Commentary on Luke 13:31-35: Jesus, Herod’s Threats, and Jerusalem’s Warning
Luke 13:31-35 · King James Version
Quick Answer: In this commentary on luke 13 31 35, Jesus dismisses fear and insists on God’s timetable. When warned that Herod seeks to kill Him, He points to His ongoing ministry and speaks of what must happen in Jerusalem. His lament over “Jerusalem, Jerusalem” shows God’s longing for repentance—and His warning that refusal brings desolation until the day people recognize the Lord.
Luke 13:31-35 (King James Version)
“The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.
And he said unto them,
Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures to day and to morrow, and the third
day
I shall be perfected.
Nevertheless I must walk to day, and to morrow, and the
day
following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen
doth gather her brood under
her
wings, and ye would not!
Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until
the time come when ye shall say, Blessed
is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
Luke places this confrontation during Jesus’ public ministry, when His actions—especially healing and casting out demons—created mounting opposition. In the first-century world, political and religious tensions were tightly intertwined. Herod Antipas ruled parts of Galilee and Perea under Roman authority, and reports of Jesus’ influence could easily become political concern. Meanwhile, Jerusalem was the center of Jewish worship and also the stage for repeated conflict between God’s messengers and entrenched leaders.
In this passage, Pharisees approach Jesus with what sounds like a warning: “Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.” Whether the warning is sincere or strategic, Jesus interprets it through the lens of divine purpose. He does not flee from God’s appointed mission. Instead, He highlights both the reality of opposition and the certainty of God’s schedule.
The language of “walking” and “today, and tomorrow, and the day following” reflects ordinary movement and time—yet in Luke’s theology, ordinary time becomes the arena of divine action. Jesus’ statement that “it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem” connects His coming suffering to Israel’s history of rejecting prophets. Jerusalem is not merely a location; it functions as a moral and spiritual crossroads where God’s invitations have often been refused.
