Thursday, March 16 – Luke 13:22-35

In today’s reading, some Pharisees came to Jesus and warned him that Herod wanted to kill him. Jesus responded from a place of deep sadness: “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone those sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings.”

In his commentary on Luke,* N.T. Wright describes how, when animals are unable to escape a barnyard fire, they often take drastic measures to protect their young. A hen, for example, will gather her chicks under her wings to protect them from the flames, often at the cost of her own life.

Those who heard Jesus’s words knew exactly this is what he meant. Just a few moments earlier, he had made it clear he was going to Jerusalem to die.

But this was not the first time Israel’s God had been a mother hen to his people. Beginning with Abraham and Sarah, God had constantly been drawing his people under his wings (Psalm 17:8), sometimes from outside enemies, most often from themselves. In fact, when God made his covenant to Abraham and Sarah, he promised that he would keep it, no matter who broke it, even at the cost of his own life; and that’s exactly what happened on the Cross.

The English word for “worship” comes from the word “worthy.” We worship God not because he demands it but because he is worthy of it. He has earned it, over and over. God is the mother hen who loves us so much that he stretched out his wings—on the cross—to protect us from all that would keep us from him, even death! And you can trust him on this promise. He’s clearly good for it!

Questions for reflection:

  1. Think about a time when God stretched out his wings to protect you. What was that like? How did that impact your life?
  2. We know from the Bible that our journey with Jesus is a strange mixture of doubt and trust, resistance and obedience. What are the roadblocks that keep you from growing in your trust in Jesus? What steps can you take to remove those roadblocks? Who can help you in that?

Bible passages for further exploration: Psalms 17, 36, 57, Revelation 5:1-14

*N. T. Wright, Luke for Everyone (Louisville: WJK Press, 2004), 170-173.