41 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 42 Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes. 43 For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, 44 And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. (Luke 19:41-44 KJV)
Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem
The great Ambassador from heaven is here making his public entry into Jerusalem—not to be honored, but to be rejected. He knew the danger awaiting him, yet we see two expressions of his love and concern for the city.
First, the tears he shed for its approaching ruin (Luke 19:41): When he came near and saw the city, he wept over it. Likely, this happened as he descended the Mount of Olives, where he had a full view of the city with all its grandeur. His eye affected his heart, and his heart his eye again.
See how tender Christ was. We never read that he laughed, but we often find him in tears. In this very place, his father David had wept. There are times when even the strongest men melt into tears.
Jesus wept in the midst of triumphs, while those around him rejoiced. He was not carried away by the crowd’s praise. He teaches us to rejoice with trembling. Even in our most joyful moments, we may find reason for sorrow.
He wept over Jerusalem. No city deserved weeping more than Jerusalem, once the holy city and joy of the whole earth. But why did he weep? Was it because he saw the city where he would be betrayed, condemned, and crucified? No—he himself explained the reason for his tears.
Jerusalem had not taken advantage of its opportunities. He said, “If you had known, even today, the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes” (Luke 19:42). If only she had realized while the gospel was still preached to her, and salvation still offered! If she had understood the things that led to peace with God and her eternal welfare. But she didn’t recognize the time of her visitation (Luke 19:44).
Christ’s words lay the blame for Jerusalem’s ruin upon herself. There are things that belong to our peace, and we are all responsible to know and understand them—the way peace with God is made, the terms of salvation, and the hope for eternal life. These are matters of eternal consequence.
There is a time when these things may be known to great benefit—when the Word is preached, the Spirit stirs our hearts, and conscience awakens us. That is the time of visitation, and we must make the most of it. If, after long neglect, someone at last awakens in this day, it is not too late. Those who come even at the eleventh hour are not turned away.
But it is tragic that many who enjoy the gospel waste their opportunities. The things of their peace are revealed but ignored. They turn away from them, as if not worth notice. They miss the accepted time and day of salvation by carelessness. None are so blind as those who will not see, and none are more hardened than those who reject what could save them.
The rejection of gospel grace grieves the Lord Jesus and should grieve us as well. He looks with weeping eyes upon lost souls who remain unrepentant. He longs for them to turn and live, for he is not willing that any should perish.
Jerusalem could not avoid its coming destruction. The truth was now hidden from her eyes. Though the gospel was still preached to the Jews by the apostles (Acts 2:36), and many were converted, the nation as a whole remained hardened. God gave them a spirit of slumber (Romans 11:8). Their opposition was so deep that nothing short of a miracle could change them—and such miracles were not to be expected. So, they were given up to blindness and hardness of heart.
The things of peace were not hidden from individual persons, but it was too late to expect the Jewish nation, as a whole, to turn to Christ. Therefore, their destruction was inevitable. Neglecting salvation brought judgment upon Jerusalem, just as Christ foretold—and everything he said was fulfilled within forty years.
The Romans besieged the city, surrounded it with a trench, and trapped the people inside. Titus built a wall quickly that cut off all hope of escape.
They leveled it to the ground. Titus ordered the city dug up. Its whole compass was flattened, except three towers. Citizens were killed in great numbers. There was scarcely one stone left upon another. This happened because they crucified Christ and rejected the time of their visitation. Other cities and nations should take warning.