are reminding him, if he continues on the path he is on there will be trouble.
A dangerous situation is looming. The advice of the Pharisees is very simple and can be reduced to two words: “run away.”
But Jesus doesn’t run away. Instead, Jesus says, “I am going to do God’s will.”
How about that? “I am not going to run away, I am going to do God’s will.” That could be a great motto for a church or even for someone’s life. “I am not going to run away. I am going to do God’s will.”
I have always admired Jesus’ courage in facing the cross and all the threats to his life. Threats that come from the most powerful people around.
But what has come to stand out to me in a powerful way just recently in reflecting on this text is the vulnerability of Jesus in the face of these threats.
No one could blame Jesus for taking advantage of advice from the Pharisees. “Dude, get out of here. Herod is going to kill you.”
We could understand why it might be a good time for a sabbatical in another country.
Jesus did not have to be vulnerable in that sense. Jesus did not have to face the threats he faced, he could have ran away.
But do you know what this story tells us? You can’t love without some degree of vulnerability.
You have probably noticed that loving someone always involves a little vulnerability.
We have a family joining the church today, baptizing their baby. We had someone join the church last week. You can’t join the church without some level of vulnerability. It takes courage to say, “I am going to be a part of the church.” Because part of the membership ritual is the church also saying, “And we are going to support you. We are going to be there when you are hurting. We are going to be there for your children.”
As the Word of God through whom everything that has been created has been created, Jesus was very vulnerable in coming to our world.
I saw a video recently about aliens who were visiting earth. They were really cool. They had landed their space craft out in Arizona or New Mexico or wherever it was and were chatting with some earthlings. As the conversation unfolded the subject of Jesus came up.
The people from earth asked, “Do you know Jesus?” The aliens were super excited, “yes we do they said, we love Jesus. He visits our planet twice a year.” The earthlings said, “twice a year? We have been waiting like 2000 years for him to come a second time.”
The aliens said, “maybe he didn’t like your chocolate?” “Chocolate?” Yes, every time he visits we gather all the best chocolate and give it to him. Why? What did you do the first time he visited you?”
What did we do? We didn’t round up the best chocolate to give to him did we? When we saw he might threaten life the way we like to live it, we prepared whips, and clubs and nails for him.
When he challenged our self-indulgence and our love of power, we placed him up on the cross and we said, “now that should teach you.”
Accept that it didn’t, because the power of love is greater than the love of power.
In his love and vulnerability Jesus teaches us how to be vulnerable too.
By his grace Jesus gives us courage to live like he lived.
We know when we walk the path of Jesus there are going to be some dangerous situations ahead. There are going to be those who feel threatened and who will threaten us for trying to live like Jesus.
We know there is always some level of vulnerability in love. It will always take courage to love like Jesus.
But the same Jesus who was not threatened by Herod but who said, “I am going to do God’s will.” Is the same Jesus who gives us the courage to do God’s will.