Day 41 / Luke 19:41-44
By Shane & Natalie Ivey
NIV 41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
Very few times does the Bible mention Jesus weeping so when it does it’s best to take notice of the circumstances. In Luke 19:41 Jesus is returning to Jerusalem, on Palm Sunday, and is welcomed by cheering crowds. Most of us would revel in that adulation but Jesus is overcome with sadness. He knows the destruction that is to come for the city of Jerusalem. The turmoil still rages to this day. He knows that if only they had followed him and obeyed God and the word of the prophets, all this could be averted. How often do we make this mistake in our life? We know the right choice; we know what we SHOULD do, but we choose the other option. Even now, Jesus weeps for us as we walk down a path to our personal Jerusalem, but the GOOD NEWS is that through his death and resurrection we can be saved. We don’t have to razed to the ground like the city was in 70 A.D. Through Jesus, we can course correct at any moment and begin a new life in HIM.