Day 19: Jesus Weeps

Luke 19:41-44

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 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. 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. 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.”

Comments

Exodus tells us that God heard the cries of the Israelites when they were innocent victims of oppression and slavery in Egypt. In today’s passage, Jesus weeps for the Israelites because of the suffering they are bringing on themselves.

About thirty years after the death of Jesus, Jerusalem was totally destroyed by the Romans in response to its rebellion and uprising. Jesus wept because he could see the inevitability of such an event. God’s people had waited centuries for God to act; now they were taking things into their own hands.

Reflections

Jesus realized that his people did not know what would bring peace. To what extent is this a description of our own nation in its dealings with others?

Jesus wept for Jerusalem. Have you ever been moved to weep for the world today?

There are many individuals, couples, and families that do not know what will bring peace instead of conflict in their lives. Do you weep for them? Are you ready to listen to them?

Prayer

Let my heart be broken, Lord, for the things that break your heart. Help me know how I might be a voice for peace in a world of shrill voices raised in anger.