Luke 19:36-44

As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the miracles which they had seen, shouting: “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord; Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!” When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, “If you had known in this day, even you, the things which make for peace! But now they have been hidden from your eyes. “For the days will come upon you when your enemies will throw up a barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, and they will level you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”^[1]

In the shadow of the triumphal entry into Jerusalem of our Savior and King, there is an often overlooked, yet powerful occurrence. Looking out over the massiveness of the city Jesus begins to weep. His weeping indicates His humanity, but it also illustrates that the pseudo hope of the city of more recent times is not new. Jesus knew the struggles and successes of the city of Jerusalem and He wept. He knew the passion that was to come and the rejection He would experience and he wept. He was not weeping for Himself, but for the city and her inhabitants, because in their rejection they would miss what and who would bring them the peace they had come to the city to find. If Jesus is our example, we must be no less concerned for the city than He was and, I believe, is. Why? The city offers great promise, but also great temptation. The city provides safe harbor for the rich and the poor, all who are lost. The city is the seat of power, legal and illegal. Jesus is still the answer for the city.

We cannot afford to give up on the city. Sixty percent of people living in the city are completely unchurched.  Some are looking for a better life with greater opportunities while others are looking fun and excitement. Some believe that their deliverance from depression over unfulfilled dreams and aspirations will come from a better job, getting paid more money, or by living in a better neighborhood. Some believe that the road to happiness is to be found in bigger bank accounts that provide financial freedom. These things are desirable, but they are empty without hope for the future. What do we feel when we see those who are lost? Not just the poor and the homeless, they are often better off than those who work and live in opulence. Jesus wept over the city and so must we.

Dear Heavenly Father, we marvel at the depth of Your love for us. Your tears for us are only bested by Your sacrifice on the cross. As You loved the city, and her inhabitants, give us a love for the city as well. As You sacrificed to rescue all Your people enable us to sacrifice to rescue the lost among us. May we never be so callous as to give up on any that seem to be beyond hope of redemption, but may we ever be like Your Son who seeing us for what we could be died for us. It is in the name of Jesus the Christ we pray. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), Lk 19:36–44.