Luke 13 (6)
Pray Psalm 118.1-6.
Oh, give thanks to the LORD, for He is good!
For His mercy endures forever.
Let Israel now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let the house of Aaron now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
Let those who fear the LORD now say,
“His mercy endures forever.”
I called on the LORD in distress;
The LORD answered me and set me in a broad place.
The LORD is on my side;
I will not fear.
What can man do to me?
Sing Psalm 118.1-6.
(St. George’s Windsor: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come)
Thank the Lord, His love endures! All to whom His love is sure,
all who fear Him day by day, let them thanks and praise now say!
Out of my distress I cry; He will hear me from on high.
He will free me from all fear. What can man do to me here?
Read Luke 13.1-35; meditate on verse 34, 35.
Preparation
1. What did Jesus desire for Jerusalem?
2. What would it take for them to see Him?
Meditation
In these two verses we glimpse the heart of Jesus, aching for the lost condition of the people of Israel.
Jerusalem is a metaphor for all Israel, as is clear from what follows. It was the people of Israel who killed the prophets and stoned those God sent to them (v. 34). Nevertheless, Jesus’ desire was to gather this rebellious people to Himself, to shelter and nurture and care for them like a hen does for her chicks. This despite His knowing what awaited Him in Jerusalem.
But this doesn’t just happen. People must be willing. They must desire to know the lovingkindness of the Lord, and they must flee to Him to receive it. Israel was not willing, not throughout most of the Old Testament and not in Jesus’ day. They received Jesus for what they could get from Him, but not for that which He promised to give them – the forgiveness of sins and eternal life with God.
They invoked the judgment of God upon themselves by their unwillingness, and they would be left desolate (v. 35). Desolate, but not without hope. Jesus never fails to tell wayward sinners what He requires for them to be saved. When anyone of Israel – or anyone of any nation – acknowledges Jesus as sent from the LORD to bring the blessings of redemption and salvation, declaring their faith by their words and deeds, then their desolation is lifted, their salvation is secured, and their rest under the caring wings of the Savior begins.
Pray that Jesus will give us a heart like His for the lost people to whom He sends us each day.
Treasures Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Moses wrote a song and taught it to all the assembly of Israel. It is personal and corporate and spoke of God’s love for them, and for us. This is part of that song:
“He found him in the desert land and in the wasteland, a howling wilderness;
He encircled him, He instructed him, He kept him as the apple of His eye.
As an eagle stirs up its nest, hovers over its young, spreading out its wings,
Taking them up, carrying them on its wings,
So the LORD alone led him, and there was no foreign god with him” (Deut. 32.10-12).
Another psalmist also used a bird to illustrate God’s love and care for us:
“He shall cover you with His feathers,
And under His wings you shall take refuge…” (Ps. 91.4).
When I was a child, my mother summoned me to “Come and look” at something happening outside. A gentle rain had begun to fall, and there in our backyard, was a bird with its wings covering her little ones and urging them to get under a bush for shelter. It was a sight I have never forgotten. I think of it every time I read Jesus’ words: “How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings” (Lk. 13.34).
It is sadly astonishing to think that there are persons who do not want to be sheltered like that; however, Jesus said there were. “But you were not willing!” (Lk. 13.34). And that is heartbreaking. Who doesn’t want or need to be loved like that?
Could it be that this love demands something from its recipients? (Ex. 20.1-17; Rom. 13.10; Jn. 14.15)
That if this love is accepted then some things might have to change? (Ex. 20.1-17; 1 Tim. 1.5; Jn. 15.14)
All people know about God, but they “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1.18); and “what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them” (Rom. 1.19). Knowing about God is not knowing Him—it is merely information.
When the Holy Spirit lives within us, God’s astonishing love should be reaching out to all these people who, for one reason or another, refuse the gift of love that God wants to give them. This tender care should be exuding from us to those in our Personal Mission Field.
Let us never refuse to be fussed over by God (Rom. 5.8; Jn. 3.16). And let us never be a deterrent to anyone who needs the lavish love of the Savior (Lk. 12.56, 57; 13.15, 16).
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly…and whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3.16, 17).
For reflection
1. Why should we pray that God will give us a heart for lost people?
2. How does the Word of Christ, dwelling richly in us, help us in caring about the plight of lost people?
3. What does it mean for you to “shelter” under the “wings” of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ?
He would have had them under his wings, that is, under the protection of his power, but they lost the valuable blessings by being disposed to evil, ungrateful and scornful. Cyril of Alexandria (375-444), Commentary on Luke, Homily 100
Pray Psalm 119.19-29.
Open the gates of your soul to Jesus. Call on Him to come in, stretch out, and transform you into His likeness. Rejoice in the day ahead. Commit it and all your work in it to the Lord for His glory.
Sing Psalm 118.19-29.
(St. George’s Windsor: Come, Ye Thankful People, Come)
All who know Christ’s righteousness, His great Name now thank and bless!
Though His gate full righteous is, He our saving mercy is.
Cast aside and left alone, Christ is now our Cornerstone!
God has made His Son and Word our salvation: Praise the Lord!
Blessed are they who in His Name come and Jesus’ grace proclaim.
God His light upon us shines in the Savior’s sacrifice.
Praise and thanks to You, O Lord; we extol Your holy Word!
Thanks to You for You are good! Thanks to our great loving God!
T. M. and Susie Moore
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. For sources of all quotations, see the weekly PDF of this study. All psalms for singing are from The Ailbe Psalter (Williston: Waxed Tablet Publications, 2006), available by clicking here.
Heart of the Savior
It should be ours, too. Luke 13.34, 35
T.M. Moore
T. M. Moore is principal of The Fellowship of Ailbe, a spiritual fellowship in the Celtic Christian tradition. He and his wife, Susie, make their home in the Champlain Valley of Vermont.
Books by T. M. Moore