The Intense Sobbing of Israel's Messiah

We are reflecting on the week leading up to Christ’s crucifixion, and today’s focus is on Jesus entering Jerusalem as Messiah.

⁴¹As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it ⁴²and said, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴They 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).

In New Testament times, people had to cross the Mount of Olives when approaching Jerusalem from the Jordan or the Dead Sea Valley. From that vantage point, the view of Jerusalem below is one of the most spectacular in the world. One can look down on the Temple Mount from the top of the Mount of Olives. At the sight of the city below Him, the Messiah of Israel wept uncontrollably. The Greek word "klaio" is translated into English as "wept" in our passage above. It is the strongest word in the original Greek language, describing Jesus' body as heaving with intense sobbing and grief. In the Old Testament, the prophet Zechariah spoke of a time when the Messiah would approach the city, and the Mount of Olives would split into two (Zechariah 14:2-5), and angels would come to judge Israel's enemies. In our passage above, the disciples who came with Jesus’s ascending to Jerusalem that day might have been expecting Zechariah's prophecy to be fulfilled and the Kingdom of God to come (Luke 19:11). Instead, when Jesus and the disciples reached the top of the Mount of Olives, Christ sobbed uncontrollably.

Verse 44 explains why Jesus wailed loudly; Israel did not recognize the time of God's coming. As a nation, they did not recognize their need for a healer to address their sin problem. It is the same with us; spiritual blindness concerning our need for a Savior from sin will prevent us from receiving salvation. All that Israel wanted was a king to lead them into battle against the Romans. Jesus looked into the future and saw the inevitable result of their resistance to the loving arms of the Savior. He saw the impending judgment of the nation, with a Roman enforcement perimeter set up and the stones of the Temple being torn down one by one.

After Christ’s crucifixion, in A.D. 66, the Jews revolted against Roman control. Titus, son of the Roman emperor Vespasian, was sent to crush the rebellion three years later. The Romans set up a siege barricade around Jerusalem and starved the city into submission. In A.D. 70, they entered the weakened city and set it on fire. History records that Jesus' prophecy was fulfilled to the letter. When they entered Jerusalem, more than six hundred thousand Jews were slaughtered. The Romans set fire to the Temple and pulled down every stone to get at the gold that melted from the burning temple structure.

This judgment happened just as Jesus prophesied. The Lord foretold, “They will not leave in you one stone upon another because you did not recognize the time of your visitation" (Luke 19:44). The Romans made an example of Jerusalem to warn other cities of what could happen to those who rebelled against Rome. The thought I leave with you today is that if we don’t recognize our need for a Savior for our sin-debt, we will bring disaster and judgment upon ourselves. I am sure that He is also broken-hearted over those who still reject His gift of mercy and salvation. Cry out to Him today, for heaven’s sake. Keith Thomas

Taken from the series on the Book of Luke. Click on study 52, Luke 19:28-48, The King Comes to His Temple.