“Jerusalem,
Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you refused! Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Luke 13:34-35
Luke 13 [32.] He said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I complete my mission. Nevertheless I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the next day, for it can’t be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem.’
Luke 13 [34.] “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings, and you refused! Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Luke 14 [1.] When he went into the house of one of the rulers of the Pharisees on a Sabbath to eat bread, they were watching him. Behold, a certain man who had dropsy was in front of him. Jesus, answering, spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”
Meaning:
Jesus has just told the Pharisees that he will continue his work until he completes his mission, because “it can’t be that a prophet perish outside of Jerusalem” (Luke 13:31-33). Thinking of the city where he is going to die, he breaks into a lament. It is one of the most tender passages in the Gospels, full of love and grief for people who refuse that love.
- “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her!”
The repeated name expresses deep emotion, like David’s cry over his son Absalom (2 Samuel 18:33). Jerusalem was the city of the temple and of God’s name, yet it had a long history of rejecting God’s messengers. When the prophet Zechariah son of Jehoiada rebuked the people, “They conspired against him, and stoned him with stones at the commandment of the king in the court of Yahweh’s house” (2 Chronicles 24:21). Jesus knows that he too will be rejected there.
- “like a hen gathers her own brood under her wings”
Jesus uses a homely and gentle picture. A hen spreads her wings over her chicks to shelter them from danger, from a storm, a predator, or fire. Throughout the Old Testament, God’s protection is described in the same way. Boaz blessed Ruth by “Yahweh, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to take refuge” (Ruth 2:12). The psalmist wrote, “He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge” (Psalm 91:4).
Here Jesus speaks as God himself does. “How often I wanted” shows a long, patient desire to save. The tragedy lies in the last words: “and you refused!” God’s love does not force itself on anyone. People can choose to stay outside its shelter.
- “Behold, your house is left to you desolate.”
“Your house” may mean the temple, the city, or the people as a whole. The words recall Jeremiah’s warning: “But if you will not hear these words, I swear by myself, says Yahweh, that this house shall become a desolation” (Jeremiah 22:5). When God’s presence is rejected, the house is left empty. In AD 70, about forty years later, the Romans destroyed Jerusalem and its temple. Jesus wept over the city as he approached it and foretold this destruction (Luke 19:41-44).
- “you will not see me, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Jesus quotes Psalm 118: “Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh’s name!” (Psalm 118:26). Pilgrims sang this psalm as they came up to the feasts. When Jesus later rode into Jerusalem, his disciples cried, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38). Yet the leaders and the city as a whole did not welcome him. The fuller meaning looks ahead to his return, when he will be openly acknowledged. The door of hope is not closed: the lament ends with a promise of a day of welcome.
Matthew places these same words in the temple during the last week of Jesus’ ministry (Matthew 23:37-39).
The Significance of Luke 13:34-35
- The heart of God
These verses reveal God’s longing to protect and save. Jesus does not threaten Jerusalem coldly; he grieves over it.
- The danger of refusal
God offers his shelter freely, but it can be refused. Every person must respond to his invitation while it is offered.
- Hope beyond judgement
Even in judgement there is a promise. Those who welcome Jesus as the one who comes in the name of the Lord will see him.
Cross-References:
Matthew 23:37: "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to her!" The same lament in Matthew.
Psalm 91:4: "He will cover you with his feathers. Under his wings you will take refuge." God’s sheltering care.
Jeremiah 22:5: "this house shall become a desolation." The prophet’s warning.
Psalm 118:26: "Blessed is he who comes in Yahweh’s name!" The psalm Jesus quotes.
Conclusion: Jesus lamented over Jerusalem, the city that killed the prophets. Like a hen sheltering her chicks, he had longed again and again to gather its people, but they refused. Their house would be left desolate, yet he pointed to a day when they would say, “Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” His words show both God’s tender love and the seriousness of rejecting it.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible