The Eternal Promise [1-4-26]

January 4, 2026

Luke 13:31-35

“The Eternal Promise”

I’ve got a thing for checking expiration or “best by” dates on the stuff we buy. I’ve got a bag of “Halloween Mix Jelly Belly” candies in my desk drawer. Best If Used By: May 27, 2027. I’m sure we’ve all got cans or boxes in our cupboards or pantries far-past their dates. The way I think about it, those dates are nothing more than friendly suggestions. That extra turkey you bought when they were on sale to keep in the freezer for your next turkey emergency? It’s good for at least two years.

The loaf of bread or romaine lettuce peeking out at you from the back of the fridge? A different story. Those are of the perishable variety. I consider the dates printed on those things the drop dead dates. You have to take seriously the three tests…calendar, look, and smell. If two out of three are off, you could die. Are you with me on that?

When you think about it, the only difference between perishable and non-perishable is the timeline. Everything is perishable. The opening verses of Luke 13 have been described as “Repent or Perish.” We are perishable. As Luke later notes from Jesus, the door to imperishability is narrow. Not all will be saved. Praise God that your name has been written down in the Lamb’s Book of Life. All who repent, calling on the name of Jesus, will be saved. The narrow door will be opened to them.

Luke ends this section with a wonderful promise:

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. Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Luke 13:31-35

First things first. There’s no malevolence or trickeration in the warning from the Pharisees in verse thirty-one. Some say they’re trying to drive Jesus into a trap in Jerusalem. But what did Luke say back in chapter nine? Right…Jesus set his face for Jerusalem. Jesus knows he was born to die. He fully accepts God’s plan for our salvation.

Luke doesn’t care about their motives for warning Jesus. He doesn’t even care about why Herod wants Jesus gone. The scene is solely about Jesus’ acceptance of his divine mission. It’s all about the trajectory of our salvation history. Only God controls Jesus’ destiny.

I love how Jesus frames his response. “Go and tell that fox {Herod}.” This is not a compliment. They have a different understanding of the fox

metaphor than we do today. As Luke reports it, “fox” refers to the insignificance of Herod. That’s what Jesus means. Jesus uses a figure of speech whose meaning runs the gamut, including, but not limited to, weakling, usurper, insignificant person, weasel, upstart…and my favorite… jackass. Make no mistake. Kings are lions, but Herod is a fox. Jesus is not speaking well of Herod.

Which leads us to Jesus’ clarity of purpose. He will not be warned off his journey. His face is set for Jerusalem. So, in verse thirty-three, Jesus says:

“Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.”

This response reflects Jesus’ intimate knowledge of and full embrace of God’s will for his life.

Which leads us to a more hidden declaration of purpose in Luke. Luke mentions Jerusalem around 23 times. The entirety of the rest of the New Testament mentions Jerusalem around 146 times. Again here it looms large. Jesus sets his face for Jerusalem. Someone said Jerusalem looms

large, like Mount Doom in “The Lord of the Rings.” Ominous.

That’s why Luke begins chapter thirteen with the call to repent or perish. What Jesus is going to do for us on the cross in Jerusalem is only accessible through repentance of our sin. The gate is narrow. We must repent:

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

1 Corinthians 9:24-27

“Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”

Philippians 2:12-13

Do you hear the point? We are not passive players in our salvation. You cannot stroll through the door. This whole chapter is about doing the hard work of repentance…of leaving the old life behind us. That is the hard work. And there are people who want heaven, but only on their terms. But when Jesus sets his face for Jerusalem, he makes the terms clear. Repent. That’s why the narrow door. Here’s something you might want to keep in mind:

SALVATION REQUIRES ACCEPTING GOD’S OFFER OF GRACE THROUGH JESUS CHRIST AND THEN REORIENTING YOUR LIFE ACCORDINGLY.

Remember, the challenge always comes with a promise. Listen to these simple words from Philippians 4:13:

“I can do all things through him who strengthens me.”

That is grace. The door is narrow, but God provides the way through to any who humbly ask for it. God always gives us more than we need or think we want. All we have to do is repent. Here’s something you might

want to write down:

GOD HAS COMPASSION FOR THOSE WHO DESERVE PUNISHMENT.

And that’s you and me. Praise God from whom all blessings flow, from the cross and into our lives. Amen?

Which leads us to what I see as the profoundest piece in these final verses. It is, appropriately, that last verse of chapter thirteen:

“Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

There is so much promise in that one verse. So much hope.

But wait. How does saying something is forsaken sound hopeful or promising?

That word, forsaken, is bursting with meaning. We know exactly why Jesus uses it. It can mean to send away, as in a husband divorcing his wife. It can mean to disregard. Or to omit or neglect. I also like, “to depart from one and leave him to himself so that all mutual claims are abandoned.”

They all sound rough and dire. We get the point. Without Jesus Christ…

who is accessed through repentance…without Jesus Christ there is no hope. It is repent or perish. To be forsaken.

One last thing about forsaken. Without Christ, what is ultimately abandoned? Life in heaven. Remember what Jesus promised:

“Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going.” Thomas said to him, “Lord, we do not know where you are going. How can we know the way?” Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

John 14:1-6

Without Christ, there will be no heavenly dwelling place. Without repentance, there will only be an empty void. Forsaken. Left behind. Empty of any substance or meaning.

But here’s the best part about verse thirty-five. It ends on a gloriously hopeful note.

Arthur W. Pink was a British Bible teacher and writer. He wrote something so simple:

“Salvation is by grace, by grace alone. Nevertheless, divine grace is not exercised at the expense of holiness. It never compromises with sin. It is also true that salvation is a free gift, but an empty hand must receive it and not a hand which still tightly grasps the world. Something more than believing is necessary to salvation. A heart that is steeled in rebellion against God cannot savingly believe. It must first be broken. Only those who are spiritually blind would declare that Christ will save any who despise his authority and refuse his yoke. Those preachers who tell sinners that they may be saved without forsaking their idols, without repenting, without surrendering to the Lordship of Christ are as erroneous and dangerous as others who insist that salvation is by works and that heaven must be earned by our own efforts.”

That perfectly echoes the entire discourse of Luke 13.

When Jesus says, “Your house is forsaken,” he says you cannot make anything of this life or the life-to-come without God. But there is always the promise of return. Repentance is the key to the great return. Here’s how Isaiah 35:10 captures it:

“And the ransomed of the Lord shall return

and come to Zion with singing;

everlasting joy shall be upon their heads;

they shall obtain gladness and joy,

and sorrow and sighing shall flee away.”

Come to Jesus. Repent. And enjoy the blessings of God. “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord,” expresses God’s:

RELIABILITY…GOD’S TRUSTWORTHINESS…AND GOD’S FAITHFULNESS.

Who knew that all things hopeful, helpful, and joyful could be found in one little sentence? Jesus knew…which is why he shared it. What a beautiful promise. In Christ, through true repentance, you have a future. In fact, Jesus says there is a future. We will see Jesus.

We will see Jesus. That’s his promise. We will see Jesus.

That’s what’s contained in the one simple word of verse thirty-five…until. You will not see Jesus unless your surrender your life to him. Repent of your sin. Let love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control pour out of your life. And you will see Jesus. You will see Jesus.

Until that day:

SOLI DEO GLORIA…

To the Glory of God Alone