“The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee.”
My Notes
What Does Luke 13:31 Mean?
Pharisees approach Jesus with a warning: leave. Herod wants to kill you. The Pharisees — usually Jesus' opponents — are here delivering a threat or a warning (scholars debate the motive: were they genuinely concerned or trying to scare Jesus away from their territory?).
Jesus' response (verse 32) is fearless: "Go ye, and tell that fox..." He calls Herod a fox (alopex — a small, cunning, but ultimately insignificant predator) and declares His intention: I'll keep doing what I'm doing today, tomorrow, and the third day. The fox doesn't change the schedule. The threat doesn't alter the mission.
"Herod will kill thee" — the threat is real. Herod had already killed John the Baptist. He had the power and the precedent. But Jesus doesn't flee. The same Jesus who fled Herod as an infant (Matthew 2:13 — the flight to Egypt) now stands ground against a different Herod. The baby who was hidden from the father now confronts the son.
Reflection Questions
- 1.Does Jesus calling Herod a 'fox' (cunning but insignificant) change the threat level of the enemies in your life?
- 2.How does Jesus' schedule (today, tomorrow, third day — completion) model mission-driven defiance of threats?
- 3.Has a 'Herod' in your life ever tried to derail what God assigned — and did you stay or flee?
- 4.Does the two-generation pattern (Herod the Great at birth, Herod Antipas at ministry) describe persistent but ultimately futile opposition?
Devotional
Herod wants to kill you. Leave. And Jesus says: tell that fox I'm not going anywhere.
The Pharisees deliver the threat: Herod is coming for you. Get out. Move. Save yourself. Whether they're genuinely concerned or trying to manipulate, the warning is real: Herod Antipas killed John the Baptist. He has the capacity and the will to kill again.
Jesus' response is the most defiant sentence He ever speaks: go tell that fox — today, tomorrow, and the third day, I cast out devils and heal. And the third day I shall be perfected (completed — the mission finishes on God's schedule, not Herod's).
"That fox" — alopex — a small predator. Cunning but insignificant. Jesus doesn't call Herod a lion or a bear (genuinely dangerous). He calls him a fox: sly, small, and ultimately unable to stop what God is doing. The fox can kill a chicken. The fox can't stop the kingdom.
The schedule — today, tomorrow, the third day — is the defiance: Jesus has a timeline. Herod doesn't determine it. The healing continues today. The casting out continues tomorrow. And the completion (perfection — teleioumai, the word for reaching the intended end) happens on the third day. God's calendar overrides Herod's threats.
The same Herod family has been threatening Jesus since Bethlehem. Herod the Great tried to kill the baby (Matthew 2). Herod Antipas now tries to kill the man. Two generations of fox-like cunning aimed at the same target. And both fail. The baby survived Egypt. The man continues healing. And the third day — whether it refers to a few days or to the resurrection — the perfection is accomplished.
The fox is cunning. The fox is dangerous. And the fox is irrelevant to the schedule. Jesus doesn't flee Herods. He finishes missions.
Tell the fox.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And he said unto them, go ye and tell that fox,.... Herod, who it may be sent them, of which Christ was not ignorant,…
Came certain of thee Pharisees - Their coming to him in this manner would have the appearance of friendship, as if they…
Depart hence, etc. - It is probable that the place from which Christ was desired to depart was Galilee or Perea; for…
Here is, I. A suggestion to Christ of his danger from Herod, now that he was in Galilee, within Herod's jurisdiction…
31-35 . A Message to Herod Antipas.
31. The same day Or, In that very hour(א, A, D, L, &c.).
Get thee out, and depart…