Lament over Jerusalem Luke 13: 34-35
The city of Jerusalem was a city with many mighty privileges.
When the city had been captured by David from the Jebusites in
1046 B.C he had made it his capital and right from then it was
a place with a remarkable history. Later it was the place where
Solomon built his temple and thus it became the place where God
dwelled amongst his people and the place where Jews would come
on at least one and probably several times in the year to make
their offerings and their sacrifices.
Not only that but we read of the Lord Jesus Christ the blessed
Saviour of men being several times in Jerusalem. He was in Jerusalem
just after he was born when Mary and Joseph brought him according
to the law to be circumcised. Then we read of Him at twelve years
of age when he was brought by his parents to the temple and he
sat debating with the doctors and lawyers. Then, although his
ministry was centred on Galilee and the gospels do not focus too
much on the fact that Christ went to Jerusalem, yet it is evident
that Christ was in Jerusalem on several occasions in his earthly
ministry. We think for example of the time when he drove the money
changers out of the temple. And it is evident that the Lord has
set a special affection on the city of Jerusalem and though it
had faults and was many times likened to Sodom and Gomorrah in
the Scriptures, yet the heavenly city which is mentioned in Revelation
22 is given the name of New Jerusalem. And then, of course, it
was the city in which our Lord was crucified and the city in which
He was buried and from which He rose from the tomb and the city
overlooking which He ascended up into heaven, So there is no doubt
but that the city of Jerusalem is a very special city indeed.
In this passage we have the Lord's lament over that city for though
it was a city with so many privileges and so many blessings yet
it is a city which rejected the Lord Jesus Christ and the Lord
well knew that not very long from now the crowd in that city would
cry out for his crucifixion. The passage before us in which this
lament is contained has been called "the heart-break passage."
and indeed we see the Saviour breaking his heart as he thinks
of the hardness and the rejection of that city. And the passage
really gives us a glimpse into the heart of the Saviour. There
is a special revelation of the heart and the compassion of the
Saviour in the passage. We see the way that the Saviour longs
for the good and the blessing of these people who have had so
many privileges. They have rejected him so often and yet he still
laments over their hardness. There are many today who have had
wonderful privileges. Perhaps you have known gospel meetings in
which the Saviour's presence was evident. You have heard the Saviour
speak to your heart but you rejected. Maybe you have wondered
whether the Saviour would be interested now that you have rejected
Him. Well there is an encouragement for you in the passage. But
there is also a warning. The opportunity will not last forever
and I want you to learn those lessons this evening. Let us see
what we can learn from the Lord's Words as He laments over Jerusalem.
I His Plan
First of all would you look with me at His plan. He said in verse
34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and
stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered
thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under
her wings, and ye would not! His intention was that he
should gather them together and bring them under the care of his
fold and into the shelter of his protection.
Notice the PROCEDURE OF THE GATHERING. It was the Lord's intention
to gather them together. The word that is used there can have
the meaning of gathering people or things together in one place
or it also can have the connotation of bringing people or things
together with those that are already assembled. So it was the
Lord's plan to bring them together in one fold and into one place.
Now, we can see from that then, that there were many in Jerusalem
who were scattered here and there. If the Lord needed to gather
them then of necessity they were scattered. They were like the
sheep who had got out of the fold. They were not in the right
place and they were out wandering in the places of danger. That
of course is a constant picture of the state of the ungodly in
the word of God. They are wanderers. Isaiah speaking of the state
of man said All we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned
everyone to his own way And that is your state if you are
not saved. You are trying to make your own way. In many ways you
are very much alone in this life. O yes you may have plenty of
friends and family around you but as far as making your way to
the right destination and finding your way to the place of rest
and satisfaction for your soul is concerned you are alone! You
have been making your own way and if you were only to face up
to it you would have to admit what a mess you are making of it.
You would have to admit how many mistakes you have made and how
many dead ends you have gone down and how you may have even got
into places of danger where your life was in danger. There are
many people and that is where their wandering in sin has brought
them. You wouldn't be the first person who because of drunkenness
or drugs or a temper or wilfulness and stubbornness have brought
themselves into the way of danger and if you are not saved then
I want you to see that you are a wanderer. It is said of Cain
the first Son of Adam and Eve and the first person who was ever
born naturally into this world that he became a fugitive
and a vagabond in the earth. And there are many who have followed
his example! You certainly are if you are not saved. You are making
your own way. You are doing your own thing. Tell me is it getting
you anywhere? Are you trying to get by in your own strength and
you can see what a "bad fist" you are making of it?
Has it brought you into the place of warmth and protection
and safety? because not only do we see the procedure of the gathering
but notice.
THE PLACE OF GATHERING. The Lord uses the figure of a hen gathering
her chickens under her wings. Could there be a more wonderful
picture of the place of warmth and safety and protection as that?
You think of the little chicks when they have any hint of danger
running to that shelter and that place of safety beneath the wings
of the mother. And then think of them when they become tired and
when they are weary and they will snuggle up beneath the wings
of the mother and it is a place that is warm and cosy and sheltered
and no matter what it may be like outside they are warm beneath
the wings of the mother. and in many ways that is a good picture
of the salvation of the Lord. The hymn writer spoke of being,
Safe in the arms of Jesus
Safe on his gentle breast
There by his arms oer'shaded
Sweetly my soul shall rest
Those who are Christ's are able to be drawn in close to the shelter
of the Lord's presence and as long as they stay there they can
have perfect rest and can know the peace of God in their lives.
Isaiah 26:3 says Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace,
whose mind is stayed on thee:
because he trusteth in thee If we focus ourselves on God and
stay close to God we can have the most blessed comfort . We can
think of the testimony of many who found it to be true. The Psalmist
David certainly found it to be true. When he was in a time of
trouble he could write in Psalm 57 "..yea in the shadow
of thy wins will I make my refuge until there calamities be overpast."
The prophet Isaiah could say of the Lord in Isaiah 25 For thou
hast been a strength to the poor, a strength to the needy in his
distress, a refuge from the storm, a shadow from the heat, when
the blast of the terrible ones is as a storm against
the wall.
But not only is the Lord a shelter against the storms of this
old life but when the chilly hand of death comes we can walk through
the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil because the
Lord is with is and he has promised that he will bring us into
his shelter for all eternity. There is no greater comfort than
that. tell me are you beneath the shelter of God. do you know
the comfort of his presence in the midst of life's storms?
But then I want you to see that this place that the Lord speaks
of here is not only a place of comfort and rest but it is a place
of forgiveness. The Israelite would not think of the being under
the covert of the Lord's wings without thinking of the holy of
holies in the tabernacle and particularly of the mercy seat because
the mercy seat in the tabernacle and in the temple was overshadowed
by two golden Cherubim which had their wings sheltering the mercy
seat. They looked inwards with their wing tips coming in towards
one another over the mercy seat. So when the Lord makes mention
of gathering the people under his wings there is a reference to
gathering them to the mercy seat. What a wonderful picture this
is. It is a picture of gathering them to the place where sins
were forgiven because it was at the mercy seat where the high
priest would bring the Blood on the day of atonement and sprinkle
it there for the sins of the people and it was there that God
would accept the offering for sin . And is it not significant
that in Hebrews we are told of a heavenly mercy seat where the
Lord Jesus went in with His own Blood after he had made one offering
for sins forever. So when the Lord speaks of gathering them under
his wins. He is bringing them to the place where the blood has
been sprinkled. He is bringing them to the place of mercy and
forgiveness. That was the Lord's plan for the people here. There
is no better peace of mind than to know that those sins that would
have condemned you to an eternity of turmoil are forgiven and
washed in the precious Blood of the Lamb. There is no greater
protection than the protection of the Lamb shed on calvary. I
wonder if you have ever been gathered into that place. You would
think that people would want to get into that place. But notice
how the Lord says here of the people of Jerusalem Ye would
not They would not come. What perversity! With all their privilege
and with all the provision of opportunity they would not. How
perverse they were and yet it is still true of millions of sinners
in these days. We see His plan but secondly I want you to see,
II His Persistence
The Lord says How often would I have gathered thee The
Lord had not just given them the opportunity of coming to Him
once or twice but he had come "often"! We have
already alluded to some of the privileges that were given to Jerusalem.
We think of how the temple was there and how the Lord walked in
the midst of that city. We also think of the many many prophets
that were sent to that city with the message of the Lord. But
notice how the Lord points out the way that they treated the prophets.
He says in the text O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the
prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; That is
what they did. They not only rejected the message but the took
the messengers and they mistreated them and put them to death.
The Lord has had a number of means of calling people. The hen
calls her chicks to come under her wings and the Lord has a number
of ways of calling men but the principal means that He uses is
that of preachers or prophets. Now if there was a situation where
the Lord has called people, and he has done so a number of times
surely that is condescension indeed. We think of the fact that
Jerusalem was privileged above other cities. Other cities did
not have the opportunities that Jerusalem had and yet the Lord
sent more and more prophets and provided more and more opportunities.
We see the fact that some seem to have more privilege than others
as far as gospel opportunities are concerned. There are some of
you here this evening and you may have lost count of the number
of opportunities you have had. God has sent his servants on many
occasions but you have spurned your opportunities and you have
misused your chances. Do you wonder why God would give you another
opportunity?. Do you not wonder why God should not wiped His hands
of you long ago? Thank God that the Lord is persistent. If I had
been given only one chance I never would have been saved because
I fought against the gospel and sat in meetings and walked away
from people who were witnessing to me. I am glad to see the Lord's
persistence. But not only do I see His persistence but I want
you to see
III His Plea
The Words of our text are really a plea from the Lord. You can
almost hear the emotion in the voice as the Lord said Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are
sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together,
as a hen doth gather her brood under her
wings, and ye would not! You know that there is a sense in
which God wants every person to be saved. 2 Peter 3:9 says The
Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness;
but is long-suffering to us-ward, not willing that any should
perish, but that all should come to repentance. You say then
if God wishes all men to be saved and if he is not willing that
any should perish then surely all will be saved. If God is sovereign
then what he wills must take place. If the Lord truly lamented
over Jerusalem and wanted them to turn then why did He not order
the circumstances in which they would turn. Well here we come
into the mystery of the tension between the Will of God and the
choice of man. Theologians distinguish between the preceptive
will of God and the permissive will of God. The Preceptive will
is where God wills a thing and it must take place but the permissive
will is where man may refuse to do something. It is the Lord's
will that we all walk with him and glorify his name but he permits
the circumstances in which many refuse to do it. That is the permissive
will of God. Now in this we obviously have the permissive will.
It was God's desire that Jerusalem repent but God gave them the
choice and they refused. However that does not make the desire
of the Lord over this thing any the less. When it says that God
is not willing that any should perish that is the truth. When
the Lord made the plea to Jerusalem here it was a genuine plea
and when I say to sinners in any meeting that God loves you and
wants you to be saved that is absolutely true. You see the Lord's
emotion here? It wasn't put on, it wasn't a sham and when the
Lord pleads for you to be saved it isn't put on and it isn't a
sham. He wants you to be His child. He wants to wash your sins
away. I want you to hear His plea. But not only do we see His
plea but notice.
IV His Prediction
He says Behold, your house is left unto you desolate: and verily
I say unto you, Ye shall not see me, until the time come when
ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the
Lord. The Lord had been very merciful with them but that mercy
would not last forever. The Lord spoke of the day when the city
of Jerusalem was going to suffer for its rejection. Now this prophecy
of the Lord was most dramatically fulfilled in the year 70 AD.
By that time the inhabitants of the guilty city of Jerusalem had
crucified the Lord of glory and had driven out His disciples and
yet they said of themselves " we live in the city of God
and no harm can come to us, we have the temple within our walls
and God will guard His holy place." But very soon they tried
to throw off the Roman yoke and there arose different sets of
zealots who were determined to fight against the Romans. The trouble
was that they were divided among themselves and they began to
fight with each other. Indeed before the Romans attacked the inhabitants
of Jerusalem had begun to kill one another themselves. Eventually
the city was divided into different factions and three parties
took possession of different parts of the city and they fought
with each other day and night. Isn't it interesting that those
who had united against Christ were now divided among themselves
and those who hated Christ were showing hatred to one another.
The Lord was making them reap what they had sowed. They began
to kill one another.
But then one day they looked over the battlements of Jerusalem
and they realised that the Romans were coming. Vespasian came
with an army of 60,000 men and it was not long before the general
Titus had thrown up mounds all around Jerusalem and no one could
come in or out. Now this was at the time of Passover when the
people had come from all over the land and there would have been
a million or more of them shut up in that little city at that
time. They had given my Lord over into the captivity of the Romans
but now they were captured by the Romans themselves. So once again
they were reaping what they had sown. Their sin was finding them
out. The sowing they had done was beginning to come back on them.
Then of course with all those people in a city that was under
seige they soon ran out of supplies . It was a famine so dreadful
that women began to eat their children. The story is told of how
the people were searching the houses for food and they heard there
was food in a house and when they went in a woman brought out
half of her own baby and said 'well eat that if you can.' And
then when the Romans came in Titus ordered that no building was
to be left standing and those they found were to be put to death.
It is said that the blood ran in the streets. Many of them had
cried at the crucifixion, His blood be on us and on our children
Now the blood of Christ was being visited on them and their children.
You cannot reject Christ and get away with it forever. You cannot
make light of the Blood of Christ and expect no consequences.
But do you see the truth of the Lord's prediction. He said that
their house would be left unto them desolate. He meant by that
the temple. That is what happened when the Romans attacked. they
destroyed the temple. But when we see the truth of the Lord's
prediction in this matter and how it was fulfilled about 35 years
after he died then can we see that His word will be fulfilled
in other things too. When He spoke of a place of weeping and wailing
and gnashing of teeth do you not see that that will be fulfilled
too? Yes God's Word is true and if God's Word is true you would
need to heed it! You would need to get right with God by turning
to Christ and be washed in the Blood of the Lamb. Will you come
now and be saved by his grace?