Yesterday we saw Luke's version of the parable of the talents (Luke 19:19-28) . Today's gospel (Luke 19:41-44). To take this in context, it helps to look at the passages in between.
Luke 19:28-40
28 After he had said this, he proceeded on his journey up to Jerusalem.
29 As he drew near to Bethphage and Bethany at the place called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples.
30 He said, "Go into the village opposite you, and as you enter it you will find a colt tethered on which no one has ever sat. Untie it and bring it here.
31 And if anyone should ask you, 'Why are you untying it?' you will answer, 'The Master has need of it.'"
32 So those who had been sent went off and found everything just as he had told them.
33 And as they were untying the colt, its owners said to them, "Why are you untying this colt?"
34 They answered, "The Master has need of it."
35 So they brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks over the colt, and helped Jesus to mount.
36 As he rode along, the people were spreading their cloaks on the road;
37 and now as he was approaching the slope of the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of his disciples began to praise God aloud with joy for all the mighty deeds they had seen.
38 They proclaimed: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord. Peace in heaven and glory in the highest."
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, "Teacher, rebuke your disciples."
40 He said in reply, "I tell you, if they keep silent, the stones will cry out!"
Today's gospel -- Luke 19:41-44
41 As he drew near, he saw the city and wept over it,
42 saying, "If this day you only knew what makes for peace--but now it is hidden from your eyes.
43 For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides.
44 They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation."
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Before this morning, I'd never spent much time thinking about Christ's weeping over Jerusalem, or the timing of it.
Christ comes to the Mount of Olives. Then he stops and weeps over Jerusalem. He's not just tearing up. He's openly weeping. Our savior, the King of Kings, is bawling. The kind of stuff we do when we encounter tragedy.
The amazing thing to me is that Jesus isn't weeping about the fact that he knows the people are going to turn on Him. He's not weeping about the pain that he is going to endure. He's weeping because this city -- HIS city -- is going to see the wrath of God. The days that he foresees here comes in 70 AD when Jerusalem in sacked and the temple is destroyed.
He's weeping because these people, who he knows are about to kill him, are going to be punished by the Father. He's weeping for the pain and suffering THEY will feel. Not the suffering that HE will feel at their hands.
That's amazing to me.
