Matt 23:37
[O Jerusalem ...] See the notes at Luke 19:41-42.
[Would I have gathered] Would have protected and saved.
[Thy children] Thy people.
(from
Barnes' Notes)
Matt 23:34-39
(1.) The wonderful grace and favour of Jesus Christ toward them; How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathers her chickens under her wings!
Thus kind and condescending are the offers of gospel grace, even to Jerusalem's children, bad as she is, the inhabitants, the little ones not excepted.
[1.] The favour proposed was the gathering of them.
Christ's design is to gather poor souls, gather them in from their wanderings, gather them home to himself, as the Centre of unity; for to him must the gathering of the people be. He would have taken the whole body of the Jewish nation into the church, and so gathered them all (as the Jews used to speak of proselytes) under the wings of the Divine Majesty. It is here illustrated by a humble similitude; as a hen clucks her chickens together.
Christ would have gathered them, First, With such a tenderness of affection as the hen does, which has, by instinct, a peculiar concern for her young ones.
Christ's gathering of souls, comes from his love, Jer 31:3. Secondly, For the same end. The hen gathered her chickens under her wings, for protection and safety, and for warmth and comfort; poor souls have in Christ both refuge and refreshment. The chickens naturally run to the hen for shelter, when they are threatened by the birds of prey; perhaps Christ refers to that promise (Ps 91:4), He shall cover thee with his feathers. There is healing under Christ's wings (Mal 4:2); that is more than the hen has for her chickens. (from
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole BibleCopyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
Matt 23:34-39
[3.] Their wilful refusal of this grace and favour; Ye would not. How emphatically is their obstinacy opposed to Christ's mercy! I would, and ye would not.
He was willing to save them, but they were not willing to be saved by him. Note, It is wholly owing to the wicked wills of sinners,
that they are not gathered under the wings of the Lord Jesus.
They did not like the terms upon which Christ proposed to gather them; they loved their sins, and yet trusted to their righteousness; they would not submit either to the grace of Christ or to his government, and so the bargain broke off. (from
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible. Copyright (c) 1991 by Hendrickson Publishers, Inc.)
Matt 23:37
[O Jerusalem, Jerusalem]
1. It is evident that our blessed Lord seriously and earnestly
wished the salvation of the Jews.
2. That he did everything that could be done, consistently with his own perfections, and the liberty of his creatures, to effect this.
3. That his tears over the city, Luke 19:41, sufficiently evince his sincerity.
4. That these persons nevertheless perished. And
5.
That the reason was, they would not be gathered together under his protection: therefore wrath, i.e. punishment, came upon them to the uttermost.
From this it is evident that there have been persons whom Christ wished to save, and bled to save, who notwithstanding perished, because they would not come unto him, John 5:40. The metaphor which our Lord uses here is a very beautiful one. When the hen sees a beast of prey coming, she makes a noise to assemble her chickens, that she may cover them with her wings from the danger. The Roman eagle is about to fall upon the Jewish state-nothing can prevent this but
their conversion to God through Christ-Jesus cries throughout the land,
publishing the Gospel of reconciliation-they would not assemble, and the Roman eagle came and destroyed them. The hen's affection to her brood is so very strong as to become proverbial. (from Adam Clarke's Commentary. Copyright (c) 1996 )
Matt 23:37
"
Thee," truth-hating, mercy-spurning, prophet-killing Jerusalem-how often would I have gathered Thee! Compare with this that affecting clause in the great ministerial commission, "
that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nation, beginning at Jerusalem!" (Luke 24:47).
What encouragement to the heart-broken at their own long-continued and obstinate rebellion! But we have not yet gotten at the whole heart of this outburst I would have gathered thee, He says, "even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings." Was ever imagery so homely invested with such grace and such sublimity as this, at our Lord's touch? And yet how exquisite the figure itself-of protection, rest, warmth, and all manner of conscious well-being in those poor, defenseless, dependent little creatures, as they creep under and feel themselves overshadowed by the capacious and kindly wing of the mother-bird! If, wandering beyond hearing of her special call, they are overtaken by a storm or attacked by an enemy, what can they do but in the one case droop and die, and in the other submit to be torn in pieces! But if they can reach in time their place of safety, under the mother's wing, in vain will any enemy try to drag them thence. For rising into strength, kindling into fury, and forgetting herself entirely in her young, she will let the last drop of her blood be shed out and perish in defense of her precious charge, rather than yield them to an enemy's talons.
How significant all this of what Jesus is and does for men! Under His great Mediatorial wing would He have "gathered" Israel. For the figure, see Deut 32:10-12; Ruth 2:12; Ps 17:8; 36:7; 61:4; 63:7; 91:4; Isa 31:5; Mal 4:2.
(from
Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown Commentary, Electronic Database. Copyright (c) 1997)
Matt 23:37
(12)
Where the mercy of God was greatest, it was there that there was the greatest wickedness and rebellion, and at length the sharpest judgments of God. z He speaks of the outward ministry, and as he was promised for the saving of this people, he was making sure that it would happen, even from the time that the promise was made to Abraham.
(from
Geneva Notes, Copyright © 2003 Biblesoft, Inc. All rights reserved.)
Matt 23:37
The metaphor is peculiarly appropriate at the time, when, as Lange puts it, the Roman eagles were hovering near, and there was no hope of safety but under the Lord's wings. And ye would not.
Unmoved by warning and chastisement, impenetrable to long suffering love, ungrateful for mercies, the Jews repulsed all efforts for their amendment, and blindly pursued the course of ruin. It was always in their power to turn if they willed, but they wilfully resisted grace, and must suffer accordingly (comp. Isa 30:15). (from
The Pulpit Commentary, Copyright (c) 2001)
Matt 23:37
Your children, when used of a city, represents a Hebrew idiom in which the noun children is the equivalent of "inhabitants" (TEV "your people").
(from the
UBS Handbook Series. Copyright (c) 1961-1997, by United Bible Societies)
This is what Calvin wrote about the "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem..." specific passage:
How often would I have gathered together thy children. This is expressive of indignation rather than of compassion.
The city itself,
indeed, over which he had lately wept, (
Luke 19:41,)
is still an object of his compassion;
but towards the scribes, who were the authors of its destruction, he uses harshness and severity, as they deserved.
And yet he does not spare the rest, who were all guilty of approving and partaking of the same crime,
but,
including all in the same condemnation, he inveighs chiefly against the leaders themselves, who were the cause of all the evils. We must now observe the vehemence of the discourse. If in
Jerusalem the grace of God had been merely rejected, there would have been inexcusable ingratitude; but since God attempted to draw the Jews to himself by mild and gentle methods, and gained nothing by such kindness, the criminality of such haughty disdain was far more aggravated. There was likewise added unconquerable obstinacy; for not once and again did God
wish to gather them together, but, by constant and uninterrupted advances, he sent to them
the prophets, one after another, almost all of whom were rejected by the great body of the people.
Commentary on Matthew, Mark, Luke - Volume 3 - Christian Classics Ethereal Library
