On Persecution and Protection; Luke 13:31-33

Delivered during the Sunday Morning Worship Service, 3/17/2024. While Jesus is teaching and preaching on His way to Jerusalem, a group of Pharisees warns Him that Herod Antipas intends to kill Him. We will question both the motives of the Pharisees and why Herod would want to kill Jesus at this time. But most importantly we will observe Jesus' defiant answer. And in that response, we will learn how and why Jesus fears no harm from anyone as long as His God-ordained purpose has not yet been accomplished. We will use a dizzying array of biblical imagery from Luke and the book of Revelation to make the point that the inevitable persecution of the church by the enemies of the Gospel is a reality that we as Christians must expect. But we should ultimately rest in the promise of our Lord that regardless of its perceived power, the gates of Hell will never prevail against the Gospel, or the church that He has sovereignly ordained to profess it.