After the Lord had been tested and examined and after He had rebuked the scribes and Pharisees, He forsook Jerusalem with its temple. In 23:37-39 the Lord spoke a final word to Jerusalem. After this word, the Lord had nothing more to do with her.
Verse 37 says, “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her!” Jerusalem and her children were chosen by God to fulfill His purpose. However, when God sent His prophets to them, they killed them.
Verse 37 also says, “How often I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her young under her wings, and you would not!” It has always been God Himself who cared for Jerusalem, like a bird fluttering over her young (Isa. 31:5; Deut. 32:11-12). Hence, when the Lord Jesus said, “I desired to gather your children together as a hen gathers her young under her wings,” He indicated that He was God Himself. The Lord is like a loving bird, fluttering, brooding, over her young. Often He desired to gather the children of Jerusalem together, but they were not willing. As the Lord Jesus was declaring this final word to them, He was still like a loving hen, stretching out His wings to brood over the little ones. But they were not willing to be gathered under His wings.
In verse 38 the Lord said, “Behold, your house is left to you desolate.” Since “house” here is singular, it must denote the house of God, which was the temple (21:12-13). It was the house of God, but now it is called “your house,” because they had made it a den of robbers (21:13). The prophecy about the house becoming desolate corresponds with that in 24:2, which was fulfilled when Titus destroyed Jerusalem with the Roman army in A.D. 70.
According to the context of the whole Bible, the house here refers to the temple, the unique house, the house of God. But at this point the house of God had become “your house”; it was no longer the house of God, but the den of robbers. When the Lord was cleansing the temple, He said, “My house shall be called a house of prayer, but you are making it a den of robbers” (21:13).
In ancient times, according to the book of Ezekiel, God left His temple. The same thing was happening here. In chapter ten Ezekiel saw in a vision the glory of God leaving the temple. Thus, the temple was left desolate for the rebellious Jews, and eventually it was burned and destroyed. Here in Matthew 23 the Lord was once again about to leave the house desolate. Not too long afterwards, the temple was destroyed by the Roman army under Titus. Thus 23:38 corresponds to 24:2, which indicates that not one stone was to be left upon another. Both of these verses refer to the desolation of the temple in Jerusalem. At the time the temple was destroyed, it was no longer the house of God; rather, it had become the house of rebels.
Verse 39 says, “For I say to you, You shall by no means see Me henceforth until you say, Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.” This will be at the Lord’s second coming, when all the remnant of Israel will turn to believe in Him and be saved (Rom. 11:23, 26). Ezekiel saw the glory leaving the temple. This glory typified the Lord Jesus, who is the real glory, the manifestation of God. Israel will not see Him again until His second coming. According to Zechariah 12, the remnant of Israel will repent when the Lord comes again. Then they will say to Him, “Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord.”
The Lord’s word here is brief, but it includes a number of things from the destruction of Jerusalem until the Lord’s second coming. Here the Lord made a clear declaration that He, the very glory of God, was leaving the nation of Israel and that they would not see Him until His coming again. Nearly two thousand years have passed since that time, and Israel still has not seen the Lord Jesus. Some may ask, “Does this mean that the Jews have no opportunity to believe in the Lord Jesus?” As individuals, the Jews still have the opportunity to believe, but as a nation they do not have this opportunity today. As a nation, Israel is through with the Lord. Thank the Lord that He is still merciful to the Jews. Even though He has left the nation of Israel, the back door is still open for individual Jews to come to Him. Today no Jew has the position to come to God as a representative of his nation. But when the Jews are persecuted by their enemies at the end of this age, they will cry out to their God. Then Christ will descend and place His feet on the Mount of Olives, which will be cleft like the waters of the Red Sea. This will enable the Jews to escape from persecution. At that time they will repent to the Lord and call upon Him, and the nation will be saved. This salvation will be not only for individuals, but for the entire nation. However, before the Lord’s coming back, it is impossible for the nation of Israel to repent. But, as we have pointed out, individual Jews can still repent today and come into God’s grace.