Weeping Over Jerusalem

“When [Jesus] drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 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. 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.’” [1]

Have you ever found yourself moved to tears as you looked down on our community? I recognise that I have aged and that I have become just another emotionally labile old man. Consequently, I find that as I approach my home having visited in the countryside, as I top the last hill before dropping down toward Pouce Coupe or beginning the descent leading to the west side of town where we live, I often pause to look over the scene as our town first comes into view. Dawson Creek is not a large community, but it is a lovely town and a pleasant place to live. It is a community filled with great people who are noted for friendliness as well as being an industrious people.

For me, approaching the town proves to be a moving experience that often touches my emotions. The sense of home combined with the thought of the lost people living about me cannot help but stir my emotions. While the people living here are good people, truly salt-of-the-earth sort of people, those who are openly followers of Christ by no means constitute a majority. I am well aware that I’m turning into a rheumy-eyed old man, easily moved to tears at the plight of those among whom I live. Still, I am aware that many of my neighbours, dear friends though they are, make no pretense of serving the Lord, and that knowledge weighs on my heart. You see, I realise the consequences of passing into eternity without the security of the new birth into God’s Family.

Jesus, approaching Jerusalem, looked down on the city and He wept. Jesus was adamant that knowing what was coming upon the city moved Him to weep. We might well ask what specifically moved Jesus to tears. When we do ask that question, I suggest that the things that moved Jesus to tears still moves to tears those in whom the Spirit of Christ resides. Let’s think about those issues now. My prayer is that some who hear the message may come to the realisation that God seeks to do everything possible to redeem lost souls. And that includes lost people even today.

JESUS WEPT BECAUSE PEOPLE ARE PRECIOUS TO GOD — It is perhaps insightful to recognise that though Jesus is noted for His compassion, He is not depicted as weeping frequently. In fact, I can find only two instances in the Gospel records of Jesus being moved to tears. Thus, it is significant to note the occasions Jesus did weep. The Gospel writers speak of Jesus being moved with compassion on several significant occasions. Two blind men pleading to be released from the enveloping darkness moved the Master to compassion [see MATTHEW 20:29-34 NET 2nd], as did the plea of a leper [see MARK 1:40-41].

The sight of a friend weeping in grief at the death of her brother moved Jesus deeply, leaving Him troubled in His Spirit. In fact, He was so troubled that He was moved to tears. Here is the account that is provided by the Apostle John. “Now when Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, ‘Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.’ When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, ‘Where have you laid him?’ They said to him, ‘Lord, come and see.’ Jesus wept” [JOHN 11:32-35].

This occasion and the time Jesus wept that is recorded in our text are the only record we have of the tears of Jesus. So, what can we say about the tears of Jesus from these two times? According to the event recorded in John’s Gospel, Jesus’ tears were preceded by the evident grief expressed by Mary. Perhaps a deeper review of this incident will assist us in discovering what would move the Lord to tears.

Informed that His friend Lazarus was desperately ill, Jesus gave no evidence of being especially concerned. He did say to His disciples, “This illness does not lead to death. It is for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified through it” [JOHN 11:4]. After receiving the message from Lazarus’ two sisters, Jesus did nothing about responding for two days.