“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!”
My Notes
What Does Matthew 23:37 Mean?
Jesus laments over Jerusalem with some of the most emotionally raw language in the Gospels. He addresses the city directly — twice, with repetition that signals deep anguish. Jerusalem, the city that kills prophets and stones the messengers God sends.
"How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings" — the image is maternal. Jesus compares himself to a mother hen — protective, nurturing, gathering vulnerable young under the shelter of her wings. The desire is repeated: how often. Not once. Many times.
"And ye would not" — three words that carry the weight of all human tragedy. Jesus wanted to gather them. They refused. The divine desire met human resistance — and the resistance won. Not because God was too weak, but because love does not force.
The lament reveals the heart of God toward his rebellious people: not anger first, but grief. Not punishment first, but the ache of rejected love.
Reflection Questions
- 1.What does the image of a hen gathering chickens reveal about God's heart toward rebellious people?
- 2.How does 'ye would not' describe the tragedy of rejected love?
- 3.Where have you refused the gathering that God has been offering?
- 4.How does Jesus lamenting rather than condemning change your view of God's response to rejection?
Devotional
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. The repetition is not rhetorical. It is the sound of a breaking heart. Jesus looks at the city that will crucify him and does not curse it. He weeps over it.
How often would I have gathered thy children together. How often. Over and over. Through prophet after prophet. Through invitation after invitation. The desire to gather, to protect, to shelter — it was constant.
Even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings. The image is tender beyond what you expect from the Son of God. A hen. Chickens. Wings. The God of the universe comparing himself to a mother bird — desperate to cover her vulnerable young.
And ye would not. The tragedy in three words. The gathering was offered. The wings were spread. And they refused. Not could not. Would not.
Jesus' response to rejection is not cold fury. It is hot grief. The God who was rejected does not stop wanting. He grieves what could have been. He laments the gathering that was refused.
Have you been refusing the gathering? Have the wings been spread over you — the protection offered, the shelter available — and you have said no? The hen is still calling. The wings are still open.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
Behold your house is left unto you desolate. Signifying that the city in which they dwelt, where they had their ceiled…
O Jerusalem ... - See the notes at Luk 19:41-42. Would I have gathered - Would have protected and saved. Thy children -…
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37. Jerusalem, Jerusalem From Luk 13:34, it appears that our Lord spoke these words in a different…
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture