Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 23:37

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that killeth the prophets, and stoneth them that are sent unto her! how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" — Matthew 23:37 (ASV)

What a picture of pity and disappointed love the King’s face must have presented when, with flowing tears, He uttered these words! What an exquisite emblem He gave of the way in which He had sought to woo the Jews to Himself, How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings. What familiar tenderness! What a warm Elysium of rest! What nourishment for the feeble! What protection for the weak! Yet it was all provided in vain, How often would I have gathered thy children together...and ye would not!

Oh, the awful perversity of man’s rebellious will! Let all the readers of these lines beware lest the King should ever have to utter such a lament as this over them.