Week 2, Friday December 9
Matthew 23:27-39
Vs 37-39
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, killing the prophets and stoning those who are sent to you! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! Behold, your house is forsaken and desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
This lament sounds so much like, O my beloved, my beloved! A calling out and a pleading from God to his children. We know that Jesus was rejected throughout his ministry up to the day he was crucified, just as Israel turned from God over and over again throughout history. Now the ministry of Christ is coming to a close and he will not return until he has been resurrected in glory. This is not a statement of the end; it is a statement of hope! In Verse 39 we read that they will bless Jesus. This is reconciliation!
This broken relationship between God and his people is weaved into the fabric of our faith and finally reconciled through the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
And though this specific verse is a direct lament over the religious leaders of Jerusalem in Jesus’ day, perhaps our hearts can respond as well. How dearly the Lord has always longed to gather his children under his mighty wing, how wonderful it will be when we proclaim “blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord”!
The love of God is never ending, even in our avoidance and rejection. Christ longs to gather us back to him every time we wander away.
The Kingdom of God, the love and reconciliation of God, is near - let us not miss out!