Church Fathers Commentary Matthew 23:37-39

"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! Behold, your house is left unto you desolate. 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." — Matthew 23:37-39 (ASV)

St. John Chrysostom: The Lord next turns to address the city, desiring to instruct His listeners by this. "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem"—this repetition of the name is a sign of compassion and intense love.

St. Jerome: By "Jerusalem" He means not the stones and buildings, but its inhabitants, for whom He laments with the feeling of a Father.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Foreseeing the city's destruction and the blow it would receive from the Romans, He recalled the blood of the saints that had been—and would yet be—shed in it. You killed Isaiah who was sent to you, and stoned my servant Jeremiah; you dashed out the brains of Ezekiel by dragging him over stones. How will you be saved, you who will not allow a physician to come near you?

And He did not say, "You killed" and "you stoned," but, "You kill" and "you stone." This means it is a common and natural practice for you to kill and stone the saints. She did to the Apostles the same things she had once done to the Prophets.

St. John Chrysostom: Having addressed her and spoken of her cruel murders, He said, as if justifying Himself, How often would I have gathered your children together? This is as if to say, "Nevertheless, your murders have not alienated Me from you; instead, I would have taken you to Myself, not once or twice, but many times." He shows the strength of His affection by the comparison to a hen.

St. Augustine of Hippo: This species has the greatest affection for its young, so much so that when they are sick, the mother also sickens. You will hardly find this in any other animal: it will fight against the kite, protecting its young with its wings. In the same way, our mother, the Wisdom of God, sickened as it were in taking on the flesh. According to the Apostle, The weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1:25), she protects our weakness and resists the Devil so that he does not make us his prey. ¹

Origen of Alexandria: He calls them children of Jerusalem, just as we call each generation of citizens the sons of the preceding generation. And He says, "How often," even though it is well known that He taught the Jews in the body only once. This is because Christ was always present in Moses, in the Prophets, and in the Angels, ministering to human salvation in every generation.

Whoever has not been gathered by Him will be judged as though they had refused to be gathered.

Rabanus Maurus: Let heretics, then, cease to assign to Christ a beginning from the Virgin; let them stop preaching one God of the Law and another of the Prophets. ²

St. Augustine of Hippo: Where is that omnipotence by which He did whatever pleased Him in heaven and on earth, if He wanted to gather the children of Jerusalem and did not? Was it not that she did not want her children to be gathered by Him? And yet, He still gathered those of her children whom He willed to gather. ³

St. John Chrysostom: Then He threatens the punishment they always feared—namely, the overthrow of the city and temple—saying, Behold, your house is left unto you desolate.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: Just as the body, when the spirit departs, first becomes cold and then decays and decomposes, so also your temple, when God's Spirit has withdrawn, will first be filled with strife and anarchy, and afterward will fall to ruin.

Origen of Alexandria: In the same way, Christ speaks this threat to all who will not be gathered under His wings: Behold, your house is left unto you desolate—that is, your soul and your body. But if any one of you will not be gathered under the wings of Christ, from the very moment you refuse to be gathered (an act of the mind rather than the body), you will no longer see the beauty of the Word until, repenting of your evil purpose, you say, Blessed is He that cometh in the name of the Lord. And the word of the Lord then comes with a blessing upon a person's heart when one is turned to God.

St. Jerome: I say unto you, You shall not see Me, etc. This means that unless you repent and confess that I am the One of whom the Prophets have spoken, the Son of the Almighty Father, you will not see My face. Thus, the Jews are given a time for repentance. Let them confess Him blessed who comes in the name of the Lord, and then they will behold Christ's face.

St. John Chrysostom: Alternatively, He subtly alludes here to His second coming, when they will surely worship Him. "Henceforth" means from the time of His crucifixion.

1. Quaest. Ev., i, 36
2. non occ.
3. Euch. 97