Matthew 23: Warnings and Woes (6)
Pray Psalm 142.5, 6.
I cried out to You, O LORD:
I said, “You are my refuge,
My portion in the land of the living.
Attend to my cry,
For I am brought very low;
Deliver me from my persecutors,
For they are stronger than I.
Sing Psalm 142.5, 6.
Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth
Hear my cry, LORD, I am low! They are strong who seek my soul.
Jesus frees from every foe; He will keep and make me whole!
Refrain
LORD, You are my Refuge strong!
O receive my plaintive song.
Read Matthew 23.1-39; meditate on verses 37-39.
What reasons can you identify to explain why people are “not willing”?
Prepare.
1. Why did “Jerusalem” not take refuge in Jesus?
2. What terms of deliverance from desolation did Jesus offer?
Meditate.
Jerusalem here stands as a symbol for the religious people of Jesus’ day. Chosen by God and delivered from captivity in Egypt, Israel’s history with God was checkered, brief seasons of covenant faithfulness interspersing a more general and steady decline from the LORD. As Jesus had already explained, the extent of Israel’s rebellion could be seen in the way they treated the messengers God sent to them: mocking and imprisoning some, stoning others, rejecting most of them.
Notice how Jesus assumed the first-person here: “I wanted to gather your children together…” (v. 37). He was the Word in the mouths of those prophets, as well as the One Who sent them. Throughout the course of His earthly sojourn, Jesus worked to help the people of Israel see that He is the Promised One of Whom all the prophets had spoken; but “He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him” (Jn. 1.11).
The problem was not that the people of Israel were sufficiently comfortable and happy in their state of oppression under the Romans. The problem was not that Jesus did not make it clear that He was the Promised One. The problem was not that He didn’t provide enough evidence to convince people that He was the long-awaited Messiah.
The problem was that the people to whom Jesus came “were not willing” to receive Him. The result would be that they would be consigned to desolation (v. 38)—a barren, unfruitful desert (Greek: ἔρημος, eremos, desert).
This is the case for anyone who is not willing to follow Jesus, including we who believe in Him but hesitate in obedience at times. Thank God that He is at work in us to make us willing and able to obey (Phil. 2.13).
Treasure Old and New: Matthew 13.52; Psalm 119.162
Jesus said these plaintive words at a certain point in history.
Assuredly, at that time He was referring to the Pharisees, Sadducees, scribes, multitudes—all those whom He came to save, but were rejecting Him (Jn. 1.10, 11). Then salvation became inclusive for all humanity, therefore all now are recipients of Jesus’ statement. Thus, our own names may be written in.
Imagine then, the Word, the Creator of all things, Who existed before time began, saying to you:
“How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings,
but you were not willing!” (Matt. 23.37)
Not willing? To be loved like that? To be longed for like that? With God’s amazing love? Baffling.
Not only does He want to care for our children more than we care for them;
but He wants to care for us in the same way.
How could anyone not be willing to be loved like that?
One would have to be subsumed in the most horrible lie to not believe Him.
I mean really, why would anyone not leap at the chance to be cared for like that?
Could keeping God’s Law have anything to do with it?
“Oh, that you had heeded My commandments!
Then your peace would have been like a river, and
your righteousness like the waves of the sea” (Is. 48.18).
Moses wrote a song recounting God’s love; and about His recalcitrant children. Here is a portion of it:
“He found him in a 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…For they are a nation void of
counsel, nor is there any understanding in them. Oh, that they were wise, that they understood this, that they
would consider their latter end!” (Deut. 32.10-12, 28, 29).
The psalmist wrote:
“He shall cover you with His feathers, and under His wings you shall take refuge;
His truth shall be your shield and buckler” (Ps. 91.4).
“Oh, that My people would listen to Me, that Israel would walk in My ways!” (Ps. 81.13).
Isaiah wrote God’s words:
“I have stretched out My hands all day long to a rebellious people, who walk in a way that is not good, according to their own thoughts…” (Is. 65.2).
Luke wrote about Jesus that “as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Lk. 19.41, 42).
In Nehemiah’s day, when God’s people were convicted of their sins, they hearkened back to their forefathers, rehearsed their shortcomings, then confessed their own sins, turned from them, and prayed:
“But You are God, ready to pardon,
gracious and merciful, slow to anger,
abundant in kindness, and did not forsake [our fathers]” (Neh. 9.17).
Oh, Jesus, we are willing to be covered by Your tender love and gracious mercy. Gather us under Your wings.
In turn, we know of Your Kingdom requirements—these we will observe and do—trust, follow, and obey.
Reflect.
1. How do you experience the love that Jesus has for you?
2. How does His love for you make you want to respond?
3. How do you expect to respond to Jesus’ love for you today?
He indicates Himself to be the very One expected by the prophets. This is why He uses the same words as did the prophets. In this way He intimated both His resurrection and His second coming. He made all this plain even to the utterly unbelieving but even more surely to all who would worship Him. John Chrysostom (34-407), The Gospel of Matthew, Homily 74.3
Pray Psalm 142.1-4, 7.
Call on the Lord to strengthen your spirit, so that you are willing and able to follow and serve Him throughout this day.
Sing Psalm 142.1-4, 7.
Dix: For the Beauty of the Earth
With my voice, O LORD, I cry—hear my plea for mercy, LORD!
My complaint mounts up on high, bringing You my troubled word:
Refrain
LORD, You are my Refuge strong!
O receive my plaintive song!
When my spirit faints away, You my falt’ring pathway know;
where I take my journey they traps have hidden to my woe.
Refrain
LORD, look to my right and see: None takes notice of my plight.
Is there refuge left for me? Is my soul out of Your sight?
Refrain
Out of prison lead me, LORD; thanks and praise to You shall be.
Righteous men armed with Your Word will Your grace bestow on me.
Refrain
T. M. and Susie Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment to give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
Other columns of interest: This week: Our Read Moore podcast begins a new series of readings about St. Patrick from our book, Patrick: A Devotional History. Our Crosfigell teaching letter is pursuing a series on the spiritual poetry of the Celtic Revival. The ReVision column, begins a new study of “Everyday Christianity”. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
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