“WHO KILLED JESUS?”
LUKE 13:31-33

I. Introduction
Who killed Jesus? Don’t answer too quickly because the truth of the matter is not as obvious as it may first appear to be. We will address that question this morning. In the process we will get a clear picture of what is wrong with this world in which we live. And, we will not only find out who killed Jesus, but we’ll see why it had to be done.

Let me begin by establishing the fact that the world into which you and I were born, the world in which we now live, and the world that we will one day leave behind, is corrupt, violent, and filled with people who hate their Creator, reject His laws, deny His existence, contaminate everything they touch, and work tirelessly to destroy all that is good.

And you and I, as God’s children, wonder why we have such trouble in this world. We wonder why the world hates us and thinks we are out of step with it. Why would we wonder? We are out of step with the world, and we should thank God for that fact every day. That’s because the world turns God’s ways upside down and inside out. And so good becomes bad, bad becomes good, right becomes wrong, and wrong becomes right. But God hates such thinking. Listen to some of what He says about it.
Isaiah 5:20, 23
20 Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness; who substitute bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!
23 …who justify the wicked for a bribe, and take away the rights of the ones who are in the right!

Think of so many of those who hold political power today. How many of them are busy calling evil good, and good evil?

What about all those who, rather than doing or taking part in the world’s evil, darkness, and bitterness, approve of others doing so. “I would never do such a thing, but its fine with me if you do. After all, who am I to judge?” What about those who would never kill their own baby, but are just fine when others kill theirs? What does God say?
Proverbs 17:15
15 He who justifies the wicked, and he who condemns the righteous, both of them alike are an abomination to the LORD.

The Apostle Paul, teaching in Romans 1, tells us something that all of us who are willing to be honest with ourselves already know. There are many who blatantly reject God and His laws by justifying evil while at the same time condemning righteousness. They may not practice the evil, they may not live in the darkness, they may not express the bitter-ness, but they do not hesitate to approve of those things when found in others. (tolerance)
Think of the pressure that is coming down on all of us to normalize abnormal and sinful behavior. But it’s no longer enough to tolerate it. Now we are called to accept it and pay for it. Soon we will be required to endorse it and embrace it. But what does God say?
Romans 1:28-32
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;
32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Our world rejects God and, as a result of that rejection, it is upside down. We see it in countless ways, but the calling of evil good and good evil is at the forefront. Consider the fact that the evil of abortion on demand is called a good thing and a right to be fought for and preserved, while capital punishment, the execution of cold-blooded murderers, rapists, and doers of unimaginable horrors is fought against. Now we call the criminals “victims” and we set them free, while the innocent are set aside, rejected, and murdered.

This world is all too ready and willing to destroy the innocent. Jesus was innocent, wasn’t He? But the world of His day, at least those in charge of it, hated Him with such a passion that they couldn’t wait to set Him aside, reject Him, and murder Him. And make no mistake about it – Jesus’ death was a cold-blooded, premeditated murder.

If this world is not upside down, calling evil good, and good evil, then why was Jesus the target of murderers from the beginning of His life on this earth? After all, didn’t He come to seek and to save, not to judge and condemn. That’s what He said.
Luke 19:10
10 “For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.”
John 3:17
17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world should be saved through Him.”

But, from the very beginning, the world wanted to kill Him. He was without sin or evil of any kind. He was holy, righteous, and compassionate. He offered both physical and spiritual healing. And He offered God’s mercy and grace. He spoke of freedom from judgment, condemnation, and destruction in eternal hell, and offered the unspeakable joy of eternal life in heaven. And how was all of that received? He was accused of being in league with Satan. The Pharisees said, “He casts out the demons by the (power of) the ruler of the demons.” (Matthew 9:34)
The attempts on Jesus’ life began as soon as He was born into this world.
Matthew 2:13
13 Now when (the maji – “wisemen”) departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in an dream, saying, “Arise and take the Child and His mother, and flee to Egypt, and remain there until I tell you; for Herod is going to search for the Child to destroy Him.”

The Jews wanted to kill Jesus when He began His ministry by cleansing the temple.
John 2:14-15a, 18-19
14 And (Jesus) found in the temple those who were selling oxen and sheep and doves, and the moneychangers seated.
15 And He made a scourge of cords, and drove them all out of the temple…
18 The Jews therefore…said to Him, “What sign do You show us, seeing that You do these things?”
19 Jesus (knowing they wanted to kill Him) answered and said to them, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.”

Jesus’ own family’s friends and neighbors wanted to kill Him when He proclaimed Him-self to be the Messiah in own village of Nazareth.
Luke 4:28-30
28 And all in the synagogue were filled with rage as they heard these things;
29 and they rose up and cast Him out of the city, and led Him to the brow of the hill on which their city had been built, in order to throw Him down the cliff.
30 But passing through their midst, He went His way.

Throughout Jesus’ ministry He repeatedly ignored, violated, and condemned the religious traditions and practices of the Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians, priests, and scribes. The more He exposed their self-righteousness, legalism, and hypocrisy, the more they hated Him. They sought Jesus’ life when He performed miracles and healed on the Sabbath.
Mark 3:6
6 And the Pharisees went out and immediately began taking counsel with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

They sought Jesus’ life when He preached on the Mount of Olives.
Matthew 26:3-4
3 Then the chief priests and the elders of the people were gathered together in the court of the high priest, named Caiaphas;
4 and they plotted together to seize Jesus by stealth, and kill Him.

The Jews finally succeeded when they were able to coerce the Romans into crucifying Him. So who killed Jesus? The Romans killed Him. The Jews killed Him. The Gen-tiles killed Him. The Jews plotted and the Gentiles did it.
They all conspired to carry out the heinous act. But was He a victim of circumstances He could not control, or was Jesus Christ in complete control of the entire thing?
*John 10:11, 14-15, 17-18
11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me,
15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initia-tive. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This commandment I received from My Father.”

Are these the words of a victim, or are they the words of the One who is in sovereign control? Not only was Jesus Christ in complete and sovereign control of His own life and death, He made it crystal clear that He was letting His murderers kill Him so that He might redeem even them. That is what God’s written word prophesied. And Jesus would see to it that every word of Scripture, every prophecy, would be fulfilled.

When the soldiers came to take Jesus, Peter drew his sword to fight, but Jesus told him to put it away.
*Matthew 26:53-56a
53 “…do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?
(A Roman legion was 6000 men. So 12 legions of angels would number 72,000. In 1 Kings 19:35 one angel killed 185,000 Assyrian soldiers in one night.)
54 “How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must happen this way?”
55 At that time Jesus said to the multitudes, “Have you come out with swords and clubs to arrest Me as against a robber? Every day I used to sit in the temple teaching and you did not seize Me.
56a “But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets may be fulfilled.”

Again I ask, are these the words of a victim, or are they the words of the One who is in sovereign control? God is in control and He is doing what He has intended to do since before time began. And He is using the evil, the darkness, and the bitterness of this world to accomplish His purposes. Yet with all of that, the ones who have plotted Jesus’ mur-der, and the ones who will carry it out will be held responsible for their crimes. Isn’t that exactly what the Scriptures teach?
Luke 22:22 (speaking of Judas)
22 “For indeed, the Son of Man is going as it has been determined; but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!”
The day the church was born, the Apostle Peter, preaching the first sermon, said this…
*Acts 2:22-23
22 “Men of Israel, listen to these words: Jesus the Nazarene, a man attested to you by God with miracles and wonders and signs which God performed through Him in your midst, just as you yourselves know –
23 this Man, delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you (Jews) nailed to a cross by the hands of the godless men (Gentiles) and put Him to death.”

So both Jews and Gentiles killed Jesus. Peter tells us that God not only knew about it beforehand, but He planned it! Jesus was “…delivered up by the predetermined plan…” of God. God planned it, God predestined it, God prophesied it, God orchestrated it, and God used sinful men to accomplish it. But we, us, all men, all women, from Adam and Eve until today – we are responsible for it. Peter and John acknowledged this truth in prayer when they were released from prison.
*Acts 4:27-28
27 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy ser-vant Jesus, whom You did anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.”

Who killed Jesus? God was the efficient cause. No man, no angel, no demon, not even Satan himself could do anything that God would not allow. My sin and your sin was the reason it had to be done. Sinful Jews and sinful Gentiles conspired to do it. Evil, dark-ness, and bitterness all came together to do it. But it was the sovereign God who used all of it to complete His plan and accomplish His purpose.

And aren’t you glad He did? If He had not, you and I would be forever lost, but because Jesus died, you and I can live. How wonderful is that? So who killed Jesus?
*Isaiah 53:10-12
10 But the LORD was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities,
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors.

In all of this, we see God displaying His absolute sovereignty in, over, and through every aspect of His creation – even over the evil that fallen and sinful men think they control.
I hope that each one of you find great comfort in that this morning as we look at Luke 13:31-34. We will see yet another man (Herod Antipas) whose intent it is to kill Jesus. But until God allows it, Jesus will not be killed. Until God allows it, Jesus cannot be killed. Only when the time is right will God allow it. And then our sovereign Lord will use and control the evil, the darkness, and the bitterness of sinful men to do His work.

Try to keep that in mind as we look at this short passage in Luke’s gospel. I know how discouraged and disheartened God’s people are today as evil, darkness, and bitterness runs rampant through our culture and changes our beloved country before our eyes.

But if you take nothing else from today, take this: God is in control. None of it is taking place outside of His control. Nothing can happen to us or to this nation that He does not permit, and anything that He does permit will be in perfect accord with His plan and pur-pose for us, for this world, and for His glory.
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II. Text
With all of that in mind let’s look at today’s text.
*Luke 13:31-33 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
31 Just at that time some Pharisees came up, saying to Him, “Go away and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.”
32 And (Jesus) said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’
33 “Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.”

The first verse, v. 31, seems somewhat strange, doesn’t it?
*Luke 13:31a
31a Just at that time some Pharisees came up, saying to Him, “Go away and depart from here…”

This has been interpreted differently by different scholars over the years. Some believe that these particular Pharisees may have been friendly to Jesus and were truly concerned for His welfare. At least a few were. Certainly Joseph of Arimathea was a believer, and it seems that Nicodemus was as well. But such concern for Jesus’ well-being is out of character for most of the Pharisees. We know this is true because they’ve consistently doubted, challenged, argued against, and ridiculed the Lord at every turn since His ministry began.

So some scholars believe that the Pharisees who issued this warning were just trying to intimidate Jesus, to get Him to stop His preaching and teaching. They just wanted Him to go away. It’s hard to know which view is accurate because Jesus’ neither attributes evil motives to them nor rebukes them. But, on the other hand, He doesn’t thank them for their concern either. So we don’t know who they are, but we do know who Herod is.
*Luke 13:31b
31b “…for Herod wants to kill You.”

This is Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great. Herod the Great was the one who had been visited by the magi, the one who murdered all the baby boys who were less than two years of age when he received news of Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem. His son Antipas is the Herod who had John the Baptist beheaded when John’s preaching had convicted him of his sin of adultery.

Exactly why Herod wanted Jesus dead is unstated, but it could have been that he feared Him, not because he believed He was really the Son of God, but because he had heard of Jesus’ miracles and was fearful of His supernatural power. Or, since Jesus had such a large crowd of followers, Herod may have feared a rebellion and a subsequent threat to his power. Or Herod may have hated Jesus simply because the Lord would not see him.
Luke 9:9
9 And Herod said, “I myself had John beheaded; but who is this man about whom I hear such things?” And he kept trying to see (Jesus).

When they finally did meet at one of Jesus’ mock trials the night before the crucifixion, the Lord would neither speak to Herod nor answer his questions.
Luke 23:8-9
8 Now Herod was very glad when he saw Jesus; for he had wanted to see Him for a long time, because he had been hearing about Him and was hoping to see some sign performed by Him.
9 And he questioned Him at some length; but (Jesus) answered him nothing.

When Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate, he no doubt thinks Jesus’ death is imminent and someone else will now do Herod’s dirty work for him. (back to this morning’s text) In v. 31 Jesus has been warned that Herod wants to kill Him.
*Luke 13:32
32 And (Jesus) said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach My goal.’

Does the phrase, “Go and tell that fox…” surprise you? For Jesus to call someone a derogatory name was unheard of, but it gives you an idea of how contemptible Herod really was. The Lord’s disdain for the man is clear. Calling him a fox speaks to Herod’s character. Foxes are sneaky and crafty animals. They can do a great deal of damage, but unlike lions or bears, they have no real power to kill a man…just like Herod has no power to kill Jesus. Jesus has no fear of Herod. Besides, it isn’t the time for Jesus to die.

Calling Herod a fox is one of the Lord’s statements that unbelievers and some liberal theologians love to use to cite as an example of His breaking the Mosaic Law that forbids speaking evil of a ruler. But, of course, that has no relevance here. God often rebuked and condemned Israel’s rulers by speaking through His prophets.
In 1 Samuel 15 Samuel rebuked King Saul for disobeying God’s word. In 2 Samuel 12 Nathan rebuked King David for committing adultery. And in 1 Kings 18 Elijah rebuked King Ahab for worshipping idols. And on it goes.

But it’s Jesus’ message to Herod, not the name He calls him in v. 32, that’s so important here. “Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I reach (complete) My goal.”

Permit me to paraphrase – “You want to kill Me, do you? You cannot! I will continue to do the work My Father has given Me to do. I will do it today, I will do it tomorrow, and I will do it until My work of redemption is complete, until ‘…it is finished.’ You, Herod, you fox, you cannot change or alter a thing.”

Do you see how this applies to every Christian? God has given you a purpose here in this life – every one of you – no exceptions! Do you understand that until you complete the work God has given you to do, that you are untouchable? You can cling to that because it’s true. Listen, it doesn’t matter how old or how young you are. Your chronological age is irrelevant in this. What is God calling you to do?
*Luke 13:33
33 “Nevertheless I must journey on today and tomorrow and the next day; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem.”

Jesus ignores Herod’s threats and says that God’s timetable will be met. He is on His way to Jerusalem. He will arrive there on the right day and at the right hour. And a sove-reign God’s holy plan, set in place before time began, will be perfected and carried out.

In these final months of Jesus’ life on this earth the leaders of the Sanhedrin will gather and condemn our Lord to death – all according to God’s will. Jesus will be killed in Jerusalem, the holy city, the center of all Jewish religious worship and blood sacrifice – all according to God’s will. Oh, the irony of it all! How many of God’s OT prophets were murdered in Jerusalem? Jesus will speak of that in Luke 13:34-35. And then He will be murdered in Jerusalem.

Who killed Jesus? For two thousand years many who call themselves Christians have attempted to deflect their own guilt onto the Jews. Adolf Hitler, who was anything but a Christian, stirred up hatred against the Jews by calling them “Christ-killers.”

All manner of anti-Semitic bigotry and hatred has come down upon the Jews in the name of Jesus. That’s one of the reasons why witnessing to Jews is so difficult. But let’s be very clear about this: Anti-Semitism is not Christian! Anti-Semitism is satanic! You cannot hate Israel and the Jewish people and call your self a Christian. You cannot! The Jews were God’s chosen people and they still are. Our Lord and Savior was born a Jew.

Of course, those first-century Jews who conspired to kill Jesus are guilty. But they’re not alone. Pilate, a Gentile, sentenced Him to die, and Roman soldiers did the deed.
Acts 4:27-28 (again)
27 “For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You did anoint, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel,
28 to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.”

Thus the Apostle Paul could say, in Romans 3:19b, “…(so) that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God (KJV).” This is because, as Luke tells us in Acts 2:23, Jesus was, “…delivered up by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you (Jews) nailed to a cross by the hands of (Gentiles) and put Him to death.”
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III. Conclusion
Who killed Jesus? Adam and Eve killed Him. Then every one of their descendants killed Him. Then the Jews killed Him. Then the Gentiles killed Him. And then you and I killed Him. Every one of us: male and female, slave and free, good (as the world defines the word) and bad, white and black, young and old, and on it goes. We all killed Him. We’re all guilty. But Jesus could not be touched unless and until God allowed it.

The final and ultimate reality is this: Every guilty sinner is a tool in God’s sovereign hand. Every sinner, whether saved or unsaved, is a tool that God can use, will use, and does use to accomplish His sovereign purpose for the ages. But the tool can do nothing by itself. The hammer is merely the instrument that drives the nail, but the Carpenter is the one who wields the hammer. And isn’t that what Jesus said?
John 10:11, 14-15, 17-18
11 “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.”
14 “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me,
15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.”
17 “For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.
18 “No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own initiative. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again.

So who killed Jesus? Isaiah has already told us.
Isaiah 53:10
“…the (SOVEREIGN) LORD was pleased to crush Him…”

Thank you Lord! Where would we be if You had not done so?

~ Pray ~