Luke 13:34-35 34O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often I wanted to gather your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you did not want! 35Behold, your house is forsaken to you. And I say to you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
The second type of opposition Jesus faced was from the religious leaders, especially those in Jerusalem. The reference to killing the prophets could be a reflection back on the difficult days Jeremiah faced just before the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 587 BC. History would soon be repeated with the city killing Jesus and then soon facing destruction by the Romans in AD 70. The leaders that ran the establishment in Jerusalem wanted to preserve their power and position. The way the leaders responded to God’s prophets represented the ways of the majority of people.
Jerusalem was not a huge city in today’s terms, but it probably had up to thirty thousand people in its vicinity. It was the seat of religious and political power for the Jews, though the Romans had other places of power and administration such as Caesarea. Why did the Sanhedrin and religious elite reject Jesus? That is one of the questions that drives the narrative for the next ten chapters. They had heard the message and some had even witnessed the miracles, but their hearts were hardened to what God was doing in their midst. Luke probably wrote his account after the martyrdom of Stephen in Acts 7 and possibly the death of James in Acts 12.
The illustration of a mother hen protecting her children is common in the Bible (Deuteronomy 32:11; Ruth 2:12; Psalms 17:8; 36:7). The divine response to Jerusalem represented in the person of Jesus would have been much different throughout history if the people would have believed the prophets sent there. Unlike Nineveh, which repented when the prophet Jonah went to it, Jerusalem did not repent, in the past history found in the Old Testament or in Jesus’ day. God’s protection and peace is available for those who willingly accept his message
Verse 35 gives another sad pronouncement in response to the refusal of the Jews to accept their Messiah. To have their house forsaken (aphietai). The word used here can mean to leave, depart, and let something go its own way. God withdrew his presence from the temple in the Old Testament and would withdraw again in the New Testament. There was nothing special about the temple or Jerusalem. It was only God’s grace and presence that made these special places. The last part of this verse could be taken in two ways in reference to time. It could refer to when Jesus would soon enter Jerusalem in what is traditionally called the triumphal entry on Palm Sunday. The quote from Pslam 118:26 was also pronounced when Jesus entered Jerusalem on that day (19:38). The second option is more eschatological in reference to Jesus’ second coming. At that time, the whole early will recognize the person, power, and presence of Jesus as Lord.
It was sad that many Jews rejected their Messiah. Jesus preached a clear message of repentance. People like the Pharisees, scribes, lawyers, and Sadducees represented the hypocritical and hardened hearts of many people. People of all ages have turned their back on the good news and as a result, have suffered the emptiness of not having God’s presence with them. Jesus’ warning that those who reject his light will face judgment and hell should be taken with the utmost seriousness. But we do not need to enter the kingdom out of fear of punishment but out of faith in the hope of the new life it provides. However, fear of God and acknowledgment of our need for his grace and forgiveness is the place we begin.
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