At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” He said to them, “Go and tell that fox for me, ‘Listen, I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work. (Luke 13:31-32)
This passage in the Gospel of Luke embodies Jesus’ approach to ministry. Here, at this point in the gospel, Jesus is making his way to Jerusalem. He has taught and fed thousands. He has liberated bound souls on the way to the seat of the oppressive political and religious system.
At that moment (“at that hour”), some come to tell him to leave this place in order to protect his life. “Herod wants to kill you”, they say. Jesus sends Herod a response through them, “I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.” His message is clearly a rebuke of them and of Herod. It is also a subversive message that undercuts the power of Herod and the Pharisees who deliver it.
Its both a message of confrontation and an embodied message of resistance. Jesus is conveying his own power to control his message and his identity. First the confrontation…
Jesus calls Herod a “fox”, (more accurately, a dog), and indicates that he is here to do his “work”. Jesus will not be deterred or intimidated by fear of reprisal or retribution. He confronts Herod and the messengers with a a commitment to continue “the work”.
Secondly, Jesus resists co-opting and complacency in the face of options to do something else. When the messengers come, he could have demurred, delayed, or deferred his efforts. Jesus could have also attacked them and told them that they are upholding the power system and doing Herod’s work for them. Instead, he states quite plainly, “I am casting out demons and performing cures today and tomorrow, and on the third day I finish my work.” Its almost like he says, “I ain’t got time for this!”
Jesus’ confrontation and resistance are hallmarks to his ministry. Whether addressing earthly systems or demonic powers, Jesus confronts them directly while resisting all attempts to define him or his work. At each and every step, the work he performs “casting out demons, performing cures” and liberating the last and the forgotten is designed not for his personal gain or following, but for the ushering in of a greater kingdom. The work Jesus does is not for himself, but for others.
These insights are good for us today as well for Jesus’ work is our work…
We are equally called to the task of confrontation and resistance. Although we get the confused sometimes, Jesus’ confrontation is about facing that which comes before you. Resistance is about not letting that which confronts you define you. Said differently, confrontation does not always mean resistance, but every act of resistance requires confrontation.
For us, the liberative work of Jesus requires us to confront the Herod’s of our day- sometimes calling them our of their name. Calling them what they are…
This work means confronting powers, systems, and people directly. It means protesting as we have come to understand it.
Jesus’ work also means resisting. And resisting is harder because it requires fortitude and self definition. In order to resist, you have to know yourself and know why your resist.
You have to know your movement and what you are fighting for.
It means knowing enough about your fight to not settle when tokens or symbols are placed before you (or streets are renamed or statues crumble).
It means foregoing confrontation in the streets because you are resisting in boardrooms and council chambers and classrooms.
When we work in this way, for the sake of the demon possessed, the sick, and the captive, we are just beginning the work that Jesus was modeling. Seeing the work in this light allows us to glance a vision of truth.
visionsoftruth 
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