Once again, we come to a scripture from which I have never preached a full message. And I can’t believe it after 45 years in the ministry. Thankfully, I have referred to these verses and quoted them many, many times. But I’ve never invited your extended attention to it, or to its twin in Luke 13. If I had, I’m not sure that men like John Gill would have entirely appreciated my thoughts. He wrote in his comments on verse 37 – “Christ here speaks as a man…. and expresses an human affection for the inhabitants of Jerusalem and an human wish and will for their temporal good.” You may not know Gill well-enough to hear what he was saying. But he was suggesting that this is not the Son of God speaking; this is not the message of deity. This was merely human compassion, expressed by the son of Mary. I’m here to tell you that I don’t agree.
I believe that this scripture is discussing GOD’S INVITATION.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how often would I have gathered thy children together and ye would not.” I believe that from the day that the first baby was born and probably even before that, God has been calling – inviting sinners to fellowship with Him. I know that a great gulf was created between Jehovah and man, when Adam chose to sin. I know that Adam died spiritually at that moment and that Cain, then Abel, followed by every other child and grand-child of Adam has been born spiritually dead, having no natural interest in God’s fellowship. Nevertheless, I believe that the invitation has been extended to each and every successive generation. “Come unto me, all ye that labor and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
Sometimes that invitation has been specific and tangible. Take for example, all of those Old Testament prophets pleading with Israel to return to the Lord. John the Baptist was commissioned to preach a blanket call for repentance to anyone willing to hear. Samuel was a prophet and a judge, and while many of the Judges were not exactly prophets, through their lives and their ministries Jehovah pleaded with Israel to return to Him. There were men like Noah. How long did it take Noah to build the ark? Every day, month and year was another opportunity given to a dying world to turn to God for life.
And then there is our Lord’s reference to Abel here in verse 35. “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes…. 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.” Implied in those words is the hint that Abel was a prophet of some sort as well as a martyr. And to whom did he minister? To Cain and the rest of his family. Even the blood of righteous Abel was a testimony to the rest of humanity. “Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.” The Lord is not responsible for the deadness of our hearts and our lack of responsiveness, but He has remained faithful in extending a general call to repent and return to Him.
Besides these, there are even more subtle and less substantial invitations. After the terrible thunderstorm and torrential rain there is that rainbow. Then a few minutes later the sun dips down under that cloud, creating a breathtaking sunset. Together they suggest that there is more and better in this creation. But then on the other hand, every sick child, every news account of another murder or other terrible crime tells us that something is terribly, terribly wrong with humanity and the world. I am reading a book by M.C. Beaton which at one point describes a bunch of Scots at a funeral reception. They were extraordinarily joyful. Hammish explained that survivors often feel exceptionally happy not to be among the deceased. Every funeral is a witness to the existence of sin, and to the life which Adam once possessed. Romans chapter 1 suggests that creation testifies to the existence of God, and in that by itself, there is an invitation to come and join the Lord in fellowship. But of course, I reiterate, the man dead in sin will never come to the Lord of his own volition – he doesn’t have that volition. “There is none that seeketh after God.” Nevertheless the invitation is out there, and its very existence adds to the condemnation of the damned.
Here in our extended text I see several incidental things about Christ. Notice verse 34 once again – “Wherefore, behold, I send unto you prophets, and wise men, and scribes.” Who has been sending these invitations throughout the centuries? Doesn’t Jesus Christ, the Son of God, take credit for all those past and future prophets and wise men? Don’t I see Jesus expressly stating His deity and sovereignty? And in verse 36 don’t I detect the omniscience and sovereignty of God? “Verily I say unto you. All these things shall come upon this generation.” Perhaps any wise and observant man of God could perceive this, but that is not what I detect here. And then we come to the repeated words, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.” Almost universally in God’s word, repetitions like this suggest emphasis. And depending on the context that emphasis could mean several things. But in this case, I believe that the Lord’s human heart is aching.
At one point during my reading and re-reading of this scripture, I asked what it was the Lord was offering? Does He really tell us what the invitation was for? Perhaps not directly, but there are some intimations. The simile of the chicken and her brood suggests protection and perhaps warmth for cold chicks. Then together with the reference to the Temple, there are suggestions again, to fellowship with God. When the Creator first put man in the garden, He came to Adam in the cool of the evening for communion. The Lord had been perfectly “happy” for eternity without the presence and conversation of humanity. But that first man needed the Lord in the Temple called Eden. And man still needs that divine contact, even if in his depravity he is not aware of it.
“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! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” There is some debate about the identification of this Israelite “house.” It could refer to the homes and habitations of the people of Jerusalem. It could speak of the nation, or house, of Israel itself. But the majority of the better commentators, take it to be speaking of the Temple. The Lord had been walking about and teaching in that Temple for the previous several days. And with the last verse of this chapter it seems that the Lord is planning on walking out – not to return.
What has man – and Israel in particular – done with the Lord’s general invitation?
“And ye would not.” Why has Israel refused the invitation of the Lord? The answer is basically the same for the question – “Why are many so-called Christian churches today empty a this moment while millions are watching a silly football game?”
The root of the problem, of course, is the spiritual death in which we all are born. But that lifelessness expresses itself in many tangible ways. For example, we are spiritually blind and have no realization that we need Jehovah. Do those chicks in the hen yard recognize the fox for what he really is? Do those chicks, constantly looking at the ground in search for a bug or seeds, ever look up to the see the hawk floating in the sky above them? That mother hen has a bit more experience in such things. As quickly as the shadow passes over, she is calling her chicks to dive under her wings.
What fools we are paying thousands of dollars for accommodations, tickets, and food at a three hour football game surrounded by drunks and deafening noise. Sure our team may win, but the thrill will only last a few hours, and then next year another team will win. Or then again, what if our team loses? Will all that expense, trouble and hangover, be worth it? Someone should sit down and write an article using the Super Bowl as an allegory of life in general. Compare those three or four hours to the expanse of eternity. Sure one fan may experience exquisite joy for a few days, but what about the rest of his life? Does the win that your team had a decade ago, mean anything substantial today? Did his favorite player winning the MVP keep your father from dying of an heart attack last year? Will football records ever be mentioned between friends in either Heaven or Hell? All that most people live for is the thrill of the moment – let’s forget about the pain of sin and of life. Why would Israel not respond to the Lord’s invitation – basically because it was unwanted – undesired.
Obviously that invitation was not appreciated – if it had been it would have been desired. Not only are our human hearts and spirits dead through the presence of sin. But “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” We are all in someways like children, or chicks. If we give an infant a pretty piece of plastic and a diamond, will she know which is more valuable? If given half a chance – what is the likelihood that both will go into her mouth to be swallowed. What is more valuable to that baby – a gold necklace or a string of pretty plastic beads? When the average man is offered an all-expense-paid ticket to the Super Bowl and at the same time an invitation to the House of God, which will he choose? Even 90% of professing Christians, would skip church for the momentary thrill of the game. The problem is a lack of appreciation for what is truly important.
Israel had no desire for the Lord and the things of God. She had her religion, of course, as does all of humanity in some variety or other. The current religion of a great many Americans is football, and their gods, in some cases, are wicked, wicked men. But to return to Eden and to have fellow with the holy God – what excitement is there in that? Once again the problem rests in Israel’s lack of spiritual life – she was dead in sin.
And what is the Lord’s righteous reply to this godless rejection?
“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.” As I said earlier, I believe that Christ Jesus intends to walk out of the Temple, not to return. Israel had staked their claim in their divinely directed past, but then changed it with their traditions and altered history books.
For example, Solomon, at the command of God, built the first temple on the site where Jesus had been walking and teaching. When it was completed and dedicated with God-designed sacrifices by the thousands, the priests wre temporarily driven out by the presence of the Lord. The Shekinah glory filled the house and Jehovah was pleased. That glory had never been seen in this so-called “Second Temple,” sponsored and financed by the corrupt family of Herod. It still could have become a temple of God, and it could have been used for the glory of the Lord, but it began in corruption and during its short history it fell even farther. “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.” The Greek word involved here is translated “desolate” 4 times and “wilderness” or “desert” 45 times. “Behold I leave your house as desolate as a lifeless desert.” It’s interesting that a little later Jesus will speak of Daniel’s prophesy about the abomination of desolation entering the Jewish temple, and He will use essentially the same word. “Behold, your house is left unto you desolate and abominable.”
But, despite what Israel is about to do to the Son of God in betraying Him and crucifying Him, He is not through with Israel. Very likely, in a very few short years from today, this same Christ Jesus, whom the disciples saw arise into Heaven, “shall so come in like manner as (they saw) him go into heaven.” Christ was telling these Pharisees, just as He will Pilate and the High Priest, “Hereafter shall ye see (me) the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven.” There are so many scriptures which teach this glorious return of Christ the Messiah. Turn to Isaiah 40:9 and see if you don’t hear some of Jesus’ words between the lines. “O Zion, that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain; O Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength; lift it up, be not afraid; say unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God! Behold, the Lord GOD will come with strong hand, and his arm shall rule for him: behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.” And what are the preceding words to these there in Isaiah 40:7? “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: because the spirit of the LORD bloweth upon it: surely the people is grass. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever.”
The coming of the Messiah is prophesied throughout the Old Testament. I can just hear Israel, suffering through the Tribulation, the elect of whom might be singing Psalm 118 – “Save now, I beseech thee, O Lord, O Lord, I beseech thee, send now thy prosperity. Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the LORD, we have blessed you out of the house of the Lord.”
How about the words of the man to whom the Lord referred in verse 35. Zechariah 12 gives us a vivid picture of Israel in the last days of the Great Tribulation. Verse 10 says – “And I will pour upon the house of David, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the spirit of grace and of supplications: and they shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.” What a glorious day that will be when the Messiah returns to earth, fulfilling His promises to Israel. Sadly, today their house is left desolate, and they cannot see Christ, through the blindness of their hearts. They aren’t even trying to see Him. They will not see Christ until they shall say, “Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”