Jesus was a spiritual leader with a mission, to bring the doctrine of the Kingdom of God to a humanity dominated by evil, ignorance, and deception. And for this he fought against the oppression of his time, Jesus had many enemies, the Pharisees, the doctors of the Law, and also the last King of the Maccabean dynasty, Herod.
The Gospel of Luke tells us how the Pharisees warned Jesus of Herod's threat, who had already ordered John the Baptist to be beheaded. But Jesus knew the future and he was aware of his destiny, Jesus was not carried away by fear, which is a passion of the soul, and he answered the Pharisees with determination:
"On that very day some Pharisees came, saying to Him, ´Get out and depart from here, for Herod wants to kill You.´
And He said to them, ´Go, tell that fox, ´Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected.´ Nevertheless I must journey today, tomorrow, and the day following; for it cannot be that a prophet should perish outside of Jerusalem´" Luke 13:31-33.
This answer of our Lord Jesus was a preannouncement of his crucifixion and death; Jesus also knew that he was going to die condemned as a false prophet, that is why he said that it was for a prophet to die in Jerusalem. Jesus was condemned for the hypocrisy of a society given over to sin. Let's remember that in the Christian faith there is a beatitude about persecution: "Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven" Matthew 5:10.
About Jerusalem, the New Testament adds: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing" Matthew 23:37. Jerusalem tells us the Bible was the city where the prophets were condemned. And there Jesus died to fulfill his spiritual mission.