Missing Him...
"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." – Luke 19:41-44
As Jesus continues down the Mount of Olives, he has an incredible vista. From an elevation of 2660 feet, Jesus would have had spectacular views of The Judean Wilderness on the Eastern side and the City on the Western side. As he glanced up and saw the City, something stirred within his heart, it moved him – saddened him, wrecked him– and brought tears to his eyes. We read that "Jesus wept over the City." It forms a striking contrast to the joy of the crowd who were celebrating the triumphant entry. He saw through all the excitement. He knew that many of the people of Jerusalem would reject him within a few days and remain blind to the activities and events around him.
At one time, Jerusalem had been "the joy of the whole earth" (Psalm 48:2, 12-14). He saw the magnificent temple; He saw the narrow streets and the path that would be later named "The Via Delarosa," perhaps he could even see, on the City's backside, the hill called Golgotha. And he begins to weep. It is important to realize, though, that Jesus was not weeping over what he would miss of the world, but of what the world was missing of him. Jesus burst into sobbing as he lamented lost opportunity. The City had the name 'peace' (Heb 7:2) but the; City of peace' was blind to the 'prince of peace.
If we are to follow the king, we too must be people who are prone to weep, and we must weep for the things that people are missing in their life. Jesus was weeping because "the people did not recognize the time of God's coming to them" We must weep because God has so much more for us, yet so often we miss it! God has greater, broader, wider, deeper plans for you and the people around you than you and they could even imagine. There is no limit to how God would bless and use us if we could fully follow him. One of the greatest tragedies of our day is not the decay that is caused by sin, but the plans not followed, and the 'asks' that are not responded to, and the invitations from God that are turned down.
Jesus' tears are not because he was sad that he was going to the cross, but he was broken that people were not getting it. Look at the world today, and it is full of problems and strife because people are 'not getting it. Following the king means that we should have our hearts broken and our eye ducts overflowing because people are missing what God is doing in their midst. Let me ask you, as I need to ask myself, what is it you are missing? - What is it that God wants to do in your life that you are missing? - What is it that God wants to do in your and in your world that you are missing? - What is it that God wants to do in your friends that you are missing? - What's the next right step for you to make? Discover it, change it… because it's breaking God's heart when you miss what he wants to do. Jesus' broken heart and his tear-stained cheek, he didn't resign himself to saying, "that's just the way it is."
He used his brokenness to spur him on, to challenge him to make a difference. His brokenness inspired him to action. Such was his brokenness towards the actions of the people of Jerusalem that he went, in a few short days, and did the only thing that could relieve the pain of his brokenness. He went right to the center, right to the source, and hung on a cross. As he did so, "he would was without sin, became sin, that those in Jerusalem – and those around the world, and those for all generations to come, might now the righteousness of God." When was the last time you cried, not for a personal loss… but because something God wanted to happen wasn't happening, and someone was missing all that God had for them? If you are anything like me, I suspect it was too long ago.
Weep.
As Jesus continues down the Mount of Olives, he has an incredible vista. From an elevation of 2660 feet, Jesus would have had spectacular views of The Judean Wilderness on the Eastern side and the City on the Western side. As he glanced up and saw the City, something stirred within his heart, it moved him – saddened him, wrecked him– and brought tears to his eyes. We read that "Jesus wept over the City." It forms a striking contrast to the joy of the crowd who were celebrating the triumphant entry. He saw through all the excitement. He knew that many of the people of Jerusalem would reject him within a few days and remain blind to the activities and events around him.
At one time, Jerusalem had been "the joy of the whole earth" (Psalm 48:2, 12-14). He saw the magnificent temple; He saw the narrow streets and the path that would be later named "The Via Delarosa," perhaps he could even see, on the City's backside, the hill called Golgotha. And he begins to weep. It is important to realize, though, that Jesus was not weeping over what he would miss of the world, but of what the world was missing of him. Jesus burst into sobbing as he lamented lost opportunity. The City had the name 'peace' (Heb 7:2) but the; City of peace' was blind to the 'prince of peace.
If we are to follow the king, we too must be people who are prone to weep, and we must weep for the things that people are missing in their life. Jesus was weeping because "the people did not recognize the time of God's coming to them" We must weep because God has so much more for us, yet so often we miss it! God has greater, broader, wider, deeper plans for you and the people around you than you and they could even imagine. There is no limit to how God would bless and use us if we could fully follow him. One of the greatest tragedies of our day is not the decay that is caused by sin, but the plans not followed, and the 'asks' that are not responded to, and the invitations from God that are turned down.
Jesus' tears are not because he was sad that he was going to the cross, but he was broken that people were not getting it. Look at the world today, and it is full of problems and strife because people are 'not getting it. Following the king means that we should have our hearts broken and our eye ducts overflowing because people are missing what God is doing in their midst. Let me ask you, as I need to ask myself, what is it you are missing? - What is it that God wants to do in your life that you are missing? - What is it that God wants to do in your and in your world that you are missing? - What is it that God wants to do in your friends that you are missing? - What's the next right step for you to make? Discover it, change it… because it's breaking God's heart when you miss what he wants to do. Jesus' broken heart and his tear-stained cheek, he didn't resign himself to saying, "that's just the way it is."
He used his brokenness to spur him on, to challenge him to make a difference. His brokenness inspired him to action. Such was his brokenness towards the actions of the people of Jerusalem that he went, in a few short days, and did the only thing that could relieve the pain of his brokenness. He went right to the center, right to the source, and hung on a cross. As he did so, "he would was without sin, became sin, that those in Jerusalem – and those around the world, and those for all generations to come, might now the righteousness of God." When was the last time you cried, not for a personal loss… but because something God wanted to happen wasn't happening, and someone was missing all that God had for them? If you are anything like me, I suspect it was too long ago.
Weep.
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