Matthew 23:38 (Desolation: The Consequence of Rejecting God’s Messengers)

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What does Jesus say in Mat 23:38 was the result of the worldly Jerusalem’s refusal to be gathered under the Lord’s wings of refuge by giving heed to His messengers?  What does it mean to be desolate?  See Lev 26:31-33,43, Neh 2:17, Job 15:28, Isa 5:9, 6:11, and cf. Jeremiah’s similar lament in Jer 4:19-27a. …

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Matthew 23:37-38 (Gathered Together Under God’s Wings of Refuge)

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For what purpose does a hen gather her chicks together under her wings?  Cf. Ruth 2:12, Psa 17:8, 36:7, 57:1, 91:4.  From the immediate context, by what means does God seek “again and again” to gather His people together under His wings to protect them?  See Mat 23:37a, as well as Mat 23:34.  What does…

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Matthew 23:35-36 (God’s Vengeance for the Shedding of Righteous Blood)

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Consider again Jesus’ words in Mat 23:35-36 and Luk 11:49-51 that all the righteous blood shed on earth would be charged against the wicked and adulterous generation of which the scribes and Pharisees were a part.  Regarding Abel, the very first person whose righteous blood was shed, see Gen 4:10.  Regarding Zechariah the son of…

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Matthew 23:35 (Guilty of All the Righteous Blood Shed on Earth)

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Recall that in summary of the seven-plus woes He has just pronounced upon the scribes and Pharisees Jesus in Mat 23:33 asked rhetorically how they could escape the sentence of hell.  In order that they might fill up the measure of the guilt of their fathers He then stated that He would therefore send to…

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Matthew 23:34-35 (The Deceitfulness of Sin 3: Summary)

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Recall again the self-deceiving and self-destructive nature of sin that makes it so utterly sinful:  For every step a person takes in sin he must of necessity harden his heart against the very thing God has given him for his preservation.  In this way his own pride, which supposes it knows better than God what…

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Matthew 23:34-35 (The Deceitfulness of Sin 2: Humility, Pride, and God’s Sovereignty)

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Recall the self-deceiving and self-destructive nature of sin that makes it so utterly sinful:  Because sin is direct disobedience against the commands God has given for our preservation in His creation, in order to sin one must as an act of his will decide that he knows better than God what is best for himself…

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Matthew 23:34-35 (The Deceitfulness of Sin 1; The Nature of True Salvation)

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Recall God’s great mercy and love that is not willing that any should perish but for all to come to repentance—His great love that continues to send messengers even to hardened sinners on the remotest chance that they might turn from their sins and be saved.  Also recall man’s free will by which he may…

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