Title: Tears for Jerusalem
Date: April 1, 2007
Text: Luke 19:29-44
Introduction
- The nation of Israel was born in slavery
- the Israelites were descendants of Abraham, a nomad from Chaldea
- his descendants grew up ostracised from the rest of the Egyptians, and as time progressed they turned them into slaves
- they built treasure cities for Pharaoh, and served with hard labor
- The cry of the Israelites rose up before God and he rescued them and brought them to a land flowing with milk and honey
- they had a fresh start, and for a time they were obedient
- then they relapsed and left the Lord
- the Jewish nation went into captivity and were transported to prison in Babylon, modernday Iraq
- the king Nebuchadnezzar was a tough ruler and once again there were people praying for a return to Jerusalem
- the Jewish captives were taken over by the Medo-Persian empire, and under Cyrus a number of them were allowed to return to Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple
- then the Romans invaded Judea and once again the Jews were oppressed by a foreign warlord
- the Jews wanted freedom! They looked for their Messiah who had been promised!
- it was in this environment that Jesus approaches Jerusalem on the final part of his journey
- Luke 19:29-40
1. The Messiah is Here!
- prophets had foretold about the coming of the Messiah
- Is 35:5-6 - Then will the eyes of the blind be opened and the ears of the deaf unstopped. Then will the lame leap like a deer, and the mute tongue shout for joy
- Is 61:1-2 - The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is on me, because the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn
- Zech 9:9 - Rejoice greatly, O Daughter of Zion! Shout, Daughter of Jerusalem! See, your king comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey
- they were seeing the fulfilment of these prophecies before their very eyes
- Luke 7:22 - the blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor
- Jesus preaches about his fulfilling the prophecy in Isaiah 61 - read in Luke 4:18
- and for 3 1/2 years they had seen the miracles, they had heard his message of hope, just a short while before Lazarus had been raised from the dead!
- here indeed was the Messiah!
- here was the Messiah, riding a young donkey, coming into Jerusalem, just as had been prophesied
- so they welcome him! They welcome this King, their Messiah!
- they are shouting "blessed be the King who comes in the name of the Lord, peace in heaven and glory in the highest!
2. The Messiah weeps
- Luke 19:41-44
- this particular morning Jesus climbs the road over the south side of the mount of Olives, and as he descends he looks toward the west where he sees a magnificent view of the temple
- it is built with huge white stones, the doors of the temple were overlaid with gold and they must have shone in his eyes, reflecting the morning sun
- and while the people around him are shouting out "Hosanna, blessed be the King, the son of David, the Messiah", Jesus weeps
- while the people are excited and shouting and jubilant, Jesus is crying
- while the crowds are celebrating, tears are falling
- why was Jesus crying?
- because this was the first coming of the Messiah, a coming which was marked by meekness, the coming of the suffering servant described in Isaiah 53, the one who would be crucified and killed, unrecognized for who he was
- the Messianic prophecies spoke of a conquering king, but also a suffering servant
- they spoke of one who would be their deliverer who would restore them to greatness, and also about a Messiah who would be humble and compassionate and close to his people
- these people were looking for the conquering king, and they thought that this triumphal entry would be the start of that rise to greatness
- but it was not to happen the way they wanted
- they were looking for a King who would immediately, miraculously, rid them of their oppressors
- but Jesus does not raise an army, he does not march up to the governor Pontius Pilate saying "Let my people go"
- instead, Jesus weeps, he goes into the temple and makes a stand for pure worship
- just a couple of days later, these crowds who were now welcoming him as their Messiah, would be shouting just as loudly, Crucify him, crucify him
- why was Jesus crying?
- because they had turned away from God and their worship had turned into ritual
- because he was the answer to their oppression but they did not recognize it
- and because they rejected him, Jerusalem would be destroyed and the temple would be demolished
- verses 41-44
3. Is the King still weeping?
- Israel was given many opportunities to repent
- God sent prophet after prophet, but they were beaten and killed and rejected
- finally he sent his son Jesus to show them the way out of their oppression
- but they did not recognise him
- Jesus wept because they did not recognize him as being the answer to their problems
- how about us?
- are we looking for a Messiah who will come as a conquering king, suddenly changing our life, taking away our anger and addiction with one fell swoop?
- one who miraculously and instantly solves all the problems we have spent 20, 30, 40 or 50 years getting into?
- will we recognize the Messiah who knocks at the door of our heart asking for a welcome, who introduces us to a new way of life, a way of overcoming, of fighting battles, a way of learning to gradually overcome our issues
- he partners with us in changing our lives, he is not into the quick fix mentality
- will we recognize him?
- Jesus wept about the destruction of Jerusalem that was just around the corner
- will he weep because we are not ready for his kind of deliverance?
- the choice is ours
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