SEV Biblia, Chapter 23:37
¡Jerusaln, Jerusaln, que matas a los profetas, y apedreas a los que son enviados a ti! ¡Cuntas veces quise juntar tus hijos, como la gallina junta sus pollos debajo de las alas, y no quisiste!
Clarke's Bible Commentary - Matthew 23:37
Verse 37. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem] 1. It is evident that our blessed Lord seriously and earnestly wished the salvation of the Jews. 2. That he did every thing that could be done, consistently with his own perfections, and the liberty of his creatures, to effect this. 3. That his tears over the city, Luke xix. 41, sufficiently evince his sincerity. 4. That these persons nevertheless perished. And 5. That the reason was, they would not be gathered together under his protection: therefore wrath, i.e. punishment, came upon them to the uttermost. From this it is evident that there have been persons whom Christ wished to save, and bled to save, who notwithstanding perished, because they would not come unto him, John v. 40. The metaphor which our Lord uses here is a very beautiful one. When the hen sees a beast of prey coming, she makes a noise to assemble her chickens, that she may cover them with her wings from the danger. The Roman eagle is about to fall upon the Jewish state-nothing can prevent this but their conversion to God through Christ-Jesus cries throughout the land, publishing the Gospel of reconciliation-they would not assemble, and the Roman eagle came and destroyed them. The hen's affection to her brood is so very strong as to become proverbial. The following beautiful Greek epigram, taken from the Anthologia, affords a very fine illustration of this text.
ceimeriaiv nifadessi palunomena tiqav orniv teknoiv eunaiav amfecee pterugav mesfa men ouranion kruov wlesen h gar emeinen aiqerov ouraniwn antipalov nefewn proknh kai medeia, kat aidov aidesqhte, mhterev, orniqwn erga didaskomenai Anthol. lib. i. Titus. lxx17: edit. Bosch. p. 344 Beneath her fostering wing the HEN defends Her darling offspring, while the snow descends; Throughout the winter's day unmoved defies The chilling fleeces and inclement skies; Till, vanquish'd by the cold and piercing blast, True to her charge, she perishes at last! O Fame! to hell this fowl's affection bear; Tell it to Progne and Medea there:-To mothers such as those the tale unfold, And let them blush to hear the story told!-T. G This epigram contains a happy illustration, not only of our Lord's simile, but also of his own conduct. How long had these thankless and unholy people been the objects of his tenderest cares! For more than 2000 years, they engrossed the most peculiar regards of the most beneficent Providence; and during the three years of our Lord's public ministry, his preaching and miracles had but one object and aim, the instruction and salvation of this thoughtless and disobedient people. For their sakes, he who was rich became poor, that they through his poverty might be rich:-for their sakes, he made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross! HE died, that THEY might not perish, but have everlasting life.
Thus, to save their life, he freely abandoned his own.
John Gill's Bible Commentary
Ver. 37. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem , etc.] The metropolis of Judea, the seat of the kings of Judah, yea, the city of the great king; the place of divine worship, once the holy and faithful city, the joy of the whole earth; wherefore it was strange that the following things should be said of it. The word is repeated to show our Lords affection and concern for that city, as well as to upbraid it with its name, dignity, and privileges; and designs not the building of the city, but the inhabitants of it; and these not all, but the rulers and governors of it, civil and ecclesiastical; especially the great sanhedrim, which were held in it, to whom best belong the descriptive characters of killing the prophets, and stoning them that were sent by God unto them; since it belonged to them to take cognizance of such who called themselves prophets, and to examine, and judge them, and, if false, to condemn them f1338 ; hence that saying of Christ, ( Luke 13:33) which goes before the same words, as here, it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem: and who are manifestly distinguished from their children: it being usual to call such as were the heads of the people, either in a civil or ecclesiastic sense, fathers, and their subjects and disciples, children: besides, our Lords discourse throughout the whole context is directed to the Scribes and Pharisees, the ecclesiastic guides of the people, and to whom the civil governors paid a special regard. Thou that killest the prophets ; that is, with the sword, with which the prophets in Elijahs time were slain by the children of Israel, ( 1 Kings 19:10) and which was one of the capital punishments inflicted by the Jewish sanhedrim f1339 ; and also that which follows was another of them. And stonest them which were sent unto thee ; as particularly Zechariah, the son of Jehoiada, before mentioned. The Jews themselves are obliged to own, that this character belongs to them: say they, when the word of God shall come, who is his messenger, we will honour him. Says R. Saul, did not the prophets come, wngrhw , and we killed them, and shed their blood, and how shall we receive his word? or how shall we believe?
And a celebrated writer of theirs, on those words f1341 , but now murderers, has this note; they have killed Uriah, they have killed Zechariah. How often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not! Christ here speaks as a man, and the minister of the circumcision, and expresses an human affection for the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and an human wish, and will for their temporal good; which he very aptly signifies by the hen, which is a very affectionate creature to its young, and which it endeavours to screen from danger, by covering with its wings. So the Shekinah with the Jews is called, aydq arpx , the holy bird f1342 ; and that phrase, jnykh ypnk tjt twsjl , to betake ones self, or to come to trust under the wings of the Shekinah, is often used for to become a proselyte to the true religion, and worship of God, as Jethro, and Ruth the Moabitess did.
An expression much like to this here is used by an apocryphal writer of Esdras: I gathered you together, as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings: but now, what shall I do unto you? I will cast you out from my face. (2 Esdras 1:30) It seems to be a simile much in use with that people. Our Lord is to be understood not of his divine will, as God, to gather the people of the Jews internally, by his Spirit and grace, to himself; for all those whom Christ would gather, in this sense, were gathered, notwithstanding all the opposition made by the rulers of the people; but of his human affection and will, as a man, and a minister, to gather them to him externally, by, and under the ministry of his word, to hear him preach; so as that they might be brought to a conviction of, and an assent unto him as the Messiah; which, though it might fall short of faith in him, would have been sufficient to have preserved them from temporal ruin, threatened to their city and temple, in the following verse. Instances of the human affection, and will of Christ, may be observed in ( Mark 10:21 Luke 19:41 22:42) which will of his, though not contrary to the divine will, but subordinate to it, yet not always the same with it, nor always fulfilled: whereas his divine will, or his will as God, is, always fulfilled: who hath resisted his will? this cannot be hindered, and made void; he does whatsoever he pleases: and further, that this will of Christ to gather the Jews to himself, is to be understood of his human, and not divine will, is manifest from hence, that this will was in him, and expressed by him at certain several times, by intervals; and therefore he says, how often would I have gathered, etc. whereas the divine will is one continued, invariable, and unchangeable will, is always the same, and never begins or ceases to be, and to which such an expression is inapplicable; and therefore these words do not contradict the absolute and sovereign will of God, in the distinguishing acts of it, respecting the choice of some persons, and the leaving of others. And it is to be observed, that the persons whom Christ would have gathered, are not represented as being unwilling to be gathered; but their rulers were not willing that they should, and be made proselytes to him, and come under his wings. It is not said, how often would I have gathered you, and you would not! nor, I would have gathered Jerusalem, and she would not; nor, I would have gathered thy children, and they would not; but, how often would I have gathered thy children, and ye would not! Which observation alone is sufficient to destroy the argument founded on this passage in favour of free will. Had Christ expressed his desire to have gathered the heads of the people to him, the members of the Jewish sanhedrim, the civil and ecclesiastical rulers of the Jews: or had he signified how much he wished, and earnestly sought after, and attempted to gather Jerusalem, the children, the inhabitants of it in common, and neither of them would not; it would have carried some appearance of the doctrine of free will, and have seemed to have countenanced it, and have imputed the non-gathering of them to their own will: though had it been said, they would not, instead of, ye would not, it would only have furnished out a most sad instance of the perverseness of the will of man, which often opposes his temporal, as well as his spiritual good; and would rather show it to be a slave to that which is evil, than free to that which is good; and would be a proof of this, not in a single person only, but in a body of men.
The opposition and resistance to the will of Christ were not made by the people, but by their governors. The common people seemed inclined to attend his ministry, as appears from the vast crowds, which, at different times and places, followed him; but the chief priests, and rulers, did all they could to hinder the collection of them to him, and their belief in him as the Messiah; by traducing his character, miracles, and doctrines, and by menacing the people with curses, and excommunications, making a law, that whoever confessed him should be turned out of the synagogue. So that the plain meaning of the text is the same with that of ( Matthew 23:13) and consequently is no proof of mens resisting the operations of the Spirit and grace of God; but only shows what obstructions and discouragements were thrown in the way of attendance on the external ministry of the word.
In order to set aside, and overthrow the doctrine of grace, in election, and particular redemption, and effectual calling, it should be proved that Christ, as God, would have gathered, not Jerusalem, and the inhabitants of it only, but all mankind, even such as are not eventually saved, and that in a spiritual, saving way and manner, to himself; of which there is not the least intimation in this text: and in order to establish the resistibility of the grace of God, by the perverse will of man, so as to become of no effect; it should be shown that Christ would have savingly converted persons, and they would not be converted; and that he bestowed the same grace upon them, he does bestow on others, who are converted: whereas the sum of this passage lies in these few words, that Christ, as man, out of a compassionate regard for the people of the Jews, to whom, he was sent as the minister of the circumcision, would have gathered them together under his ministry, and have instructed them in the knowledge of himself, as the Messiah; which if they had only notionally received, would have secured them, as chickens under the hen, from impending judgments, which afterwards fell upon them; but their governors, and not they, would not; that is, would not suffer them to receive him, and embrace him as the Messiah. So that from the whole it appears, that this passage of Scripture, so much talked of by the Arminians, and so often cited by them, has nothing to do with the controversy about the doctrines of election and reprobation, particular redemption, efficacious grace in conversion, and the power of mans free will. This observation alone is sufficient to destroy the argument founded on this passage, in favour of free will.
Matthew Henry Commentary
Verses 34-39 - Our Lord declares the miseries the inhabitants of Jerusalem were abou to bring upon themselves, but he does not notice the sufferings he wa to undergo. A hen gathering her chickens under her wings, is an ap emblem of the Saviour's tender love to those who trust in him, and his faithful care of them. He calls sinners to take refuge under his tende protection, keeps them safe, and nourishes them to eternal life. The present dispersion and unbelief of the Jews, and their futur conversion to Christ, were here foretold. Jerusalem and her children had a large share of guilt, and their punishment has been signal. But ere long, deserved vengeance will fall on every church which i Christian in name only. In the mean time the Saviour stands ready to receive all who come to him. There is nothing between sinners an eternal happiness, but their proud and unbelieving unwillingness __________________________________________________________________
Greek Textus Receptus
ιερουσαλημ 2419 N-PRI ιερουσαλημ 2419 N-PRI η 3588 T-NSF αποκτεινουσα 615 5723 V-PAP-NSF τους 3588 T-APM προφητας 4396 N-APM και 2532 CONJ λιθοβολουσα 3036 5723 V-PAP-NSF τους 3588 T-APM απεσταλμενους 649 5772 V-RPP-APM προς 4314 PREP αυτην 846 P-ASF ποσακις 4212 ADV ηθελησα 2309 5656 V-AAI-1S επισυναγαγειν 1996 5629 V-2AAN τα 3588 T-APN τεκνα 5043 N-APN σου 4675 P-2GS ον 3739 R-ASM τροπον 5158 N-ASM επισυναγει 1996 5719 V-PAI-3S ορνις 3733 N-NSM τα 3588 T-APN νοσσια 3556 N-APN εαυτης 1438 F-3GSF υπο 5259 PREP τας 3588 T-APF πτερυγας 4420 N-APF και 2532 CONJ ουκ 3756 PRT-N ηθελησατε 2309 5656 V-AAI-2P
Vincent's NT Word Studies
37. Hen (orniv). Generic: bird or fowl; but hen is used generically of the mother-bird of all species.
Robertson's NT Word Studies
23:37 {How often would I have gathered} (posakis eqelesa episunagein). More exactly, how often did I long to gather to myself (double compound infinitive). The same verb (episunagei) is used of the hen with the compound preposition hupokatw. Everyone has seen the hen quickly get together the chicks under her wings in the time of danger. These words naturally suggest previous visits to Jerusalem made plain by John's Gospel.
