“As a Hen Gathers Her Chicks”
Matthew 23:37
Jesus has just returned to Jerusalem for the last time. It won’t be long before He is arrested and crucified. His sorrow for them was overwhelming and He took a moment to express His love and compassion for His people in a unique and interesting way.
Matthew 23:37 In this verse, I believe we can describe 4 qualities of the love Christ has for us.
1. IT IS A SHELTERING LOVE!
Anyone who has ever been to a farm that has chickens hanging around has seen how a hen protects her chicks. There they are in the yard pecking at the ground, catching a cricket or pulling up a juicy worm seemingly without a care in the world. Mother hen clucks occasionally and the little chicks going Chirp!Chirp!Chirp! Then, a dog gets close or the shadow of a hawk comes by and that hen clucks out an alarm and flaps and the little chicks take off toward her. She fluffs up and a dozen chicks scoot up under her. And late at night when it’s cold and windy they make it over to the nest and they all disappear under the shelter of wings where it is warm and safe. She is their shelter from a cold and dangerous world.
I remember as a little boy there was no place in the world that I felt more secure than in my mother’s arms. Certainly, I felt that my Dad was the strongest, bravest person in the world and he always took care of us, but in the middle of the night when I had a nightmare it was Momma I wanted. When I was sick or hurt she was the one who comforted me. When my feelings were hurt and needed reassurance it was Momma I went to.
Notice that as Jesus is weeping over the city it is this kind of sheltering love that He speaks of. It is a desperate kind of love. He saw the suffering of His people. Pain. Despair. Hopelessness. Loneliness. It was a world of danger, sin and death. Jesus so much wanted to share His love with them, to protect them, and to save them and He wept for them.
Things are not so different today. It is still a harsh world we live in. We go through our lives and when things get really bad we want Momma to turn to. Maybe you’re here today suffering and needing to be sheltered and loved. Maybe your Mom is no longer with you and you miss her greatly. Or maybe your Mom was never around or just didn’t seem to care. I want you to know that Jesus is here for you and He cares more than you can imagine. He wants you to crawl into His lap and let Him hold you and shelter you when you’re scared or hurting.
2. IT IS A SUFFERING LOVE!
Many Springs we had ducks that made nests and lay there eggs in our yard. They’ll make them in bushes, tall grass or just in corners of the fence. When our kids were little we had a duck that made a nest in a tuft of tall grass and laid her eggs. The kids would get excited as each day we’d walk out and check on her and feed her some bread. The day we discovered her ducklings were hatching we noticed fire ants were crawling all over her. She was covered with them and she was shivering in pain, but would not leave her ducklings. She chose to suffer intense pain rather than leave her little ones. We ended up moving her and the brood and cleaning off the ants and most of them lived. But, she would have stayed there until she was eaten alive rather than abandon her little ones.
As a pharmacist, I see all types of Mothers come into the pharmacy. When children are sick you really get to see what kind of Mother a woman really is.
Bad Mother- comes in dressed stylishly, but complaining that her kid kept her up all night...how much the doctor cost.. how much the medicine cost.. She feels inconvenienced by her child’s illness.
Good Mother- comes in with no makeup, hair is a mess, has grape popcicle juice on her right shoulder and her child’s throw-up on her left shoulder. Her child is crying to the top of his lungs and she never complains about the price because her child is worth it whatever the price. With a nurturing smile she tells him “it’ll be alright honey, we’re almost home.”
That’s the kind of love that Christ has for us! He has a Suffering Love
Isaiah 53:2-5
this is a prophetical description of how Jesus chose to suffer for us.
3. IT IS A SELF-SACRIFICING LOVE!
One type of bird that I find amazing is our country’s symbol, the Bald Eagle. The female eagle builds her nests very high away from predators and takes great care of her young. Each night she covers the little birds to keep them warm away from the cold wind. Each day, though, she goes out to search for food. Since eagles are predators, that means she must find fresh meat for them each day. She goes out looking for nourishment for them and she might bring back a fish, a rabbit, or whatever meat she can find. This usually is not a hard task for they are excellent hunters. At times, though, when game is scarce she has to struggle to find enough food to keep them alive. I read something that is interesting about eagles. If this mother eagle cannot find enough food for them, she will actually tear out pieces of her own flesh to feed them. There she sits bleeding and suffering so that her little ones can live. Can you imagine a love so deep that one would sacrifice their own flesh in order to give life to another?
Well, this is exactly what Christ did for us.
I Peter 3:18 “For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit....”
4. IT IS A SORROWFUL LOVE!
Killdeer birds- The mother killdeer will draw you away from the nest pretending to be injured. Once, while cutting grass, I couldn’t see the nest until I was on top of it. The killdeer went back and forth all day crying out a desperate sound over the destruction of her nest and eggs.
Many’s the mother who has struggled and sacrificed and suffered in raising her children. She has loved her little one deeply and has had so many hopes and dreams for her child. Often, even though she has done her very best, that child goes down the wrong path and it absolutely breaks her heart. For some it may be a child that turns to drugs or alcohol and destroys their life. For others it may be a child whose life is forever altered by improper sexual relationships.
When being disciplined or receiving instruction many youth only see the parents saying “NO”. They complain about their parents and say things like “All they do is nag me”, “My parents just don’t understand”, or “they’re so square.” They don’t ever really understand that the reason they say the things they do to them is because they love them. It is only when you’re older and have children that you really understand your own parents.
I know of many Moms and Dads that have spent many days in anguish and spent nights weeping over the bad mistakes their children have made and many parents have literally died of a broken heart for their children.
** At the funeral home you can hear them pleading..... Son, why didn’t you listen to me.....
**As the AIDS test result comes in for their daughter.. A Desperate, pleading voice.....
This is the passion we see in Jesus as He looks out over the city of Jerusalem.
Matthew 23:37 “Jerusalem, Jerusalem, who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, the way a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, yet you were unwilling.....”
2,000 years ago He showed His love to the world. Most of the people were unwilling to receive Him then. They rejected His love and suffered greatly because of their decision.
His cry stills reaches out to you today. He loves you so much and He wants to have a loving relationship with you. He wants to shelter you in His arms when you’re hurting, heal you when you’re sick and comfort you when you’re crying. Most of all, though, He wants to give you eternal life and give you hope! His greatest desire today is to share His love with you. The question is, Are you willing to receive His love today?
