The Tracks Of My Tears - The Tracks Of Jesus’s Tears

Sermon: The Tracks of Jesus’s Tears

Luke 19:41-42 “As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.”

Matthew 23:37-39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. And now, look, your house is abandoned and desolate. For I tell you this, you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

Introduction: Smokey Robinson in his songs Tracks of My Tears, said, People say I'm the life of the party, Because I tell a joke or two. Although I might be laughing loud and hearty, Deep inside I'm blue. So, take a good look at my face, You'll see my smile looks out of place. If you look closer, it's easy to trace The tracks of my tears.” Smokey was singing a ballad about a bad breakup and a lover who couldn’t move on because his true love was gone.

In Matthew 23, Jesus sings the blues. Jesus criticizes the scribes and Pharisees, accusing them of hypocrisy. He tells his followers that, while they are obliged to follow the teaching of the scribes and Pharisees by virtue of their authority from Moses, the scribes and Pharisees themselves do not provide good examples. The people should follow what they say but not what they do, because the scribes and Pharisees do not practice their word.

So far as the gospel of Matthew is concerned, these are the last words Jesus will speak to Jerusalem in a public setting. He has more yet to teach, and the next two chapters will contain extensive records of those words. This, however, is the point where Jesus' public ministry ends (Matthew 23:39). Prior to this, Jesus has been condemning Israel's failed religious leadership who were given the best privileges but did not profit by them.

The words of Matthew 23 are strong, cutting, and direct. Jesus is speaking to the disciples, the scribes, the pharisees, the religious leaders and to all that were to come. You can hear the bitter, mournful attitude of Christ. Looking ahead to the disaster that will come on the city, Jesus speaks with a tender and longing tone. God’s desire was to gather them, protect them and cover them. God had faithfully sent messengers to enlighten, warn and alert them for their good, but they chose to kill the messengers. Like many today, the religious leaders were angered by God’s message, and we too choose to “kill the messenger”. There seems to be an inherent need to blame others for bad or unpredictable situations. People also can't help but try to ascribe bad motives to God’s messengers or see them as incompetent, even if that makes little logical sense.

When you read Matthew 23, you find a list of several indictments against the religious leaders and seven deadly woes. Despite being the chief city of God's chosen people, Jerusalem has earned a sad legacy over the generations,

Acts 7:51-53 says. “Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Spirit: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets did not your fathers persecute? and they killed them that showed before of the coming of the Righteous One; of whom ye have now become betrayers and murderers; ye who received the law as it was ordained by angels, and kept it not.”

This city of David has become known as the city that kills prophets and stones the messengers God sends to her. That legacy will be emphasized eternally within the week as Jesus Himself will be condemned and killed in Jerusalem. Our Lord concludes this chapter with a lamentation over Jerusalem. Jesus reiterates his disappointment with the words, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem.” Jesus feels a sense of loss. Loss is an inevitable part of life, and grief is a natural part of the healing process. The reasons for grief are many, such as the loss of a loved one, the loss of health, or the letting go of a long-held dream. Dealing with a significant loss can be one of the most difficult times in a person's life. Jesus sees God’s dream for Jerusalem slipping away. Like a faithful parent weeping over a wayward child who betrayed their trust and destroyed their future. These few word shows the passionate affection of Christ towards them, and His sincere desire for their salvation.

This kind of grief is not new to us. We can hear it almost every time we listen to a news reporting of another shooting. We hear it in the voice of mothers and fathers addressing the media weeping over their children.