Undimmed By Human Tears

HoHum:

July 4, tomorrow, we celebrate our nation’s independence. 246 years ago the Declaration of Independence was adopted where the founders of our country broke away from the rule of the British crown. We celebrate this day with fireworks, with parades, with backyard barbecues. It is a day of celebration where we sing, smile and laugh. Do not associate that day with tears.

Love the song America the Beautiful, features the beauty of America, Oh beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain, for purple mountain majesties above the fruited plain.

Might forget this verse, “O beautiful for patriot dream, that sees beyond the years, thine alabaster cities gleam, undimmed by human tears! America, America, God mend thine every flaw, confirm thy soul in self control, thy liberty is law. Undimmed by human tears really! I remember 9/11 when New York shed many tears. I remember the pandemic when a person was reasonably healthy one day and gone the next, hospitals full in the city. I remember the riots over racial issues when there was untold destruction and violence in many downtowns. In recent days we remember the shootings where some of them were done under many city skylines.

WBTU:

We are told of 3 times when Jesus wept or shed tears. First, at the tomb of Lazarus (John 11:35- might talk about in another lesson); lastly, even though the gospel writers do not use this wording, we find the book of Hebrews describing Jesus’ prayers in the Garden of Gethsemane- “He (Jesus) offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” Hebrews 5:7, NIV. Before this last one, we find another instance of Jesus’s weeping. “As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it” Luke 19:41, NIV. Read to vs. 44

Thesis: Let’s talk about the tears in Luke 19:41

For instances:

Tears of sorrow for sins

The city of Jerusalem was magnificent in the days of Jesus. People were so blinded by its radiance as it reflected the Palestinian sun that they had to turn their eyes away, as Josephus, the Jewish historian, tells us. When Our Lord, preparing to enter Jerusalem, stopped at Mount Olivet’s heights to look toward the majestic city, there was no awe or admiration in His gaze. Instead, he stood silent, his lips quivered, his eyes filled with tears. Jesus just had his triumphant entry into Jerusalem. What would bring tears to his eyes right after that event as he viewed the city? Jesus might have seen the temple from there, a glorious structure, on which architects and laborers toiled for 50 years and were still not finished. Yet Jesus was saddened by the mockery, shocking insincerity, cold formality, to be found in his Father’s house. Jesus also could see the money changers whom he would soon throw out as they sold animals and exchanged money, piling up profits in the name of religion. Saw the multitudes who bought the best animals and thought that by such offerings they could be cleansed from their sins even though their hearts were far from God. He might have heard the chanting of the Pharisees, who might be saying things like this, “‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men--robbers, evildoers, adulterers, tax collectors. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.’” Luke 18:11-12. The hypocrisy and arrogance made Jesus cry. If Jesus were in the flesh today, I am sure that Jesus would shed tears over America’s spiritual condition. We have many churches in our land but how many strive to follow the Great Commandment. If they loved the Lord with their all beings thing would change. The preaching of the gospel is pushed into the background. Ask many American citizens about salvation and they might say that they do not need to be saved. Might say that they are so good, so righteous, that God will welcome them with open arms when they need to realize that without the Lord Jesus Christ there is no salvation. Cannot be saved because so good. But are they really that good? No one is good, no not one. Many are filled with greed, lust, hatred, have many secret and disguised sins (report from Southern Baptists). We are a people formed through Christian pioneers, blessed above many others because of our heritage, we are a free people. Even so, we have forgotten God, neglected our privileges, spurned our blessings, rejected our Savior. We can find Jesus Christ on Olivet, grief stricken not only for Jerusalem but for many churches in the USA that are more concerned about the things of this world than about saving souls. Many are people pleasing and more concerned about what people in this world think than about what God thinks. “How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?” John 5:44. If America is to come closer to the Almighty it must start in the churches. To stop the tears of Christ we must go back to the Bible, back to our redeemer, back to the blood of his atonement, back to justification by grace through faith at baptism for good works