Luke 13:34 Commentary - Dr Peter Masters

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Luke 13:34

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As he thinks now about Jerusalem, and all that will take place there in a short time, and all that has been done to his faithful prophets over the centuries, he utters these words of anguish. He speaks as only God the Son could speak, knowing his deep yearning for the nation, and his longing that they would come to him for the comfort and security which, as their Creator and their God, only he could give, and which he greatly desired to give them. ‘You would not let me give you; you would not turn to me.’ His heart was deeply grieved. Now, of course, God is very slow to anger, and he had appealed to them over many centuries. He had done amazing things for them. And as the centuries went by, sometimes there was a small turning towards him, but more often it was a turning away from him, and they got worse and worse. And the prophets came to plead. The prophets would come and they wouldn't just denounce them, but kill them. You would think that long since God would have said, ‘Enough. No more mercy, no more kindness, no more delayed judgment and opportunity.’ But instead he delayed judgment again and again. His plan, evidently, was to give them repeated opportunities.‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee.’ These are loaded words. God is in just a few words saying this: ‘You and I are not on the same side. You may have this woolly idea that every human being is a child of God, and therefore God is for him, and ultimately everybody will go to heaven, and God is the Father of all of us. But even in speaking to the Jews who were supposed to be his special nation, God uses this loaded language. He says, you kill everybody who is sent to you. ‘I am the living God. I am concerned about holiness and righteousness. I desire that people should seek me and know me, that I could forgive them. But when I send my messengers to you, you kill them. And so very briefly the Lord Jesus Christ also crams into his words this notion: that we are apart from God, separated from him.But these words show the great compassion and feeling of the Lord Jesus Christ in the matter of the salvation of men, in the matter of men being protected from themselves and from the power of sin, pardoned and saved from a lost eternity. Later in Luke we read of one of the three recorded occasions on which he wept (Luke 19:41). As he came near to Jerusalem and saw the city in mind's eye, he knew all that would be done to him. As he speaks now, he knows that he is going there. He is not interested in just the stonework and the building; he is concerned about the people, and he sees the families, the individuals. He was the Son of God and he could see into their circumstances, and he knew he would be rejected, and that his message would be rejected. Yes, there would be a superficial initial acceptance of him, but eventually he would be crucified and slain, and yet it would happen in order to fulfil the purposes of God.But when he thinks of the people and what is in store for them, and what he could do for them, he is moved and he exclaims in these words, ‘O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.’ He charges them with gross violence and wickedness towards all the messengers that God has sent to the city. God sent those prophets to make gracious offers to them, to warn them, to woo them. Yet what have they done? They have stoned them and killed them in cold blood. But in spite of all that you hear these amazing words. ‘How often would I have gathered thy children together as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings!’ Of course, chicks can be very foolish. Chicks are too young to sense danger. Maybe the fox could be coming under the fence and they will be unaware of the danger. What happens? The hen calls to her chicks, and they come running, to the protection of their mother. Yes, but Jerusalem did not respond in that sensible way, but continued to wander away from the Lord.

Application

The Lord could see that city, he can see each one of us. He sees you and me and he looks right into our lives, and he knows all about us, he can see the future; he can see what's going to happen to us next week, next month, next year. He knows exactly what our circumstances will be, and if we are going to reject him and his love. He knows what must happen to us on the last day, when our souls must be summoned up into his presence, and we must face him, not as Saviour, but as Judge of all the earth, unforgiven, unwashed. He must then condemn us to die for our sin and to suffer throughout the everlasting ages. He knows our past rebellion and our sinfulness; he knows us better than we know ourselves.

How can you be sure that if you come to Christ for forgiveness, he will not just say, ‘You are going to het what is coming to you’? Because he has given us this glimpse into his heart, and shown us how deep and sincere is his compassion. It is his nature to forgive and to pity sinners. We must take seriously is promise to forgive all who come to him.

As you read about Operation Market Garden in the Second World War, you are struck as there was reported some interaction between the military commanders, that they seem to speak so lightly about casualties. One would say, ‘We must expect minimum losses of a certain percentage, and another would say, ‘But we can do so much better if we accept a higher percentage. What is that? It's just a small proportion.’ Here with these generals bandying about figures, losses. We have got to expect this much. I suppose in the middle of war, and all that's ugly about war, people begin to think differently. They think of objectives rather than costs. And yet when we come to the living God, somebody far above 10,000 generals, we see this pity in his heart as he surveys the scene, and sees that there are those who will be lost, and he lets out this tremendous exclamation of grief and pity and kindness.

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Luke 13:34 Commentary and Bible Study