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 is grieving the choices of the leaders of Jerusalem. He is telling them how he has longed to gather their children together but they would not permit it. How sad He must be at this point as He sees their desolation.

     He paints a picture of a protective mother hen who shelters her chicks under her wing. They are nestled close to her beating heart, with each beat saying, Hush now, the storm will pass soon. She knows how to move them out of the direct path of the storm without alarming them.

       Jesus longed to be that shelter to the people of Jerusalem but He couldn’t. It grieved Him in such a way that I hadn’t read about to that point. Jesus could walk on water, rebuke storms, and raise the dead, but He could not make Jerusalem see things His way.

      His extended wing sheltered no chicks. He could only watch as they struggled in the storm. After this verse He quotes Psalm 118:26: “Blessed be he that cometh in the name of the Lord” knowing that He will not see His chicks until the time that Jerusalem turns to Him. It doesn’t say so but I can imagine He will unfold His wings and hold them close.

      But that does not erase the fact that Jerusalem’s choices grieved Him just as some of our children’s choices grieve us. We can take hope that just as Jerusalem will return, one day we too will hold our chicks under our wings. This will happen in God’s time.