Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered together thy children, as the hen doth gather her chickens under her wings, and thou wouldest not?

“He calls them children of Jerusalem, just as we call each generation of citizens the sons of the preceding generation. And He says, How often, though it is well known that once only did He teach the Jews in the body, because Christ was ever present in Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Angels, ministering to human salvation in every generation. Whosoever shall not have been gathered in by Him shall be judged, as though he had refused to be gathered in.”

“(Quæst. Ev. i. 36.) This species has the greatest affection for its brood, insomuch that when they are sick the mother sickens also; and what you will hardly find in any other animal, it will fight against the kite, protecting its young with its wings. In like manner our mother, the Wisdom of God, sickened as it were in the putting on the flesh, according to that of the Apostle, The weakness of God is stronger than men, (1 Cor. 1:25.) protects our weakness, and resists the Devil that he should not make us his prey.”

“Behold, I. In this part he sets forth their cruelty, and adds the temporal punishment. And first he does the first; second he adds the punishment. And first he sets forth the benefit; second the fault; third the magnitude of the punishment. Hence he says, "Behold, I send to you prophets, and wise men and scribes," and so on. And it can be referred to that which immediately follows, or to that whole which follows. If to the whole, then it has a plainer sense. Thus I say that you are about to fill up, and that you are serpents, and so on. Hence, "I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes," and some of them you will kill, because you are such as have been accustomed to kill. Or otherwise, so that it is referred to the whole. The Lord wills that judgment be not only just, but that it appear just, so that others may take examples from it. Hence if someone has a good purpose, the Lord rewards him for the good purpose, and thence gives him the will to carry out a good work; so on the contrary, when someone has an evil purpose, and is full of evil will, according to what is said in Hosea 2:6: "I will hedge up your way with thorns," he stirs up the wrath of God, and from the wrath of God it comes about that his malice is made manifest. Therefore, "I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes"; and you will kill them. And he says "behold," because it is at hand, because he sent the apostles; hence Acts 1:8: "and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the end of the earth." But note that in this, that he says "I send to you prophets, and wise men, and scribes," he signifies the various gifts of the Holy Spirit. To one is given the gift of wisdom, to another kinds of tongues, and so on. 1 Corinthians 12:10. The apostles had all these gifts. They had the gift of prophecy in telling future things; Joel 2:28: "I will pour out of my spirit upon all peoples, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." Likewise wisdom, because they knew all things; Luke 21:15: "I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries will not be able to resist and contradict." Likewise they were scribes, because they had understanding of Scripture; Luke 24:45: "he opened their understanding, that they might understand the Scriptures." And why does he foretell this? So that the disciples, thinking on what they have heard, might more easily endure it. Likewise, to convict their malice, because just as their fathers killed the prophets, so these would kill the apostles; hence "some of them you will kill," as is found in Acts 12:2, because Herod killed James the brother of John with the sword, seeing that it pleased the Jews. Others were crucified; hence also "you will crucify." For this was the vilest death, therefore they killed Christ by this death, according to that saying of Wisdom 2:20: "let us condemn him to a most shameful death." And "you will scourge." Acts 5:40 says that, having beaten them, they charged them that they should not speak at all in the name of Jesus. And "you will persecute." This is evident from how they persecuted Paul. And above, chapter 10:23: "if they persecute you in one city, flee into another." Further, the punishment is set forth, which, because it seemed grave, he therefore confirms: "Amen I say to you, all these things shall come upon this generation." He says: that upon you may come all the righteous blood, from the blood of Abel the just even unto the blood of Zechariah the son of Barachiah. Who this Abel is, is known, because he was killed by Cain his brother. But who this Zechariah was is not established. It is read that there were three Zechariahs. One the son of Barachiah, who was the eleventh among the prophets. But it cannot be understood of this one, because there was not yet an altar. Another was the father of John, and whose son he was is not found; but Chrysostom says that he was killed on account of Christ, because in the temple there was a place of the virgins, and when the Virgin Mary was sitting in the place of the virgins, the Jews wanted to expel her from the place; which Zechariah forbade, defending her, and on account of this he was killed. Another is said to be the son of Jehoiada, whom Joash killed in the court of the temple, therefore "between the temple and the altar"; hence the place agrees, but the name is discordant. But yet Jerome says that it is interpreted "blessed of the Lord," and the holiness of his father Jehoiada the priest is thereby designated. And he says that he himself saw the Gospel of the Nazarenes, and there it was contained, "the son of Jehoiada." But why it begins with this Zechariah can be a question of the letter. The reason, however, seems to be that although the preceding [killings] were more frequent, yet these were the ones found in Scripture. Or otherwise, that Abel was a shepherd, Jehoiada a priest; therefore by these two are signified the laity and the clergy. Hence every punishment for the killing of men shall come upon you. Or otherwise, because some are active, some contemplative; hence both are signified by these two. But "amen I say to you, that all these things shall come upon this generation." But how can it be that all these things come upon this generation? Is one punished for another? Ezekiel 18:20: "the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father." How then upon this generation? Jerome solves this, [saying] that it is customary in Scripture that the whole generation of the good is taken for one generation, concerning which in Psalm 111:2: "the generation of the upright shall be blessed." Concerning the generation of the wicked, above, 12:39: "an evil generation seeks a sign." Chrysostom says thus: some sin, but God does not immediately avenge; hence in Psalm 7:12: "does he grow angry every day?" But some, when they sin, are never corrected, but change for the worse; 2 Timothy 3:13: "but evil men and seducers shall grow worse and worse"; and then the Lord waits until their malice is completed. Hence these, in whom the malice will be completed, bear the weight of the whole as regards the temporal punishment, yet as regards the eternal punishment, each bears his own. Hence it will be so great that it will seem that they suffer for all; hence Exodus 32:34, it is said that this sin is reserved until the day of vengeance. Just as there was a fullness of good things for those who believe in Christ, so a fullness of evils for those who killed Christ; therefore he says, "all these things shall come upon this generation." But what is this punishment? The destruction of the city of Jerusalem. And since he intends to speak of the destruction of the city, therefore he turns himself to the city, saying, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem." And first he sets forth the offense; second he commemorates the benefits; third he foretells the punishment. The second is there: "how often would I have gathered your children ... and you would not?" The third is there: "behold, your house shall be left to you desolate." He says therefore, "Jerusalem, Jerusalem"; and this doubling designates the affection of one who pities; hence it is said in Luke 19:41, that seeing the city he wept over it. "You who kill the prophets"; Acts 7:52: "which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?" And he says "you who kill," not "you who have killed," because they were still persevering in malice. This is that Jerusalem, of which it is said in Ezekiel 5:6: "this is Jerusalem, I have set her in the midst of the nations, and the countries around her, and she has despised my judgments." They could excuse themselves: "we had no one to tell us"; therefore he says, "and you stone those who are sent to you"; hence "I sent prophets and many helps, and you did not recognize [them]." "How often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, and you would not?" In this is designated the perpetuity of his divinity, according to what he himself says, John 8:58: "before Abraham was made, I am." Hence Christ himself sent prophets, patriarchs, and angels. Whenever he sent, he willed to gather, and so on. Those are gathered who are converted to the Lord, because in him sinners are united; those are scattered who are separated from unity. Hence, "I would have gathered [you] as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings." It is said that there is no animal so compassionate to its young as the hen. The hen defends [them] from the kite, and exposes her life for them, and gathers them under her wings. Thus Christ has compassion on us: "surely he himself bore our infirmities," Isaiah 53:4. Likewise he exposed himself to the kite, that is, the Devil; Deuteronomy 31:27: "while I am yet living and going in with you, you have always acted contentiously against the Lord." But against this: the Lord willed, and these did not will: therefore their evil will prevailed over the will of God. Hence it must be said: as often as I willed, I did it, but with you unwilling, I did it when I did it; hence your will hindered it, so that I did not do it. Or, that he sent prophets was a sign that he willed to gather [you], and you were unwilling. Then follows the punishment: "behold, your house shall be left to you desolate." The whole people was honored on account of Jerusalem, and Jerusalem on account of the temple; therefore it is said, "your house shall be left," that is, the temple, or the dwelling; Psalm 68:26: "let their habitation be made desolate." Or the house is called desolate when it lacks its proper inhabitant; Psalm 10:5: "the Lord is in his holy temple." Hence it is said "to leave" with respect to the indwelling; therefore, "you shall not see me henceforth," etc., because I was with you through the power of my divinity, and afterward I was [with you] bodily, but I will withdraw from you. But now "your house shall be left to you desolate, and you shall not see me henceforth," neither bodily, namely after the Passion, nor spiritually. But is this true, that none of the Jews saw him, since nevertheless many were converted to him? Therefore he says, "until you say: blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord," because when you shall confess [him], then you will see through faith. Or otherwise, he secretly designates the second coming: they saw him in the body, but they did not have this seeing until the second coming, in which you will be able to say, and you will recognize, that I am he who is blessed who comes in the name of the Lord.”

“Behold your house is left unto you desolate. Signifying that the city in which they dwelt, where they had their ceiled houses, and stately palaces, would, in a little time, within the space of forty years, be destroyed, and become a desert; and the temple, formerly the house of God, but now only their's, and in which they trusted, would be abandoned by God, he would grant his presence no more in it; and the Messiah, the proprietor of it, and who was now in it, would then take his leave of it, and never more return to it; and that also should share the same fate as the city, and at the same time. Our Lord seems to have in view those passages in Jer 12:7 and which the Jewish (o) writers understood of the temple. The author of the apocryphal the second book of Esdras has much such an expression as this: "Thus saith the Almighty Lord, Your house is desolate, I will cast you out as the wind doth stubble.'' (2 Esdras 1:33). (o) Targum & Kimchi in Jer. xii. 7.”

“And thou wouldst not. Three truths may be gathered from these words of our Saviour: 1. They, who perish, perish by their own fault, because they refuse to listen to the voice of God calling them to salvation; 2. that man’s will is free, and that it is an error in man to lay all his wickedness to the charge of God, or of blind chance; for God justly attributes the reprobation of man to his own perverse will, which often opposes that of God, and brings destruction on itself; 3. how necessary it is for man to subject his will to that of the Almighty, and ever to say with our Saviour: Nevertheless, not my will, but thine be done. (Salmeron)”

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, &c.--How ineffably grand and melting is this apostrophe! It is the very heart of God pouring itself forth through human flesh and speech. It is this incarnation of the innermost life and love of Deity, pleading with men, bleeding for them, and ascending only to open His arms to them and win them back by the power of this story of matchless love, that has conquered the world, that will yet "draw all men unto Him," and beautify and ennoble Humanity itself! "Jerusalem" here does not mean the mere city or its inhabitants; nor is it to be viewed merely as the metropolis of the nation, but as the center of their religious life--"the city of their solemnities, whither the tribes went up, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord"; and at this moment it was full of them. It is the whole family of God, then, which is here apostrophized by a name dear to every Jew, recalling to him all that was distinctive and precious in his religion. The intense feeling that sought vent in this utterance comes out first in the redoubling of the opening word--"Jerusalem, Jerusalem!" but, next, in the picture of it which He draws--"that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee!"--not content with spurning God's messages of mercy, that canst not suffer even the messengers to live! When He adds, "How often would I have gathered thee!" He refers surely to something beyond the six or seven times that He visited and taught in Jerusalem while on earth. No doubt it points to "the prophets," whom they "killed," to "them that were sent unto her," whom they "stoned." But whom would He have gathered so often? "Thee," truth-hating, mercy-spurning, prophet-killing Jerusalem--how often would I have gathered thee! Compare with this that affecting clause in the great ministerial commission, "that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem!" (Luk 24:47). What encouragement to the heartbroken at their own long-continued and obstinate rebellion! But we have not yet got at the whole heart of this outburst. I would have gathered thee, He says, "even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings." Was ever imagery so homely invested with such grace and such sublimity as this, at our Lord's touch? And yet how exquisite the figure itself--of protection, rest, warmth, and all manner of conscious well-being in those poor, defenseless, dependent little creatures, as they creep under and feel themselves overshadowed by the capacious and kindly wing of the mother bird! If, wandering beyond hearing of her peculiar call, they are overtaken by a storm or attacked by an enemy, what can they do but in the one case droop and die, and in the other submit to be torn in pieces? But if they can reach in time their place of safety, under the mother's wing, in vain will any enemy try to drag them thence. For rising into strength, kindling into fury, and forgetting herself entirely in her young, she will let the last drop of her blood be shed out and perish in defense of her precious charge, rather than yield them to an enemy's talons. How significant all this of what Jesus is and does for men! Under His great Mediatorial wing would He have "gathered" Israel. For the figure, see Deu 32:10-12; Rut 2:12; Psa 17:8; Psa 36:7; Psa 61:4; Psa 63:7; Psa 91:4; Isa 31:5; Mal 4:2. The ancient rabbins had a beautiful expression for proselytes from the heathen--that they had "come under the wings of the Shekinah." For this last word, see on Mat 23:38. But what was the result of all this tender and mighty love? The answer is, "And ye would not." O mysterious word! mysterious the resistance of such patient Love-mysterious the liberty of self-undoing! The awful dignity of the will, as here expressed, might make the ears to tingle.”

“Foreseeing the destruction of the city, and the blow it would receive from the Romans, He called to mind the blood of the saints which had been, and should yet be, shed in it. Thou killedst Esaias who was sent unto thee, and stonedst my servant Jeremias; thou dashedst out the brains of Ezechiel by dragging him over stones; how shalt thou be saved, which wilt not suffer a physician to come nigh thee? And He said not, Didst kill and stone; but, Killest, and Stonest; that is, This is a common and natural practice with thee to kill and stone the saints. She did to the Apostles the same things which she had once done to the Prophets.”