“For I say unto you, Ye shall not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is he that cometh in the name of the Lord.”
Matthew 23:39 — Greek Interlinear
Church Fathers on Matthew 23:39
The Lord next turns to address the city, desiring to instruct His bearers thereby. 'O Jerusalem, Jerusalem:' this repetition of the name is a mark of compassion and intense love.
By 'Jerusalem' He means not the stones and buildings, but the dwellers there, over whom He laments with the feeling of a Father.
Foreseeing the destruction of the city, and the blow it would receive from the Romans, He called to mind the blood of the saints which had been, and should yet be, shed in it. Thou killedst Esaias who was sent unto thee, and stonedst my servant Jeremias; thou dashedst out the brains of Ezechiel by dragging him over stones; how shalt thou be saved, which wilt not suffer a physician to come nigh thee?