Luke 19:41-44

Rachel Workman: 41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. 42 “How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes. 43 Before long your enemies will build ramparts against your walls and encircle you and close in on you from every side. 44 They will crush you into the ground, and your children with you. Your enemies will not leave a single stone in place, because you did not recognize it when God visited you.”

Jesus is full of compassion for us. Jesus knew these people deserved the punishment. Yet it sill weighed on him. So much so that he wept for them.

____________________________________________________________________________________

John Burnett:  ³⁶ As He was going, they were spreading their coats on the road. ³⁷ As soon as He was approaching, near the descent of the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of the disciples began to praise God ^[a]joyfully with a loud voice for all the ^[b]miracles, which they had seen, ³⁸ shouting:

“Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord;
Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees ^[c]in the crowd said to Him, “Teacher, rebuke Your disciples.” ⁴⁰ But Jesus answered, “I tell you, if these become silent, the stones will cry out!”  The thought of Him going to Jerusalem, knowing the death He was about to die, is the reason He alone is worthy of our praise.  When He returns, every knee will bow before him, whether they want to or not. 

⁴¹ When He approached Jerusalem, He saw the city and wept over it,⁴² 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. ⁴³ For the days will come upon you ^[d]when your enemies will throw up a ^[e]barricade against you, and surround you and hem you in on every side, ⁴⁴ 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.”  God works in mysterious ways and He blinded Jerusalem so they could not realize what they were doing to their King and our Savior.  It had to be done so that Jesus could be sacrificed for the sins of all who repent and put their trust in His death and resurrection. 

We are living in exciting times.  As the world is going crazy due to the work of the man of lawlessness being at work, we who believe should be looking up because His return is imminent.  If you look at what is going on in the Middle East, and how those things are fulfilling prophesy on almost a daily basis we can be assured that Jesus is not returning on a colt, He is returning on a white horse with His army of Saints in tow.  I look forward to returning with Him to watch Him enact justice on those who persecuted Him and His followers.

 ____________________________________________________________________________________

Tomorrow’s reading for Luke 19:45-48

⁴⁵ Then Jesus entered the Temple and began to drive out the people selling animals for sacrifices. ⁴⁶ He said to them, “The Scriptures declare, ‘My Temple will be a house of prayer,’ but you have turned it into a den of thieves.”^[e]

⁴⁷ After that, he taught daily in the Temple, but the leading priests, the teachers of religious law, and the other leaders of the people began planning how to kill him. ⁴⁸ But they could think of nothing, because all the people hung on every word he said.