The Heart of a Prophet

Matthew 23:37-39

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'

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After flawlessly answering the well-designed questions and attacks of the religious leaders, Jesus turns the tables and lets loose one of the most scathing critiques of the scribes and Pharisees ever uttered in his teaching. He blasts their hypocrisy, their pride, their futility, their false logic, their poor priorities, their insincerity, their hidden uncleanness, and concludes by making them complicit in all the murders of the prophets sent from God. The blood of every martyr was called down upon their heads. This is Jesus the prophet.

Based on what I know about the Old Testament prophets, here are a couple of parallels I see between this passage and the classical prophecies that came before:

1. The Emotions of God. The earmark of a true prophet is that he feels and communicates the heartbeat of God Himself. He is a living, breathing channel for the words of God. And, in the cases of Hosea and Ezekiel, he communicates God's message through actions as well as words. The point is, that God feels very strongly concerning the rebellion and heart-break of human sin, and even more strongly concerning the people who perpetuate that sin when they should be living to correct it - in this case, the hypocrisy and duplicity of the scribes and Pharisees.

2. The Justice of God. Another common thread in classical prophecy is God's desire for justice. Whether it's the rolling stream of justice described by Amos, or the true fasting of justice described by Isaiah, this theme presents the motivating vision behind the prophets' words. God will not tolerate the destructive and oppressive consequences of human sinfulness. Rather: "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" (Micah 6:8)

3. The Mercy of God. People often fail to see the mercy that is inherent to the harsh statements of the prophets (and of Jesus). We hear Jesus saying "Woe to you" and "Blind guides!" and "Hypocrites!" and we naturally cringe, wondering where is the gentle shepherd who we know from most paintings of Jesus. Well, in reality, these apparently judgmental statements communicate a message of mercy. Just the fact that God sent warnings, rather than cutting straight to annihilation, is evidence that we have received abundant mercy. Jesus' threatens the Pharisees with the fire of hell, but he does not send them to hell right then and there!

There is an implicit and explicit offer of forgiveness and new life, if they would hear the warning and turn from the injustice and hypocrisy. This is why almost all of the classical prophets (and this chapter in Matt. 23) conclude with a brief message of hope, a window into the heartbreak of God. Hosea revealed the heart of a father longing for his wayward son (11:1-9); Jonah revealed the heart of a king saddened by the hedonism of a pagan city (4:10-11); Zephaniah wraps up his fire and brimstone with a glance at the future, where God will rejoice and sing over the ones that he loves (3:17). Jesus is no different. He reveals here the heart of a mother desiring to gather her children to her bosom, but being rejected. And sadly, though the prophets offered hope in the midst of injustice, they were almost always rejected, beaten, and killed.

It would be no different for Jesus. Except, that his death would not be the end of the story.