Would Jesus Weep Over America?

Would Jesus weep over America?

St. Luke 19:41-44

Luke 19:41 ¶ And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,

42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,

44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.

At the beginning of chapter 29 Jesus had entered and passed through Jericho.

There He met Zac-chae-us, a chief among the publicans who was very rich.

That day Jesus made a strong difference in his life, and he became a believer.

In verse 28, after speaking to those around Him, He began His journey to Bethany where the mount of Olives was located.

There the crowd placed Jesus on a colt, a young male donkey, and began to cast their garments in His path.

When He came to the descent of the mount of Olives the whole multitude of His followers began to rejoice and praise Him, saying, “Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest.”

They could not keep from thinking that Jesus was going to be their King who would liberate them from the Roman Empire’s rule over them, and set Himself up as their king.

So they were saying, “Blessed be the King that comes in the name of the Lord.”

How credulous these people were! How willingly blind to the truth.

They still could not comprehend the real reason Jesus came.

They were looking for a Messiah, but for the wrong reasons.

Jesus did not come to be a King, He came to liberate them, but not from the Roman bondage. He came to liberate them from their sins and condemnation.

Before there is a Kingdom, there must be redemption. Before there is a physical kingdom there must be a spiritual kingdom.

Jesus was their Messiah, not to deliver them from Rome and build the Jews a kingdom, for what good would a kingdom be if they were still in their sins?

Their redemption from their sins was more important then their deliverance from Rome.

These followers of Jesus had it all wrong. They were ready to crown Jesus as king before He went to the cross.

I believe Jesus was wounded in His Spirit at the behavior of these people.

Verse 41 says, “And when He was come near (to Jerusalem) He beheld the city and wept over it.”

There are two main reasons that I believe Jesus wept over Jerusalem.

1. Because the Jews could not comprehend their need for a Savior to take away their sins.

2. Because Jesus knew that this beloved city would be destroyed because of their rejection of Him.

In April 70 AD, three days before Passover, the Roman army started besieging Jerusalem.[4][5] The city had been taken over by several rebel factions following a period of massive unrest and the collapse of a short-lived provisional government.

Within three weeks, the Roman army broke the first two walls of the city, but a stubborn rebel standoff prevented them from penetrating the thickest and third wall.[4]

[6] According to Josephus, a contemporary historian and the main source for the war, the city was ravaged by murder, famine and cannibalism.[7]

70 AD (August 30), Roman forces overwhelmed the defenders and set fire to the Temple.[9] Resistance continued for another month, but eventually the upper and lower parts of the city were taken as well, and the city was burned to the ground.

Jesus knew this was coming. He knew their rejoicing in Luke 19:37-38 would soon turn to rejection in just a few days.

Jesus had prophesied in Luke 19:44 “And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.”

They did not understand the real reason Jesus came. When Christ came to save them from their awful fate, but they rejected Him.

To these Jews their Messiah was not supposed to die in open shame upon a cross, He was to be an overcoming King!

So Jesus wept over Jerusalem for their rejection of Him and their only means of salvation.

What a shame! What a condition of disgrace! To them, they were embarrassed and humiliated when they saw, whom they thought would be their King, hanging in public shame on a wooden cross with two criminals.

So Jesus wept! He was heart-broken! He was disheartened, He was grieved!