Thursday after the Tenth Sunday after Trinity Sunday
Posted on August 12, 2021 by under
Scripture: St. Matthew 23:34-39 (NKJV)
23:34 Therefore, indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35 that on you may come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between the temple and the altar. 36 Assuredly, I say to you, all these things will come upon this generation.
37 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing! 38 See! Your house is left to you desolate; 39 for I say to you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Devotion
Jesus laments, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem… How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!” Throughout Scripture, this is a familiar ache in God’s compassionate heart: He offers His grace, but it is refused by the many. For example, a portion of Isaiah 30:15 is commonly found on wall plaques: “In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.” Such a nice sentiment for the wall! Unfortunately, that is not the whole verse, and that is not the stark reality that this verse actually depicts. Here is the full verse and the full poignancy of it: “For thus says the Lord GOD, the Holy One of Israel: ‘In returning and rest you shall be saved; In quietness and confidence shall be your strength.’ But you would not.”
“But you would not.” “But you were not willing.” Whether spoken by the Lord in Isaiah or in Matthew, the sentiment is the same: He laments the woefully missed opportunities of His grace. In Matthew, Jesus says these words shortly before His death on the cross to save humanity from their sin. However, this gracious offer also is not met with universal acceptance. How sad that fact; how lamentable! Grace gives; faith receives. “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!” (2 Cor. 9:15).
Prayer: O God, Who declarest Thine Almighty power chiefly in showing mercy and pity: Mercifully grant unto us such a measure of Thy grace, that we, running the way of Thy commandments, may obtain Thy gracious promises, and be made partakers of Thy heavenly treasure; through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, our Lord, Who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost, ever One God, world without end. Amen.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
