The Tragedy Of Lost Opportunity

LUKE 19:28-44 “THE TRAGEDY OF LOST OPPORTUNITY”

A) From all outward appearances, Palm Sunday was a triumph!

* Christ was riding into the city like a King ... The crowds were praising God and honoring Jesus!

* Then, at the top of the hill, Jesus stopped ... He looked down and saw spreading before Him, the

city of Jerusalem. * And while the crowds were singing, Jesus was weeping!

B) Palm Sunday was not a triumph, it was a tragedy!

* For Jesus was saying to the citizens of that favored city, “If you had known, at least in this your

day, the things which belong to your peace! But now they are hid from your eyes.”

* Now you see why I say it was a tragedy ... The tragedy of lost opportunity!

* There are a few things I see here in these verses of Scripture .......

(1) JESUS DOES NOT SEE THINGS THE WAY WE SEE THEM!

A) The disciples admired the temple, and pointed out it’s magnificent stones .......

* But Jesus called it a den of thieves! * The pious religious crowd pointed to the sinners that

followed Jesus and called them ugly names!

* But Jesus said they were only sick people needing a physician, and sheep needing a shepherd!

* And on Palm Sunday, the disciples pointed to Jerusalem, and proudly rejoiced in it’s great

heritage and beauty! * But Jesus looked at the same city, and saw a city of dead men .......

* A city destined to be destroyed by enemy armies - v.43-44!

B) Why did Jerusalem face this tragic judgment? * Because the city was uneducated?

* No! Within her walls were some of the most intelligent men who ever lived!

* Was it because the city was immoral? * No! Other cities in that day were just as sinful, and

perhaps, even worse! * What then, was the reason for Jerusalem’s judgment?

* The answer is simple! * She passed up her opportunity ... The latter part of v.44 .......

* “Because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

* I believe Jesus was still weeping when He said that because it literally broke His heart!

C) No city on earth was favored as much as Jerusalem!

* The very Son of God walked her streets and taught in her temple courts!

* Before her very eyes, He healed the sick ... And not far from her gates, He raised the dead!

* The people of Jerusalem were privileged to have God visit them!

* And yet, the record tells us, “He came unto His own, and His own received Him not!”

D) The opportunity he gave them was not just one single event!

* He ministered for some three years! * They saw Him change men and women by the power of

His grace! * All the evidence was there!

* The door of opportunity stood wide open, yet the people refused to go in!

* The result was defeat and destruction! * They could have enjoyed peace .......

* Peace with God and peace on earth ... But instead, they suffered war!

E) Before we condemn them too severely however, let’s examine our own lives!

* Has any generation been more favored than ours when it comes to spiritual opportunities?

* The Word of God is as available today as the daily newspaper!

* You can purchase a Bible for a few dollars at a bookstore!

* You can turn on your TV or radio and hear the gospel preached and sung!

* Our generation will never be able to say, “We didn’t have an opportunity.”

F) Like Jerusalem of old, we are having our day of visitation! * But what are we doing with it?

* Why are so many people missing their spiritual opportunities today?

* Some people are shackled by tradition! * The Jews had their own religious system, and saw no

need for change! * The religious leaders in Jesus’ day were shocked by His ideas!

* The whole purpose of the sermon on the mount, for example, was to expose the shallowness and

falseness of the traditions of the scribes and Pharisees!

* Jesus said in Matt.5:20, “Except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the .......”

G) Human nature hasn’t changed! * People are still the same way today!

* Most people today would rather hold onto an old tradition than face a new truth!

* And for this reason, they miss their God-given opportunities!

* Jesus made it clear that He did not come to destroy the Jewish law, but to fulfill it!

* Just as the apple blossom is fulfilled in the apple, and the acorn is fulfilled in the oak!

* So the law was fulfilled in Christ!