Text: Luke 19:41-48
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
It
would have been an amazing sight to see.
The palm branches were waving back and
forth, and the crowd was shouting, as Jesus rode into Jerusalem that
Palm Sunday long ago.
Now,
it might surprise us to hear that in the midst of the shouts of praise and the
waving of the palm branches that there were tears on the face of Jesus. I am not talking about those emotional tears
that one gets in the midst of great compelling
events. You know, the kind of tears a
person gets when a favorite football team wins the Super Bowl or the kind of
tears a person gets when something amazing happens, such as a joyful wedding or
the news of a birth of a child. No,
Jesus was not taken up in the euphoric moment of praise with epic tears. But rather, the tears that began to streak
down His holy face and the loud weeping
were due to pain and grief. Yes, the
tears were due to pain, grief, and agony, the kind of tears that come forth at
funerals. But why tears of pain and why
that day?
It
might be easy to think that these tears were because of the upcoming cross, for
Jesus had indeed predicted His future
death and He was drawing near to the place of His death in the city of
Jerusalem. However, these tears and this
agony were not for Himself and were not for what awaited Him on the cross, but
were because of the people of Jerusalem.
You
see, as Jesus rode on that donkey towards Jerusalem He saw a dreadful sight – a
city that would reject Him. Yes, as He
looked upon the city of Jerusalem, He saw
a city that would discard Him and the
Gospel. Jesus
saw a city that would cast off true peace and forgiveness. He saw a city
that had a hard-heart.
Tragically
this was the pattern that Jerusalem had set for herself throughout the many
previous generations. As we know, the
prophets in the Old Testament had consistently called for the people of
Jerusalem to turn from their sins and false worship; however, many of the
people refused to turn. Instead, they sought to establish their
righteousness and dismissed the words of the prophets, often times persecuting
the prophets.
The
same was true for that Palm Sunday long ago.
The people of Jerusalem would reject Jesus with the grace and peace that
He would bring, which would result in this beautiful city seeing destruction;
that is to say, judgment. That is right;
the city of Jerusalem would soon see destruction by the Roman Empire – fires
raging in the streets, children being slaughtered
under the feet of soldiers, stones falling,
and slaves being carried off; all because of their rejection of Jesus. Yes, Jerusalem would soon see complete and total destruction because of their rejection of
the Messiah who was riding into their midst.
This is why Jesus wept. He wept because of their future destruction;
He wept because of their spiritual rejection – their lack of repentance and
their hard-hearted-deaf-ears to the Gospel.
Contrary
to what many people might believe about God, God does not take pleasure in the
death of the wicked. He is not pleased
when the unrepentant refuse to turn from their sinful ways and sink into their
own deaths. But rather, the Lord wants all people to be saved and come to the
knowledge of the truth.[1] But then again, as we know, humanity is not
willing to be gathered unto the Lord. Humanity
has acquired a taste for rebellion and sin.
Yes, humanity resists the Holy Spirit and even denies the sovereign Lord
and rejects the Son of God.[2] And so, with this in mind, we can begin to
understand why Jesus wept.
The
tears of Jesus show His compassion and His grief. He wept for His unrepentant city, and He weeps for those today who continue
in their sin, just like Jerusalem.
Indeed, the Lord has sorrow for those who refuse to repent and those who
rush carelessly forward into the judgment of God; a judgment which no one can survive.
But
maybe the Lord would not have to weep and mourn over humanity, if only He did
away with judgment, hell, and wrath? You
see, there is a temptation with all of us that wants God to simply do away with
the existence of the fires of hell and all that talk about judgment and wrath. It is true, the sinful nature inside of everyone of us would love to do away with the
uncomfortable idea of wrath and judgment and hell. In fact, there are entire denominations that attempt actually
to do this. They refuse to
mention things like judgment, and wrath, for they assume that in the end, a loving God will send no one to
hell. However, if it is true that there
is no such thing as hell and if a loving God would never judge anyone, then the
tears of Jesus make no sense. Why would
Jesus cry and why would He mourn if everything will be alright in the end
regardless of what anyone thinks or does?
If there is no judgment and no wrath,
then God’s call to repentance is meaningless, and Jesus’ tears are for
nothing. In
fact, if there is no judgment and no wrath and no hell, then we do not need to
bother with God’s warnings, and we can freely persist in our sins – we can eat
and drink and be merry without any cares in the world, and Jesus should suck up
His tears and be happy.
But,
of course, if we listen to God’s voice in the Bible, all this kind of thinking is
not an option.
Dear
friends, it is true that the Bible reveals a God who is patient, loving, and
full of mercy; however, the Bible also shows us that we have a God that does
not overlook continual rebellion. Even
though it comes across as politically incorrect, the Bible reveals a God who
will punish and destroy in the end. But keep in mind, He will punish and destroy with tears in His eyes.
What
does all of this mean for us today, though?
Although
our Gospel reading is showing us the Lord’s sorrow and judgment over
unrepentant Jerusalem, it is also a warning for us today. That is right; when we despise God’s Word as
being too intrusive to our lives or when we disregard God’s Word by just turning a deaf ear to it or when we take
God’s Word for granted, we have placed ourselves right into the same place as hard-hearted Jerusalem. And with hard-hearted Jerusalem, there is a
punishment that will most certainly come.
No one – I repeat – no one who despises God’s Word will escape His
judgment, wrath, and hell. Even though
this is difficult to hear, it is true.
Even though this causes us to squirm in our pews, it is the reality of
how things work.
So,
dear friends, beware when you hear God’s Word,
and you walk out of the church thinking,
‘Ah,
that talk of judgment is just a bunch of hogwash.’
Beware
when you hear God’s Word, and you say to
yourself,
‘That
Word of Law is just too oppressive and just too strict; God is surely not that
serious, for He has lightened up in the twenty-first-century.’
Beware when you hear God’s Word, and you mumble to yourself,
‘God will send nobody to hell because He is a loving God;
besides it is not right for anyone to be judged.’
Beware
when you hear God’s Word, and you say,
‘I
am just fine the way that I am; I don’t need Christ as a crutch. I don’t need the church or anything offered
in the church. I can do it on my own.’
Yes,
beware, because God will not be mocked. He does not wink at sin. He will not forget. Rejecting, despising, and disregarding God’s
Word is no joking matter, nothing to be taken lightly.
Therefore,
dear friends, repent. Repent of
disregarding and despising God’s Word and taking it for granted. Repent of not trusting God’s Word. Repent of sin in thought, word, and
deed. And as you repent, know that
Jesus’ tears are for you. Yes, His tears
are over your sin and your rebellion and your hard-hearts and your deaf
ears. In other words, let us cry with
Jesus over our sin and our rebellion.
Let us cry with Jesus over our hard-hearts and our deaf ears. Together with Christ, let us mourn our sinful
condition and beat our chest, saying, “Lord
have mercy on me, the sinner.”
And
in the midst of all the tears, we must pause and hear just how crazy all of
this rebellion and stubbornness really
is. You see, when Jesus was weeping for
Jerusalem, He was actually on the way to endure the judgment and wrath of God
against the sins of Jerusalem. He was on
His way to the cross. In other words,
the judgment and wrath and hell that we so deserve – the judgment and wrath and
hell that Christ weeps about – is the very judgment and wrath and hell that
fell right upon Jesus as He hung on that cross for you and me and the entire human
race.
How
crazy is it for us to neglect the Lord Jesus and His Word, for He has done
everything for our salvation. He
despises our sins more than we could ever despise it ourselves. He cares for us more than we care for
ourselves. He loves us more than we could ever love ourselves and considers it all
worthwhile.
Dear
Baptized Saints, the Lord longs for this: to simply
gather you unto Himself in repentance and faith because He does not desire your
destruction. Indeed, humanity was not created for destruction. You were not
created for annihilation. And so
Jesus’ tears are evidence of His compassion for you.
Dear
Baptized Saints, Jesus went to Jerusalem to bleed and die and rise, to welcome you home with tears of joy. And all of this is why He is your true Lord
and Savior. He is the Savior that we do
not deserve but the very Savior that we certainly possess. He is the one who cares for you and has made
you His own. He is the one who preserves
you and will keep you to the end of the age, protecting you from wrath, hell,
and judgment by His work on the cross in your place.
Today,
the Lord comes to you, not with wrath, judgment, and hell, but with
forgiveness, life, and salvation. Yes, He
reaches out to you to give you the gift of repentance and to impart the gift of
faith. And as He does He cries out: “Now is the acceptable time. Now is the day of salvation.”
In
the name of Jesus: Amen.
[1] See 2 Peter 3:9; Ezekiel
18:23, 32; Ezekiel 33:11; 1 Timothy 2:4.
[2] See Matthew 23:37, Acts
7:51, 2 Peter 2:1, and John 3:36.
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