Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
In our previous time together we discussed the Triumphal Entry...
We saw how Jesus was approaching Jerusalem along with a crowd singing His praise...
A parade that all of a sudden came to a stop.
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Do you suppose it could have been a little like rush hour traffic on the big city expressway?
One car stops, then all the other cars stop, like a chain reaction.
I can just hear the people way back in the crowd that day saying,
“What’s the holdup?
What is going on?
Why don’t you guys move on?”
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But the people who were closest to Jesus could see...
And they realized that it was He who had stopped the parade.
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Then they saw His body begin to shake.
Maybe at first they thought He was laughing.
Laughter would seem to be natural, for everybody else was laughing, and joy prevailed.
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But then they saw His face, and they saw no evidence of laughter.
Rather, they saw sorrow & tears.
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He was not laughing.
He was crying...
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Why was Jesus crying?...
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You see, Beloved, as He looked at the city of Jerusalem.
He saw the mixture of faces and the masses of humanity crowding there...
And He saw the emptiness of their lives.
Many of the people had not truly heard or understood the message of peace He brought.
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They did not understand the purpose of His coming was to save us from the power of sin and death...
They did not understand that their rejection of Him would lead to them experiencing the full wrath of God...
And their fatal flaw would cause our Lord and Savior to shed a flood of tears.
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So, please turn your Bibles to the Gospel of Luke.
We will conduct our study in Chapter 19 and focus on verses 41 through 44.
Our message this morning is titled “Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem.”
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As you are turning to our passage today, please keep in mind this fact:
God is good and just to punish sinners...
As a good judge and a good God He must punish sinners who refuse to repent...
Those who reject Him will experience His wrath...
That is a matter of fact.
However, God does not desire anyone to come under judgment...
In fact, He weeps for the punishment of His enemies...
And our passage today shows both God’s coming wrath and the tears God sheds for even those under His judgement.
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So, this morning we will cover three main points:
1) The Weeping of God
2) The Judgement of God
And...
3) The Wrath of God
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Heavenly Father...
You are a good and just God...
You are a loving and merciful God...
You perfectly display justice and grace like no other...
As Your children, we thank You that You have given us grace.
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Help us have hearts like Your heart that weeps for those who are lost...
Help us to love our enemies and to always remember to pray for them...
Help us to lead others to a saving knowledge of You...
As Your ambassadors, we what to faithfully serve You.
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Thank You for not giving us, Your followers, what we deserve...
Thank You for loving us when we where unlovable...
Thank You for being patient with us...
As Your elect, we know that we are not saved by our own merit but by Your mercy and grace.
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And it is in Jesus’ name we pray all these things...
Amen.
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,
42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side
44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) The Weeping of God
1) The Weeping of God
Verse 41: And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it,
Let’s start with a little context, Beloved...
As we already mentioned, what takes place right before our passage for today is the Triumphal Entry...
So, let’s take a look at that event which was recorded in Luke 19:28-40 and says:
28 And when he had said these things, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.
29 When he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount that is called Olivet, he sent two of the disciples,
30 saying, “Go into the village in front of you, where on entering you will find a colt tied, on which no one has ever yet sat. Untie it and bring it here.
31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ you shall say this: ‘The Lord has need of it.’ ”
32 So those who were sent went away and found it just as he had told them.
33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 And they said, “The Lord has need of it.”
35 And they brought it to Jesus, and throwing their cloaks on the colt, they set Jesus on it.
36 And as he rode along, they spread their cloaks on the road.
37 As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen,
38 saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.”
40 He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”
So, the timing of the lament by Jesus from our main message may seem surprising with the Triumphal Entry taking place right before it...
However, this lament reveals that Jesus knew the true superficiality of the peoples’ hearts...
His mood was anything but giddy as He rode into the city...
You see, Beloved, the same crowd that cheered Him on during the Triumphal Entry would soon cry for His death in Luke 23:21, which says:
21 but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”
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The heartbreaking reality is that the religious elite and their followers failed to understand Jesus message...
And their hardness of heart has lead to the truth being hidden from them...
That is part of their judgment...
And this causes Jesus to speak just like the prophets of the Old Testament...
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For example, Jeremiah 9:1 comes to mind, which says:
1 Oh that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people!
Likewise, we are reminded of the words recorded in Isaiah 22:4, which says:
4 Therefore I said: “Look away from me; let me weep bitter tears; do not labor to comfort me concerning the destruction of the daughter of my people.”
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So, Jesus accurately predicts the nation’s judgment for their failure to see the time of visitation...
And this is not the first time He says this will be Jerusalem’s fate...
Just take a look at what our Lord said in Mark 13:1–2, which says:
1 And as he came out of the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher, what wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”
2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”
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Beloved, Jerusalem will be totally besieged and destroyed...
And it totally breaks Jesus heart...
As the Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on Luke says:
“Luke notes that Jesus drew near to Jerusalem.
The drama of the slow approach signals the importance of the coming events.
Upon seeing the city, Jesus weeps.
These are the tears of one who knows that the people have already turned their backs on God’s messenger.
Much like a parent watching a child make a foolish decision, Jesus mourns a city sealing its fate.
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Jesus is not indifferent toward the nation.
The term for tears (klaiō) is strong, referring to full sobbing or wailing.”
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So, we are not talking about Jesus’s eyes watering a bit...
We are not talking about a few tears that run down His check...
We are talking about full blown sobbing and wailing!
In fact, The MacArthur New Testament Commentary on Luke puts it this way:
“The word translated wept is the strongest word in the Greek language for weeping.
It denotes Jesus’ agonized sobbing over their superficiality, hypocrisy, shallowness, and rejection of Him—and the inevitable divine wrath that would follow.”
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Beloved, just look with me at Jesus words in Matthew 23:37, which says:
37 “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 were not willing!
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Beloved, doe you see how our Lord’s heart broke for those under judgement...
Likewise our heart should break for the lost...
Just like our Lord and Savior...
For this it the proper attitude of the followers of Christ.
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In fact, we see this with the apostles...
Paul says this in Romans 9:1–3:
1 I am speaking the truth in Christ—I am not lying; my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit—
2 that I have great sorrow and unceasing anguish in my heart.
3 For I could wish that I myself were accursed and cut off from Christ for the sake of my brothers, my kinsmen according to the flesh.
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Beloved, can you say the same?
If it were possible, would you be willing to give up your place in eternity for your lost family and friends?
Does the reality that many of the people we dearly love will be separated from us for all eternity because they refused to genuinely repent and believe?
Let that reality fuel your passion to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with those who are blind to the truth!
Beloved, don’t just sit on God’s truth!
We need to share the Gospel urgently!
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Those who reject God have hardened their hearts to Him...
And there may even come a time...
If one continues in rebellion...
When God will further harden their hearts as a form of judgement...
Hiding the truth from them...
As He did with the Jews that rejected Him during His earthly ministry...
And that takes us to our next point.
2) The Judgement of God
2) The Judgement of God
Verse 42: Saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.
Let’s start this next section by defining a few key words...
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The phrase “this day” refers not to that actual 24 hour day, but to the entire time of Jesus’s presence among the Israelites.
During Jesus’s earthly ministry, the Jews saw miracle after miracle that proved Jesus was the Messiah...
Prophecy after prophecy was fulfilled...
And Jesus’s sinless character and flawless teaching should have been enough...
But the Jews as a whole rejected their Messiah.
As John 1:10-11 says:
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him.
11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
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In fact, it will be the Jews who call for Jesus’s death...
As Acts 3:13 says:
13 The God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the God of our fathers, glorified his servant Jesus, whom you delivered over and denied in the presence of Pilate, when he had decided to release him.
Likewise, take a look at what Acts 2:36 states:
36 Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.”
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Next, the “peace” of which the Lord spoke was not political peace with enemies, or social peace in Israel...
This is what the people wanted...
But it was not what they needed...
The peace that Jesus brings was far greater and eternal...
He brought peace with God...
And the things that make for that peace are repentance, faith in Christ, and believing the message of salvation that He had preached throughout His ministry...
Unfortunately, the religious elite and many of the the Jewish people did not see the need for repentance of saving...
The religious leader of the day failed to warn the people of the dangers of sin...
As Luke 11:52 says:
52 Woe to you lawyers! For you have taken away the key of knowledge. You did not enter yourselves, and you hindered those who were entering.”
So, the religious elite and their followers believed their physical relation to Abraham was enough...
But Jesus was not looking for physical decedents...
He was looking for those who where true spiritual decedents of Abraham.
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Jesus then says that the truth would be “hidden” from their eyes.
As we have mentioned, willful human blindness would become judicial divine blindness.
The longer one lived in rebellion against God, the greater the chance God will further harden a person’s heart to the point that they become completely blind to the truth...
Unfortunately, this is what happened to many of the Jews of Jesus’s day.
This brings to mind the words of Isaiah 6:9–10, which says:
9 And he said, “Go, and say to this people: “ ‘Keep on hearing, but do not understand; keep on seeing, but do not perceive.’
10 Make the heart of this people dull, and their ears heavy, and blind their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their hearts, and turn and be healed.”
We find this truth in the New Testament as well when we look at passages like Mark 4:12, which says:
12 so that “ ‘they may indeed see but not perceive, and may indeed hear but not understand, lest they should turn and be forgiven.’ ”
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So, the opportunity to repent has come and gone...
And like the prophets of old, Jesus finds no joy in rebuking sin and declaring its dire consequences.
The Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament on Luke says it this way:
“The lament over Jerusalem shows Jesus’ pain at Israel’s failure to respond with faith.
In Luke 19:41–44, Jesus sounds like Jeremiah lamenting the coming exile or Isaiah declaring the impending fall of Jerusalem.
Jesus’ lament over Jerusalem shows that the consequence of rejecting God’s messenger is national judgment.
When God sues for peace and his terms are rejected, only judgment remains.
Jesus predicts the nation’s collapse as tragic fact.
The fig tree of Luke 13:6–9 had its chance to bear fruit and it did not, so it was cut down (at least temporarily).
The door of opportunity for the nation is closed.
The house is desolate until it recognizes the one who comes in the name of the Lord.”
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Hear is the tragic part about God’s wrath...
Some people are so blind...
That by the time they realize that God’s Wrath is upon them...
It is too late!
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Noah warned the people for years and years regarding the flood...
But they ignored him...
Then...
One day...
It started to rain...
And rain hard...
And the people finally saw that Noah was right in his warning...
But it was too late...
Once God’s Wrath hits...
It’s over!
As Luke 13:25 says:
25 When once the master of the house has risen and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and to knock at the door, saying, ‘Lord, open to us,’ then he will answer you, ‘I do not know where you come from.’
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God gives us opportunity after opportunity to repent...
And in the cases where one does repent and believe after they experience God’s amazing grace...
It really is a wonderful story!
God’s grace is a truly a beautiful thing, Beloved.
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However, nothing is worse than His wrath...
And that takes us to our third and final point.
3) The Wrath of God
3) The Wrath of God
Verses 43-44: For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Beloved, remember that parable Jesus shared with us that we covered a few weeks ago about the king, the faithful and unfaithful servants, and his enemies...
This ties into our passage today as well...
So, let’s take a look at that passage which can be found in Luke 19:11-27 and says:
11 As they heard these things, he proceeded to tell a parable, because he was near to Jerusalem, and because they supposed that the kingdom of God was to appear immediately.
12 He said therefore, “A nobleman went into a far country to receive for himself a kingdom and then return.
13 Calling ten of his servants, he gave them ten minas, and said to them, ‘Engage in business until I come.’
14 But his citizens hated him and sent a delegation after him, saying, ‘We do not want this man to reign over us.’
15 When he returned, having received the kingdom, he ordered these servants to whom he had given the money to be called to him, that he might know what they had gained by doing business.
16 The first came before him, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made ten minas more.’
17 And he said to him, ‘Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities.’
18 And the second came, saying, ‘Lord, your mina has made five minas.’
19 And he said to him, ‘And you are to be over five cities.’
20 Then another came, saying, ‘Lord, here is your mina, which I kept laid away in a handkerchief;
21 for I was afraid of you, because you are a severe man. You take what you did not deposit, and reap what you did not sow.’
22 He said to him, ‘I will condemn you with your own words, you wicked servant! You knew that I was a severe man, taking what I did not deposit and reaping what I did not sow?
23 Why then did you not put my money in the bank, and at my coming I might have collected it with interest?’
24 And he said to those who stood by, ‘Take the mina from him, and give it to the one who has the ten minas.’
25 And they said to him, ‘Lord, he has ten minas!’
26 ‘I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away.
27 But as for these enemies of mine, who did not want me to reign over them, bring them here and slaughter them before me.’ ”
Beloved, do you see that final line in the parable...
Those who refused to be ruled by the king where slaughtered!
And with our passage...
We will see how this parable became a reality for those who reject Jesus and refuse to have Him reign over them.
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Now, from the get go, this final section is clearly about judgement...
You see, the phrase the “days will come upon you” is an Old Testament expression of coming judgment...
And we quickly learn that the visitation of Jesus for salvation for the chosen people has become a visitation of judgment...
And Jesus paints a very detailed picture of that judgement.
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You see, Beloved, the description of one stone not being on another pictures the city of Jerusalem being leveled.
In a sense, those stones lying in the rubble would be the ones that cried out in judgment on the unbelieving nation.
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So, the defeat is total.
Nothing stands, Beloved.
This is a complete slaughter and massacre!
About 40 years after Jesus was rejected by His own, Rome’s army came to Jerusalem and left the city for dead.
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Beloved, Jesus’s words are precisely the method used by Titus when he laid siege to Jerusalem in 70 AD.
He surrounded the city on April 9, cutting off all supplies, and trapping thousands of people who had been in Jerusalem for the Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread which had just completed.
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Then the Romans systematically built embankments around the city, gradually starving the city’s inhabitants.
The Romans held the city in this manner through the summer, defeating various sections of the city one by one.
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The final overthrow of the city occurred in early September...
And the Romans utterly demolished the city, temple, residences, and people.
Men, women, and children were brutally slaughtered by the tens of thousands.
In fact, the wording in our passage brings to mind the shocking words of Psalm 137:9, which says:
9 Blessed shall he be who takes your little ones and dashes them against the rock!
It was a blood bath and that is no exaggeration...
Even the few survivors that were left were carried off to become victims of the Roman circus games and gladiatorial bouts.
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Jerusalem’s utter destruction was divine judgment for their failure to recognize and embrace their Messiah when He visited them.
So, this was God’s judgement on those who refused to have Him as king...
And this is nothing in comparison to the eternal suffering for those who end up in hell...
That is why we need to warn this world of the danger they are in!
As Isaiah 57:21 says:
21 There is no peace,” says my God, “for the wicked.”
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Likewise, as New Testament scholar Darrell L. Bock says:
“The rejection is of catastrophic importance, and it causes Jesus to weep over the fate of the city he loves.
In Luke 13:34–35, Jesus, speaking for God, said he longed to gather the nation’s capital under his wing, a picture of care and protection.
Instead, the nation chose to go it alone.
In light of this choice, the nation will suffer total defeat.
The price for missing the Messiah’s visitation is the dark visit of another potentate from Rome.
The destruction will be total.
Ironically, the nation’s charge against Jesus is that he is a political threat to Rome.
His opponents argue that if Jesus is allowed to run his course he will be perceived as a physical threat and Rome might overrun the nation.
But defeat comes, in spite of Jesus.
It comes because of their rejection of him.
Here is Luke’s ultimate apologetic to those Jews who question the role that the church gives to Jesus.
Those who bring Rome to bear on Jerusalem are those who charge Jesus with being a threat to the nation.
Jesus is not the enemy, but because of his rejection the enemy can come.
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The reader is to realize that history was never the same because of the nation’s tragic failure to accept its day of visitation.
In fact, the rejection was fatal for those who shared in it.
It costs to reject Jesus.”
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Beloved, it truly does cost to reject Jesus...
So, be bold...
Be courageous...
And share the Gospel message with those who are in danger of eternal suffering.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
So, as this message comes to a close...
I would like you to consider this:
A woman went to her pastor and said,
“I’ve been a Christian for 20 years.
I’ve read books on how to win souls.
I’ve memorized Scripture.
I’ve taken courses on how to win the lost.
And yet I haven’t won one person to the Lord.
Why?”
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The pastor’s answer surprised her.
He said, “It is because your eyes are dry.”
Then he went on to explain:
“You have failed not for want of knowledge, but for lack of love.
When you really love someone’s soul, you will care enough to weep for them.”
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Well, that lady went home to read the Bible and pray with a broken heart.
As she prayed, her heart became strangely warmed.
Her unbelieving sister came to her mind.
She got up from her knees to find her sister and admitted in love,
“More than anything in this world I want you to become a Christian.”
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That very night her sister come to know Christ.
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May we all become more zealous to share with other what Jesus Christ did for us...
He came into our world...
And He lived a perfect life...
And He voluntarily gave His life so that those who trust in Him may live.
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And it is now about Christ’s sacrifice that we bring our attention to.
Communion
Communion
As we begin our communion service, I want to invite every genuinely born-again believer in the room to partake in this act together.
If you do not yet know the Lord and do not have a relationship with Him...
Or if you are under church discipline from this church or another church...
Then I will ask that you wait until you have resolved your issue before participating.
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As you came in, you should have picked up a communion packet if you are joining us.
This has both the bread and the juice in a convenient package.
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If you have not received one of these, please raise your hand, and someone will get you one.
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Before we join in communion together, I would like us to consider John 19:30, which says:
30 When Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
As found in the Ligonier Ministries article titled, “Redemption Accomplished,” which says:
“Crucifixion prolonged the process of death by slowly asphyxiating the victim.
But since people were crucified outdoors, their bodies exposed to the elements, crucifixion also caused suffering in addition to the difficulty with breathing.
Doubtless we all understand that the crucified person suffered tremendous physical pain from the nails and from hanging on a cross, but crucified victims also endured great thirst.
Hanging on the cross in the heat of ancient Palestine exposed one to dehydration.
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Thus, we are not surprised that Jesus cried out in thirst after hanging on His cross for some time.
Although thirst was a normal part of crucifixion, Jesus’ thirst had additional significance.
He cried out not only because He was truly thirsty but because this thirst was a fulfillment of the Scriptures.
Which Old Testament passage prophesies the great thirst of the Messiah?
Some scholars have suggested that John refers to Psalm 22:15, where David speaks of his tongue sticking to his jaws.
That is a plausible suggestion, especially since Psalm 22 has already been quoted in the immediate context, and since two of the Gospels tell us that Jesus Himself spoke words from the psalm while He was dying.
But perhaps a better case can be made for a reference to Psalm 69:21, wherein David describes his thirst and notes that he receives sour wine, just as Jesus was offered sour wine.
If so, then it is worth noting that Psalm 69 is a cry to God for rescue, and it concludes with David’s confidence that the Lord will rescue him and give His people dominion over the land.
David himself was rescued many times by the Lord and had a great kingdom, but Jesus was finally rescued—through His resurrection—from death itself and sits at God’s right hand as ruler of all creation, with His people destined to reign with Him.
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After receiving the sour wine, Jesus announced, ‘It is finished,’ and surrendered His spirit to death.
This is consonant with our Lord’s statement earlier in John’s gospel that He would lay down His life and that no one would take from Him against His will.
After all, Jesus did not surrender His spirit to death until He had determined that His work was finished.
Also, in declaring that His work was finished, Jesus indicated that nothing more has to be done for our salvation.
He has fully paid for our sin, and there is nothing we need to or can add to His work on our behalf.”
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So, Beloved...
Let’s all take a moment right now in silent prayer to thank the Lord for all He did for us...
(MOMENT OF SILENCE)
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Tom, will you pray before we partake in the bread:
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The Word of God says in Luke 22:19:
19 And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”
(TAKE THE BREAD)
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Adrian, will you pray before we partake in the cup:
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The Word of God says in Luke 22:20:
20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.
(TAKE THE CUP)
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With that, we conclude the communion portion of our service.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer
Let’s pray...
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Heavenly Father...
If anyone hearing this message right now does not know You in a saving way:
Then shatter any obstacles in the way and show them Your saving truth.
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I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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For those hearing this message who already know You:
Remind us that at one time we also where lost and needed to hear the life saving message of the Gospel.
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Again, I appeal to Your Name’s sake!
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It is in Jesus’ name we pray all these things...
To God be all the glory.
Amen.
