Missing Out
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!” Matthew 23:37
Jesus had been rebuking the scribes and Pharisees because of their hypocrisy. Not only did he call them hypocrites, he called them many other names, such as blind guides, fools, serpents, and a generation of vipers. Jesus had every right to call them as He saw them. As Christians, we do not have the right to call folks all kinds of names because we cannot see into their hearts or know their motives for doing what they do. We haven’t walked in their shoes, but Jesus knows every single thing that goes on within the hearts and minds of all people, and thus He can make a judgment call against whomever He desires. He didn’t call these religious leaders names to insult them, but to show them that they were headed down the wrong road of pride and sin.
After pronouncing woes upon these self-righteous men, He began to lament for all those who were “nailing the nails of their own coffins” by rejecting Him and His words. I think it made Jesus very sad to see so many reject His love and mercy. I think it still makes Him sad to see so many folks today who ignore, blaspheme, or display indifference to Him and the gospel. From His vantage point, Jesus could look out and see the crowd of people gathered there, and He could also see the city of Jerusalem laid out before the temple. The Jews and the city of Jerusalem were to be a glorious monument to the love and mercy of Almighty God, but had become a shame to Him because of their idolatry and rejection of God’s Son who would be the sacrifice for their sins and for ours as well. When Jesus spoke the above statement (Matthew 23:37), there must have been a great sadness or melancholia in His voice. God’s chosen people, Israel, had been given the highest calling of any people on earth, blessed to received the privilege to be God’s ambassadors to the entire world, but they blew it with no one to blame but themselves, and they didn’t even care! It is bad enough to miss God’s voice and then be remorseful, but to miss Him and His plan for one’s life and then think nothing of it is a grievous insult to Him and to His deity.
What is it that people want most in life? Is it not love? Acceptance? Peace? What about security? Do people not want to be secure in their person as they move about day after day? From where does real love, acceptance, peace and security come? Do they not come from the LORD who made heaven and earth? Even in their wickedness, Jesus would have saved His people if only they had repented of their sin and believed Him to be their Messiah, their Savior. Would not the course of history been changed for good? He would have gathered them under the wings of His protection, and they would have become a shining light to a lost world. But they would not.
We are not Israel, God’s chosen people, but we are chosen to be part of God’s family and to spread the message of the gospel to those who are choosing to remain under the bondage of their sin, If we won’t do it, then who will? God desires for us to depend on Him for everything. Jesus used the illustration of little baby chicks who do not let pride stop them from seeking the shelter of their mama hen. When a storm arises, they run to her and gather under her wings confident that she will protect them. That’s how the Lord wants us to be–confident in Him and His word, laying aside pride and self-reliance. Israel missed out on countless blessings and on the privilege of sharing the Lord with the world. Let’s not make that same grievous mistake.