In
the reading we heard from Luke 19:41-44a few minutes ago, Jesus wept. Does
that surprise you? After all, Jesus and God are one in the same. Well, it’s not
really a surprise because Jesus was also human, so he had human needs and
emotions, including sorrow. This was not the first time he wept. He wept
shortly before he raised his friend Lazarus from the dead.
In
this passage from Luke, we heard how Jesus wept over the future of Jerusalem
and the Jewish people. Jesus also wept because He knew the real tragedy of the
moment. He had just entered Jerusalem in triumph. He knew this moment of glory
would not last. He knew that the joyous reaction of the crowds was superficial
and would not last. He knew that the city would be destroyed, and indeed it was
destroyed by the Romans in 70 AD. Jerusalem’s destruction was God’s judgment
for their failure to recognize Jesus as the Messiah.
The
rejection of Jesus by the Jews was predicted in the Old Testament, but Jesus
was still saddened by their rejection. This likely reflected God’s heart as he
thought about how the Jews rejected His prophets. Jesus was also thinking about
His Second Coming and the coming of the kingdom. The things that make for peace
were the things that would lead the Jews to salvation. Because they did not
realize that Jesus was the long-promised Messiah, they did not realize the way
to salvation.
Ironically,
Jerusalem means “City of Peace.” Jesus wept because of the great privileges
that were being abused. He wept because of the great possibilities that were
rejected. He also wept because of the great punishment he knew was coming on
the city and the people. Jerusalem had abandoned its faith, rejected the
Messiah, and would be laid to waste with terrible judgment. This was their day
opportunity. Jesus made himself available to them, but they nailed Him to the
cross.
From
the time of David onward, Jerusalem was the centre of Israel and of her
religion. But as Jesus looked at it, the temple was no longer a place of glory,
holiness, and wonder but a picture of the terrible decay in the Jewish
religious system.
Jerusalem
represents all of our hometowns. Have you ever wept or shown concern for your
own hometowns? We could weep for our neighbours who don’s know how to have the
peace of Christ. They don’t know the cure for the loneliness that results in
destructive patterns. If we knew the heartbreak in our hometowns, we would weep
too. Every city and town can be blessed with Jesus’ presence, but the leaders
must invite Jesus into the city or town before God’s peace can be experienced.
In
some ways, we are like the Jews. Do we realize it when God does somethings
special in our midst? How many people in the world today know God, even though
God created the world around us? How many people know God even though the Bible
reveals His plan for our lives?
Bibliography
1.
Jeremiah,
David: The Jeremiah Study Bible, New King James Version (Brentwood, TN: Worthy
Publishing; 2013; p. 1494)
2.
ESV Study
Bible. Part of Wordsearch 11 Bible software package.
3.
Larsen, B.
& Ogilvie, L.J.: The Preacher’s
Commentary Series, Vol. 26: Luke (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Inc.; 1983;
pp. 290-294)
4.
MacArthur,
J.F. Jr.: The MacArthur Study Bible, New
American Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers; 2006)
5.
Stanley, C.F:
The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles
Bible, New King James Version (Nashville, TN; Nelson Bibles; 2005)
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