Luke 13:34

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her own brood under her wings, and ye would not! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.

JESUS' LAMENT OVER JERUSALEM

There is a glimpse in this of the fact that Jesus made a number of trips into Jerusalem during his last circuit. Note the words, "how often would I have gathered thy children." This lament was delivered at least twice, and perhaps as many as three times, as indicated by the placement of it in the Gospels. Luke did not give the date of the lament nor the occasion when it was uttered.

How often ... Regarding these words, Geldenhuys said:

This is a reference to the fact (as expressly stated by John) that Jesus, especially during the last period of his public appearance, visited Jerusalem on more than one occasion. There is a tendency nowadays, even among the more liberal critics, to admit that the fourth Gospel was, after all, correct.[36]

As a hen gathereth her own brood ... The literature of all ages reveals nothing that compares with the tenderness and love of Jesus as manifested toward the Holy City. By so humble a metaphor, the Lord revealed his love and heartbreak over the rejection of his mission by the chosen people, a heartbreak not for himself, but for THEM.

And ye would not ... Deeply as Christ desired the redemption of Jerusalem, the sovereign will of humanity was nevertheless respected; and it was the will of Israel to reject her King.

Your house ... is a reference to the sacred temple, the pride of every Jew; but a change of status in that magnificent building appeared in these words. At first, the temple was God's house; but when it no longer served the ends God intended, it became "theirs." This shows that all religious things are God's only so long as the observance of God's will is connected with them. As Tinsley said, "The temple of the Jews has now become more theirs than God's."[37]

Desolate ... What a dreadful word! Once the holy Shekinah was there within the Holy of Holies; but after Christ was rejected, there was nothing within. Nor would the temple long survive Jesus' pronouncement against it. Within the generation it would fall forever.

Blessed is he that cometh ... etc. Some have seen in this verse, especially with reference to "until that day," a promise referring to "far future, to the day of the penitence of Israel."[38] However, despite the fact that "until" "could have" such meaning, there can be no certainty of it. It was apparently by design that the Holy Spirit uses a word which is, by definition, indefinite and ambiguous. Likewise, Paul in Romans 11:25 spoke of the hardening of Israel "until" the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled. See full discussion of this in my Commentary on Romans, Romans 11:25-26. The meaning is that God has not closed the door upon Israel; they have closed it upon themselves; nor shall God's favor be lavished upon them any more "until" they change, a change that is neither affirmed as certain nor denied as possible.

Christ closed his last public discourse with these same words. His use of them here seems to have been prompted by the lying warning of the Pharisees whose intent on his murder was crystal clear to the Son of God.

[36] Norval Geldenhuys, op. cit., p. 384.

[37] E. J. Tinsley, op. cit., p. 150.

[38] H. D. M. Spence, op. cit., p. 7.