Why Do People Kill the Messenger?

2nd Sunday in Lent, 3/17/19
Jeremiah 26:8-15


Why Do People Kill the Messenger?
I. They killed Jeremiah.
II. They killed Jesus.
III. Why do we?


“Don’t kill the messenger.” I’m guessing this isn’t the first time you’ve heard that sentence or received that advice. It’s been used for centuries. In fact, those words seem to be almost as old as the words of Jeremiah before us this morning. I did a little checking and, if my source is accurate, this proverb was expressed by the Greek philosopher Sophocles in 442 BC, a little more than 100 years after Jeremiah died.

I don’t know if Jeremiah spoke those words, but I’m fairly certain that the concept crossed his mind. Listen again to the closing words of our text, “As for me, I am in your hands; do with me whatever you think is good and right. Be assured, however, that if you put me to death, you will bring the guilt of innocent blood on yourselves and on this city and on those who live in it, for in truth the LORD has sent me to you to speak all these words in your hearing.”

Senseless, isn’t it? Jeremiah was simply God’s messenger, sent from God to speak God’s word to the people of Israel. It wasn’t Jeremiah’s fault that the message was unpleasant. He couldn’t help it that the people didn’t want to hear it. What the people did with that message was entirely up to them. But for heaven’s sake—literally—don’t kill the messenger.

But people do. Sinful people do. The question I’d like you to consider this morning is, “Why?” Why do people kill the messenger? I’m sure you already have some answers to that question. Let’s see if they apply to the situation before us this morning.

Part I.

I’m sure you’re familiar with the fact that Jeremiah was one of God’s Old Testament prophets, but what do you recall about him? Even if you know nothing about Jeremiah, you could probably guess that his ministry wasn’t easy. The truth is that the Old Testament Jews as a nation never embraced a single one of the prophets God sent them. Can you believe that? There wasn’t a single one of God’s prophets that the people listened to; they rejected every one of them. Jeremiah was no exception.

But his ministry was more difficult than the rest of them. First, he lived during the darkest period of Jewish history. He served under several Jewish kings who went from good to bad to worse. What’s more, he watched as the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem not once, not twice, but three times. That third time ended with the walls of Jerusalem being demolished and the Temple—God’s special dwelling place on earth—destroyed.

So, what do you suppose was the Lord’s message for his people through Jeremiah? Listen to Jeremiah’s enemies—the “important” citizens of Jerusalem—recite it, “This house will be like Shiloh and this city will be desolate.” Shiloh? What does Shiloh have to do with Jerusalem? Shiloh was the small town in which the tabernacle was located during the days of Samuel the prophet, some 400 years earlier. It had been destroyed by the Philistines and lay in ruins. Jeremiah’s point? Just like Shiloh, the city of Jerusalem and the entire nation of Judah was destined for destruction. God had declared that the Babylonians were his instrument of judgment on the Jews.

However, Jeremiah also told his fellow Jews that God would still protect and bless whoever listened to his words. It’s true, they would become subjects of the Babylonian Empire. They might lose property, houses, and their means of income. But the Lord would guard and protect their lives and would bless them as they accepted this will of the Lord and made the best of their lives under Babylonian rule. The news was not good, but at least it wasn’t all bad.

And this was the reaction to that news, “You must die!” They wanted to kill the messenger. Why? Well, for one thing, politics were involved. The Jews had enjoyed self-rule for 400 years. They had always enjoyed one of their own people ruling over them. The thought of God’s people being ruled by a heathen Gentile was not only repulsive, it was unthinkable.

Materialism also played a role in their desire to kill the messenger. Many Jewish families had owned the same property for more than 400 years. Put yourself in their sandals. Would you give yours up without a fight? And along with their property went their livelihoods and their entire way of life. They liked things the way they were, in spite of the fact that God foretold huge changes coming.

But most of all, their desire to kill the messenger was the fruit of hard hearts that refused to listen to anything the Lord told them. Jeremiah wasn’t the first prophet God sent to them, but he would be one of the last. The people had a long history of refusing to listen to anything the prophets of God told them. But they loved to listen to what they false prophets were declaring. To be honest, their reaction to Jeremiah wasn’t surprising. They wanted to kill the messenger, as foolish as that proved to be.

Part II.

So, what was your reaction when you heard these words spoken to Jesus in this morning’s Gospel, “Herod wants to kill you”? Were you surprised? Did you wonder why Herod would want to kill Jesus? That’s a good question; we don’t know the answer. In fact, there are some Bible scholars who think that the Pharisees who spoke these words were telling a lie about Herod. We’re just not sure.

What we do know is that the vast majority of the Pharisees hated Jesus and wanted him dead. They joined with the Jewish leaders in plotting against him and carrying out their plans to assassinate Jesus.

And there’s no surprise there. We’re well aware that countless Jews wanted Jesus dead. So when we hear, “Herod wants to kill you,” our reaction might be, “You aren’t the only one!”

But why? Jesus only had their best interests in mind. He wasn’t out to take anything from them. In fact, he had come to this earth to give them the greatest of gifts—forgiveness for their sins, life with God now as his dearly loved children, and eternal life in heaven. So why would they want to kill this messenger of God?

Because they loved their lives the way they were. The people who hated him the most were the elite among the Jews. Jesus was a threat to their position and power. If they listened to Jesus and took his words to heart, they would have to stop serving themselves and start serving God by serving their fellow Jews, and that would never do!

What’s more, they loved their money and possessions. Look how Jesus rebuked the rich young ruler who loved his wealth and the money changers in the temple. While the Jews prized money, fine houses and expensive clothes, Jesus praised people who realized that real life doesn’t consist in anything money can buy. And they hated him for it!

Bottom line—their hearts were hard. They refused to listen to what God’s Prophet—the very Son of God— spoke to them. They had the words of God from the very mouth of God but they wanted nothing to do with him or the words he spoke. That’s why they wanted to kill the messenger!

Part III.

But a better question—and the one at the very heart and center of my message for you today is this—why do we? Why do we kill the messenger?

I’m guessing already your are already up. That’s the most damning accusation there is—that we want to kill God’s messenger. How can that possibly describe you and me?

And I’ll agree with your objections, to an extent. After all, by the grace of God you and I belong to him as members of his eternal kingdom. By the working of the Holy Spirit he has brought us to faith in Jesus as our Savior. We rightly recognized our sins and confessed them as we came before our God in worship this morning. We heard his pronouncement of forgiveness. We believe and confess Jesus as our Savior from sin. God has made us heirs of eternal life. Everything I just stated is our blessed, spiritual reality. Praise God!

But we, too, suffer from spiritual cardio sclerosis—hardness of heart—at times. We decide it’s OK to harbor sharp resentment and even momentary hatred for someone who has wronged us. At times we can’t seem to control our appetites for more of things that we think we need to be happy. We shove aside contentment with what we have, and relentlessly strive for more. We decide that what our God tells us in his word is less important at this moment than something else in our lives. We allow sinful lust to linger in our hearts and it spoils the way we look at others, but it’s OK, for now.

Sound familiar? Of course we’re not shouting, “Crucify him! Crucify him!” But our hardness of heart is what made our Savior’s work necessary. We’d rather kill the messenger than listen to the message.

But we have a Savior who always wants to forgive us, to gather us as his people, and to bless us. What could possibly cause him to want to do that for us? His love. His eternal love. His faithful love for us in spite of our faithlessness towards him.

That’s what this Lent is all about. He willingly allowed his creatures to kill the messenger. That’s what he did for you. So listen to his message! Believe it! Live it! Amen.