23:37 O Jerusalem, Jerusalem. When a name is repeated like this by God, the message is always urgent. See note on Acts 9:4.

23:38 desolate. This prophecy was fulfilled in grim detail when the Romans destroyed the temple in A.D. 70 and the city in A.D. 135, sending the Jewish survivors into worldwide exile for almost two thousand years.

23:39 Blessed is he. This affirmation, prophesied in Psalm 118:26, had been sung by the Jerusalem crowds when Jesus entered the city just a few days before, but they did not really understand who He was, and their enthusiasm was quickly rejected and dampened by the priests. The result was the age-long exile and suffering of the Jews. Finally, however, when Christ comes again, in power and great glory, the nation will recognize Him in deep repentance and will, indeed, say “Blessed be He that cometh in the name of the Lord.”