Willingness to Save
W. Cadman, M. A. Luke 13:34 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kill the prophets, and stone them that are sent to you… I. Now, first, observe THE MANIFESTATION OF GOD TO ISRAEL WHICH THIS VERSE BRINGS OUT BEFORE OUR VIEW. 1. We observe God's sovereignty manifested in the choice of Israel. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem." Why, we ask, should Jerusalem be singled out from all other nations of the earth? Why should the people of Israel receive God's special teaching, and be made examples of His peculiar mercies? The Bible tells us that God dealt with Israel as He did not deal with any other nation on the face of the earth — that He gave them special instruction, that He communicated unto them special advantages, that their advantages were many every way, that is, in every point of view, but chiefly, because not to the Assyrians, not to the Egyptians, not to any other remarkable nation of antiquity, but to the Jews were committed the oracles of God. We can only account for this by God's sovereignty. 2. We notice also the manifestation of God's grace in the messages which He sent to this highly favoured people — "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee." God's prophets, God's messengers, those who were specially inspired or taught by His Holy Spirit, who alone can give understanding of the counsels of God, were sent to Israel. Why? Can we trace anything in their history which made them in a special manner deserving of such a favour as this? Nothing of the kind. Their whole history is a history of God's lovingkindness and man's ingratitude. 3. Observe, again, the mercy of God's character manifested in His dealings towards them. It was not one prophet, but many, that God sent; not one messenger, but various messengers — and one after another the messengers and prophets were ill-treated. 4. I notice, further, God's love — the love of God's character in His dealings with them. For what was His revealed purpose towards the children of Israel when He sent to them the prophets, and gave them instruction as to His will? It was to gather their children together as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings! — to gather them together, to be unto them protection and safety. 5. Further, God's unchangeableness was manifested in His dealings with Israel. Observe the language of the Saviour, "How often would I have gathered thy children!" It was not one or two manifestations of God's grace which Israel had received, but many. Every repetition of His mercy is a proof of His unchangeableness. 6. And yet there is a solemn view of this subject, for the verse immediately following the text speaks of God's justice in His dealing with Israel. "Behold your house is left unto you desolate." 7. And then observe, further, God's faithfulness in the final issue of His dealings with Israel. "For I say unto you, ye shall not see Me henceforth, till ye shall say, "Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord." There are representatives of Israel after the flesh who shall occupy that favoured position. They shall receive the Saviour whom their forefathers rejected. And thus is it that God has, as it were, concentrated the rays of light which manifest His own character, in order that they may fall upon this single point — His willingness to save the sinful, the unworthy, the lost, and the undone. II. But now, to pass from this, what is the special instruction which we ourselves, to whom the oracles of God are come, may derive from what we have read and examined, concerning our Lord's willingness with reference to guilty Israel? We may learn, Christian brethren, WHAT WE HAVE TO DO WITH THE PURPOSES, WITH THE MESSAGES, AND WITH THE SALVATION OF GOD. 1. Learn what we have to do with the purposes of God. Observe, it was God's sovereign purpose, with which His creatures could not interfere, to choose Jerusalem — to choose, that is, the nation of Israel, as a nation honoured and privileged above all other nations. We may be sure of His willingness to save, because even His sovereignty is revealed so as to set forth in prominence this willingness. 2. What have we to do, then, with the messages of God? "How shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation?" 3. What, then, have we to do with God's salvation, but to regard it as set forth to us in connection with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ? Observe, He speaks in the text as One who is able to save. He claims the attributes of Deity when He says, "How often would I have gathered thy children together!" The Man Christ Jesus, in the midst of His humiliation, speaks with the authority of God. But not only is He able to save, but willing. (W. Cadman, M. A.) Parallel Verses KJV: O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not! WEB: "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!