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34 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing. 35 Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. ~ Luke 13:34-35
The Lord Jesus' heart was grieved as He saw the unbelief of the people, and in v.34, He broke out in a lamentation over the sad plight of the Jewish nation. It was the expression of a broken heart. The people had been given many opportunities to believe and be saved, but they had refused His message.
In v.34 we read, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you were not willing." For years God had sent to Jerusalem prophet after prophet, the Old Testament shows the history, and so many of them were mistreated and killed by Jerusalem.
The Lord went on to say, "how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings." The metaphor is of a protective hen gathering her young. What an insight into the heart of the Lord Jesus. He had the best intended for them, not the worst, but they were unwilling.
In Jeremiah 29:11 we read, "The thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of good and peace, to give you a future and a hope." That's the heart of the Lord Jesus.
The word “desolate” in v.35 literally means "Left to you." The Lord Jesus was saying, "Your house is left to you." That's another way of saying you're on your own. As we see in Romans 1:24,26,28, one expression of God's wrath is He lets us go our own way.
In v.35 we read, "Look, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."
The word “until” teaches us God is not done with Israel, even though they had largely rejected Him. This “until” tells us that sometime in the future Israel will acknowledge the Lord Jesus as Messiah. The Lord Jesus quotes Psalm 118:26 in v.35 of our text. And, with this quote, we conclude God keeps His promises.
In the Old Testament God promised a son who would be a king with a kingdom, and the kingdom would be worldwide and everlasting. And, Israel will one day trust in their Messiah, the Lord Jesus, and they, one day, will receive the land that God promised them. And one day they will be a blessing to the whole world.
One of the major divine purposes for the tribulation in relation to Israel is the conversion of the Jewish remnant to faith in Jesus as their Messiah. This will take place throughout the tribulation, but by the end of that seven-year period the entire number of the elect remnant will become converted to the Lord Jesus.
This is the point of Daniel's seventieth seven in Daniel 9:27. At the beginning of the prophecy in Daniel 9:24, God is clear to tell us this prophecy is for Daniel's people, the Jews. This seventieth seven is referred to by Jeremiah in Jeremiah 30:7 as a time of Jacob's trouble. We know that Jacob is Israel in unbelief, so this means that during the seven year time of tribulation God will draw Israel back to Himself even though it will be a volatile period of time.
In fact, in Matthew 24:15 the Lord Jesus refers to this Daniel 9 prophecy proving it is yet in the future to take place. The Lord Jesus brought attention to the fact that in the middle of this seven year period, the antichrist would be revealed. It is a time of Jacob's trouble when God will fulfill all of the unfulfilled prophecies concerning Israel. By this we can be buoyed once again that God's promises are true and can be trusted.
We are following a God today who is faithful and true, whose will is sovereign. Yet, He doesn't force His will on anyone. And, therefore, we can trust Him with our lives. Let me encourage you today, my friends, go all out for Him today and watch the miraculous things He will do for and through you as you trust in Him.
