Connect Luke 13:34 with Old Testament prophecies about God's desire for His people. Setting the Scene “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those sent to her, how often I have longed to gather your children together as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were unwilling!” God’s Gather-ing Heart in the Law • Exodus 19:4 – “I carried you on eagles’ wings and brought you to Myself.” • Deuteronomy 32:10-11 – “He guarded him as the apple of His eye… He spreads His wings to catch them; He carries them on His pinions.” These early pictures reveal a rescuing God who lifts, shields, and draws Israel close. The Psalmists Sing the Same Theme • Psalm 17:8 – “Hide me in the shadow of Your wings.” • Psalm 91:4 – “He will cover you with His feathers; under His wings you will find refuge.” David and the anonymous psalmist both assume that God’s people belong tucked beneath divine wings. Prophetic Echoes: Desire and Grief • Isaiah 31:5 – “Like birds hovering overhead, the LORD of Hosts will shield Jerusalem; He will protect and deliver.” • Isaiah 54:7-8 – “With great compassion I will bring you back… with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you.” • Jeremiah 31:10 – “The One who scattered Israel will gather them and keep them as a shepherd keeps his flock.” • Ezekiel 34:11-12 – “I Myself will search for My flock and seek them out.” • Hosea 11:3-4 – “I led them with cords of kindness, with ropes of love… I bent down to feed them.” Each passage pairs God’s yearning to gather with Israel’s recurring resistance, setting up the lament Jesus voices centuries later. Maternal Imagery: Wings, Arms, and Compassion • The hen of Luke 13:34 mirrors the eagle (Deuteronomy 32) and the brooding bird (Isaiah 31). • Hosea 11 shows God teaching a toddler to walk; Isaiah 66:13 adds, “As a mother comforts her child, so will I comfort you.” Such pictures amplify how personal and tender God’s desire truly is. Jesus: The Prophecies Embodied • By lamenting over Jerusalem, Jesus identifies Himself with the LORD who spoke in Exodus, Deuteronomy, and the Prophets. • His longing is not new; it is the same covenant love now standing in flesh outside the city that must decide for or against Him. • Matthew 23:37 repeats the cry, proving this was a settled, aching desire, not a momentary feeling. The Tragic Consistency of Unwilling Hearts • From rejecting Moses (Acts 7:35-39) to silencing prophets (2 Chron 36:15-16), Israel’s history is marked by resistance. • Luke 13:34 distills that history: a God who longs, a people who refuse. Yet the very next verse (13:35) points to future repentance—“You will not see Me again until you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord.’” Living Under the Wings Today • The invitation still stands; God’s character has not changed (Malachi 3:6). • All who respond to Jesus experience the shelter once offered to Jerusalem alone (John 10:16; Ephesians 2:13-19). • Resting beneath His wings means trusting His Word, receiving His salvation, and remaining close to His heart. |
    |