13
May

William Hendriksen (1900-1982) on Matthew 23:37

   Posted by: CalvinandCalvinism   in Matthew 23:37

Hendriksen:

Christ’s final public address fittingly closes with a moving lament, in which are revealed both his solemn tenderness and the severity of divine judgment on all who have answered such marvelous compassion with contempt. The lamentation begins as follows: 37. Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those that are sent to her! how often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you would not!784

This outpouring of grief is addressed to “Jerusalem” because this city, being the capital, Israel’s very heart and center, symbolizes the spirit or attitude of the nation as a whole intense emotion, unfathomable pathos, finds its expression in the repetition of the word Jerusalem. Cf. “altar, altar” (I Kings 13:2), “Martha, Martha” (Luke 10:41), “Simon, Simon” (Luke 22:31), and such multiple repetitions as “O my son Absolom, my son, my son Absolom! if only I had died for you, O Absolom, my son, my son!” (II Sam. 18:33); and “Land, land, land, hear the word of the Lord” Jer. 22:29; cf. 7:4). That the nation was indeed guilty of killing and stoning God’s official ambassadors has already been established; see on 5:12. Proof for “How often would I have gathered your children to myself” is found first of all in the Gospel according to John (2: 14; 5: 14; 7: 14, 28; [8 :2] ; 10: 22, 23). Incidentally, this statement of Jesus also shows that even the Synoptics, though stressing Christ’s work in and around Galilee, do bear testimony to

the extensive labor which Jesus had performed in Jerusalem and vicinity. Bearing in mind, however, that Jerusalem represented the nation, it should be pointed out that Christ’s sympathy and yearning love had by no means been confined to the inhabitants of this city or even of Judea. It had been abundantly evident also in the northern regions. See Matt. 9:36; 11:25-30; 15:32; Luke 15; etc.

The simile Jesus uses is unforgettable. A chicken hawk suddenly appears, its wings folded, its eyes concentrated on the farmyard, its ominous claws ready to grasp a chick. Or, to change the figure, a storm is approaching. Lightning flashes become more frequent, the rumbling of the thunder grows louder and follows the electrical discharges more and more closely. Raindrops develop into a shower, the shower into a cloudburst. In either case what happens is that with an anxious and commanding “cluck, cluck, cluck!” the hen calls her chicks, conceals them under her protecting wings, and rushes off to a place of shelter. “How frequently,” says Jesus, “I have similarly yearned to gather you. But you refused to come.” Did they really think that his threats were empty, his predictions of approaching woe ridiculous?

The simile Jesus uses is unforgettable. A chicken hawk suddenly appears, its wings folded, its eyes concentrated on the farmyard, its ominous claws ready to grasp a chick. Or, to change the figure, a storm is approaching. Lightning flashes become more frequent, the rumbling of the thunder grows louder and follows the electrical discharges more and more closely. Raindrops develop into a shower, the shower into a cloudburst. In either case what happens is that with an anxious and commanding “cluck, cluck, cluck!” the hen calls her chicks, conceals them under her protecting wings, and rushes off to a place of shelter. “How frequently,” says Jesus, “I have similarly yearned to gather you. But you refused to come.” Did they really think that his threats were empty, his predictions of approaching woe ridiculous?

William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel According to Matthew, (Grand Rapids MI.: 1973), 839-840. [Footnote value and content original; Bold original; and underlining mine.]

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784In this passage apokteinousa and lithobolousa are fem. sing. present active participles; hence (the one or she) killing and stoning; apestalmenous is acc. pl. masc. perf. passive participle of apostello: those having been sent or commissioned, with the implication “by God”; ethelesa is first per. sing. aor. indic. of ethelo: (how often) did I yearn, followed by the double compound infinitive episunalaleo to gather to myself. Later in this passage the same verb occurs in connection with a bird; hence (as a hen) gathers to herself. The noun ornis (cf. “ornithology”) basically means bird, and as such can refer to either a cock or a hen. By reason of the action ascribed to it, the reference here seems to be to a hen. The noun nossia is related to neos; hence, new ones, young ones, brood. With pterux, wing, (here acc. plural pterugas) compare petomai to fly. English pinion, pen, feather, etc., are related to it. Note also how the singular “Jerusalem” finally expands into the plural ouk ethelesata.

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