Let’s begin by calling Him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus – the baby born in Bethlehem Judah; the child raised in Nazareth Galilee – was the most divisive person in Israel in His day. He was completely polarizing. Very few people in the days of Herod and Pilate had no opinion about Jesus. Some said that He was a resurrection of John the Baptist, Jeremiah or Elijah. Then in contrast to Godly people, others said He was a false prophet, lunatic or demon-possessed. Nicodemus declared that He must be a rabbi come from God “for no man can do these miracles … except God be with him.” But “when the Pharisees heard it, they said, This fellow doth not cast out devils, but by Beelzebub the prince of the devils.”
Christ is still dividing the people of the world today. For example, many Jews continue to say that Jesus of Nazareth was a Messianic imposter, whose dead body was stolen and hidden by His disciples. The Muslims say He was a prophet, but not God, and definitely not more important than Mohamed. And even within Christendom, opinions are split about Jesus divinity, authority, creatorship – even His birth. Christ himself said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not send peace, but a sword”
During Jesus’ short earthly ministry, the leadership of the Jews – whether Pharisee or Sadducee, rabbi or priest, often denied His theology and debated with Him on various issues. But it was always without success. No one was able to dislodge His position or defeat His divine logic. It was concluded that “never man spake like this man.” And at the conclusion of the chapter just preceding our text, we read “And no man was able to answer him a word, neither durst any man from that day forth ask him any more questions.” They probably thought, “This man is incorrigible. There is no point in talking with him.”
That left the door open for the Lord to go on the offensive. Our chapter begins with – “Then spake Jesus to the multitude, and to his disciples…” From there this chapter is a direct attack on most fundamental religious sect in Israel. “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!” “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!”
Now, let’s pick up that thread in verse 29 – “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! because ye build the tombs of the prophets, and garnish the sepulchres of the righteous, And say, If we had been in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets. Wherefore ye be witnesses unto yourselves, that ye are the children of them which killed the prophets.” For centuries, God had been sending His spokesmen to Israel with the basic message: “REPENT, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.” But generation after generation had not only rejected the message, but killed the messengers. The Jews in Jesus day, shed crocodile tears over those murdered prophets, building monuments to their honor, while at the same time, rejoicing over the death of John the Baptist and attempting to murder Jesus. In that they proved themselves to be the full-blooded descendants of their ungodly parents. “Ye fill ye up then the measure of your fathers.” “You crown their misdeeds, and prove yourselves to be even worse, by following their example and multiplying their sins, despite the presence of the very Son of God.”
“Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell? Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes: and some of them ye shall kill and crucify; and some of them shall ye scourge in your synagogues, and persecute them from city to city: That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, whom ye slew between the temple and the altar. Verily I say unto you, All these things shall come upon this generation.” God judged the earlier generations of Israel with famines, pestilence, locust plagues, captivity and more. And following them, the generation which killed Christ Jesus was devastated and driven from their land by the Romans.
With that we come to the scripture I’d like you to consider this morning. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.” There is a day coming, after seven years of horrendous judgment, when Israel shall finally say, “Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, the Saviour,” bowing to Him and worshiping Him.
You have probably heard verse 37 quoted many times, but this morning lets consider what it says. It speaks about chickens, children and ultimately it speaks of citizens. It refers to our day as much as it does an ancient yesterday. It can be accurately paraphrased as: “O America, America, a nation that rejects the gospel, and laughs at them which tell you to repent and to believe on the Lord, Jesus Christ. How often would I have gathered your citizens together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, but you would not permit it! Behold, don’t be surprised when your destruction as a nation arrives.”
Notice that Jesus addresses the CITY of JERUSALEM before talking about her children.
There is some significance in that. Jerusalem was the capital city of Israel. It was the center of the Jewish world. It was their cultural and religious epicenter, and still is today. That was where the Sanhedrin – the Jewish government – met. Three times each year all the Hebrew men were supposed to come to Jerusalem to worship the Lord. That was where the temple stood. Jerusalem might be used to represent their entire Jewish society.
Using this verse as the lens in our bifocals, I can hear the Lord Jesus addressing today’s American society through these words. Despite those “seven thousand in (America), the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him,” ours is a nation of secular, sinful, unbelieving Christ-rejecters. There are millions who say they “believe in Jesus,” who don’t appear to know anything about the Biblical Lord Jesus Christ. While claiming to be Christians, they ridicule those few who try to serve Him and worship Him in spirit and in truth. And like the Jew’s synagogues in Jesus’ day, many church buildings are filled to overflowing with people and entertainment which is patterned after the world and not after God’s Word.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” American politics tells Christians to look to the President and Congress for prosperity, and they do. “America you don’t need to repent and humbly seek the face of God for His blessings. All you need is a strong president, no matter how ungodly he or she is personally.” Sensuality, criminality and horrible immorality, permeates are our cities and our society. The philosophy of atheistic evolution has corrupted every area of our culture. It is a part of most modern theology and religion. It lays behind the idea that science will eventually figure out how to make humans live forever. It lays behind the politician’s theory that strong laws will evolve into a perfect utopia. People think it explains why animals behave the way they do, while ignoring the way that humans behave the way they do. Today’s modern Jerusalem – our society – is fighting to keep her children from coming to the Saviour.
Jesus, in this verse, addresses society before He comes to JERUSALEM’S CHILDREN.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy CHILDREN together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” Preachers may rant and rave at the fallen condition of our society – with good reason. But the obvious truth is that society is made up of the people within that society. God judged Israel over and over again, not because the atmosphere of Israel had turned sour, or a little spot on the map had rejected Him, or even because a few people had begun to worship idols. Israel was judged because the majority of that nation had forgotten God and taken up the religious philosophies of the heathen around them. Christ wasn’t calling Jerusalem, per se, to come to Him; He was calling her children, her citizens. And God is not calling American society to repent. He is calling this society’s children to return to him.
I probably shouldn’t be constantly telling you about the books that I read, but I do, and probably will continue. This week I finished a biography of the American lexicographer, Noah Webster. It has been fascinating, and I have learned so much about the United States at the turn of the 19th century. You are going to see a lot of quotes from this man in our church bulletin. Noah Webster would roll over in his grave if he could see the United States as it is today. And if his dead body had a voice, he’d say, “I told you so.” Noah Webster man was a prominent figure in early America before he published his dictionary. He was well-known to most of the men who framed the Constitution. He spent evenings with George Washington and other important founders of this country. But then, miraculously, he was born again. He moved from being a strong religionist to becoming a babe in Christ – a child of God.
In 1808 he was converted, and the change in his heart clearly proved that he was a new creature in Christ. Two of the changes in his thinking were his approach to education and his opinions about politics. For half his life, he believed that people could be educated into morality and a good character. He believed that well-informed voters could produce a good government. But after his conversion, he realized that America would never be good until her citizens became good. And he knew from experience that people, by nature, are not good. As a concerned Christian he began to urge people to be born again – to become children of God. Reading between the lines of the book, I can hear Webster crying out the words of the Lord Jesus: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
The children of America – the citizens of the United States of America – are like defenseless chicks. Not only are they prone to be killed and eaten by hawks, coyotes, snakes and household pets… And they aren’t capable of choosing between right and wrong, because their hearts are evil by nature. We come into this world as sinners – all of us. As Paul tells us in the Book of Romans – “There is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth, there is none that doeth good, no one.” “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God.” Ezekiel quotes Jehovah in 33:11 – “As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?”
God is still calling the children and citizens of our Jerusalem to turn to Him.
And that brings us to Jerusalem’s MESSIAH.
“How often would – I – have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” What is it the Lord would like to do? He says here that He would like you to feel safe, because He would like to make you truly safe. He invites you to run under His wings, where no predator would dare to attack.
Friday I spent a few minutes reading scriptures which reflect the words of the Lord about “wings.” Over and over again, the Bible takes the image of a semi-feeble hen, and empowers her with omnipotence. David said, “How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” Elsewhere he said, “Keep me as the apple of the eye, hide me under the shadow of thy wings.” He prayed, “Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast.” “I will abide in thy tabernacle for ever: I will trust in the covert of thy wings. Selah.” Another Psalmist added, the Lord “shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler.” The image is one of PROTECTION, but Malachi adds another thought – “unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with HEALING in his wings.”
When the Lord says, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… how often would I have gathered thy CHILDREN together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not,” He is talking about protection and much more.
Do you suppose there might be chicks who when hearing their mother calling them, they refuse to come? The experienced hen sees danger in the shadow of a hawk or in the winds picking up their speed. But that one chick refuses to return to her. He thinks he’s smarter than she is. And for a few moment he is happy in his choice, until he is swept away.
The Lord is not trying to be mean or cruel in calling sinners to repentance. He is not trying to keep people from enjoying their few feeble years in this Jerusalem. No, He is calling them to the warm confines of His love and blessings. There is no more wonderful place than under the wings of infinite God. Join the company of other chicks. “In such society as this – My weary soul would rest. The man that dwells where Jesus is, Must be for ever bless’d.”
I wonder what words the poets might use to describe the overall nature of this verse. Some might speak of “pathos” speaking of the Lord’s emotion. But it is not simple emotion – don’t we hear a tone of love in those words? When the hen gathers her chicks under her, it is not only about safety, happiness, and fellowship. Those little chickens may not understand their mother’s joy at having her children around her, but she does. It is truly a blessed experience to know a great love, and there is no greater love than this, than that a man “lay down his life for his friends.” Those are the words of the Lord Jesus when speaking about His upcoming sacrifice on the cross.
Christ has put himself in jeopardy, standing between the wrath of God and the sinful citizen of doomed society. When you think about it, a chicken, whether a hen or a mean and nasty rooster, is no match for a hungry hawk or a pair of coyotes. If that weasel has seen those chicks run under that hen, he’s not going to quit until he has some lunch. There is going to be blood; there is going to be death.
Over and over again, the Lord Jesus tried to tell the children of Jerusalem that He was prepared to sacrifice His life to purchase the peace of God for them. But sadly they refused to hear it – they would not be gathered to Him. He used a variety of illustrations with the same intention. The Bible tells us that He is the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world. He is the meek and defenseless Passover Lamb which was sacrificed for us – I Corinthians 5:7. The Lamb who was without blemish or spot, shed his precious blood to redeem us – I Peter 1:19. And He is “the good shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep” – John 10:11. Also, He said, “Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone; but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.” Over and over again, the Lord used illustrations of His self-inflicted vulnerability before the judgment of God. “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
Conclusion:
The Holy Spirit of Christ is here today, crying out to this nation: “O America, O America.” America isn’t going to respond any more than Jerusalem did in Jesus’ day. But there were a few dozen, and then a few hundred, and then several thousand, who eventually heard Jesus’ plea. They said, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord to save us.” Jerusalem’s society was not saved en mass, but many individuals were.
And similarly, the United States of America isn’t going to come running to join the redeemed under the wings of the Saviour. I wish that I was wrong. But I have a greater wish than that. I have a stronger hope than that. I wish that you, as a child of this society, would turn around and come to the Saviour. Until you do, not only will your house be desolate, so will your eternal soul. Jesus, the Divine Prince, willingly sacrificed Himself, on Calvary’s cross, in order to purchase your eternal safety. Won’t you run under His wings this morning? Won’t you repent and admit your need of God’s salvation?