Last week Don touched upon that scene, in Luke 19:41, where “As [Jesus] approached and saw the city of Jerusalem, he wept for it…” I don’t know, we live in a rather cynical world. Who hasn’t seen some politician, or celebrity, or maybe even a minister or two, manufacture tears? Think about the last time you saw a grown man truly, sincerely, deeply weep—from the pit of his stomach? For that matter, when was the last time you personally wept over someone, or some situation?
What is the psychology of weeping? What makes a person stop weeping? What makes a person start again? Jesus wept at the tomb of his friend Lazarus—he wept in the presence of death itself. Here in Luke 19, he weeps over the shadow of death looming over the great city of Jerusalem.
Don’t you think it’s one thing to weep over physical reality? Luke 19:43-44, Jesus says, “For the days will come on you when you enemies will build a barricade around you, surround you, and hem you in on every side. They will crush you and your children among you to the ground, they will not leave one stone on another in your midst.” This is a reference to the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. What happened in A.D. 70 with the Romans is not unlike what happened in 586 B.C. with the Babylonians. There was horrific massive physical devastation and unequaled suffering. Sometime read the book of Lamentations in your Bible—Jeremiah the prophet describes the weeping, the gnashing of teeth, the daily starvation, the constant sense of dread, the suffocating anxiety and fear.
On 911, grown men cried, at the site of those twin towers ablaze. People leaping from the flames, the towers crashing to the ground, the senseless loss of life. It would have been every bit as unimaginable for those massive towers to be toppled by an enemy, as it would for the massive temple stones to be toppled. You would have to see it to believe it. When Jesus warned of the judgement on Jerusalem in Luke 19:48, “. . .people were captivated by what they heard.”
We live in a day when there are all varieties of apocalyptic doomsayers throwing out predictions. It can become like the little boy who cries wolf. There are the political doomsayers… moral… economic… religious… environmental… epidemiologists are epidemic… astrological, even extraterrestrial doomsayers. Initially their warnings are captivating! But when terror doesn’t become reality, fatigue, then cynicism, sets in. I think of 2 Peter 3:3-4 where Peter warns the church, “Above all, be aware of this: Scoffers will come in the last days scoffing and following their own evil desires saying, ‘Where is his ‘coming’ that he promised. Ever since our ancestors fell asleep, things continue as they have since the beginning of creation.”
Can I be transparent? I find myself doing a lot of scoffing these days. The Doomsayers continually forfeit their credibility. No man has a crystal ball—to see so clearly—to really know the future. I personally subscribe to the Moses Test. Deuteronomy 18:22, “If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name but his prediction does not happen or come true, you will know that the Lord did not give that message. That prophet has spoken without my authority and need not be feared.” I also wonder what the media would be like if we imposed Deuteronomy 18:20! “But any prophet who falsely claims to speak in my name or who speaks in the name of another god must die.’” How many doomsayers would shut their mouth if they knew they would die for their lies? A lot of religious doomsayers who go beyond God’s Word, get it wrong too!
In Luke 21:5-6, the disciples again ask Jesus about his prediction. “As some were talking about the temple, how it was adorned with beautiful stones and gifts dedicated to God, Jesus said, “These things that you will see—the days will come when not one stone will be left on another that will not be thrown down.” This beautiful temple. This beautiful city! These beautiful towners. New York. . . Luke 21:7, “Teacher, they asked him, “so when will these things happen? And what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?” The pretext is, “just how serious do we need to take you Jesus?”
Anyone can make a generic prediction. The market is going to crash. There is going to be a World War 3. But Jesus envisions A.D. 70. You will see national upheaval. Kingdoms overturning. Violent earthquakes, famines, plagues, terrifying sights and signs from the heavens, followers of Jesus will be turned over to synagogues, to prisons, to kings and governors because of Jesus’ name. Families will be torn apart over allegiance to Jesus, or Judaism, or Rome. And then Jerusalem will be surrounded by armies, run for your life. Ruthless vengeance will fall upon pregnant women, nursing mothers, there will be great distress and wrath. People will be killed by sword, led captive to other nations, Gentiles will trample Jerusalem—the temple, the altar. Notice that in Luke 21:7, Jesus is only asked about the destruction of Jerusalem. We know that 100% of everything Jesus mentions in Luke 21:1-24 literally and fully happens throughout the book of Acts, culminating in A.D. 70.
What is the inverse, of the Moses Test in Deuteronomy 18:22? If the prophet speaks in the Lord’s name AND his prediction DOES happen AND comes true, you will know that the Lord DID give that message. That prophet HAS spoken with my authority and NEEDS to be feared! Luke makes the continual observation that Jesus spoke with authority and power. Luke 21:32, “…this generation will certainly not pass away until all things take place.”
In Luke 19, and 21, there is a clear and imminent danger. Within one generation, complete destruction will visit Jerusalem. Jesus is weeping—but it’s not the physical or material doom over which Jesus weeps. Luke 19:44 what horror to think children will be crushed to the ground. When the children start dying, it becomes a whole other ball game right? When Hamas killed Jewish babies—that was the line. As the lives of Palestinian babies are taken, the French President Macron warns, that’s the unacceptable line! Babies Lives Matter.
But here is the spiritual reality. Luke 19:41-42, “As Jesus approached the city, he wept for it saying, “If you knew this day would bring peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.” Luke 19:44, Jesus warns that judgement will visit Jerusalem, “. . . because you did not recognize the time when God visited you.”
The God of the Universe was standing in their midst. Jesus the lamb of God, had freely come to Jerusalem, he’d come despite knowing he’d suffer, and be betrayed, and die. The God of the Universe withheld nothing—not even his own Son—to come and proclaim peace to Jerusalem, salvation, redemption, hope—and yet they recognized Jesus not. Jesus wept. His house of prayer–-the physically magnificent temple--had become a spiritually bankrupt den of thieves.
The spiritual and eternal realities for which Jesus weeps are infinitely more intangible than the bricks and mortar, material, stone realities of A.D. 70. But the impending physical and material peril of A.D. 70 certainly does not eclipse the eternal and spiritual peril in which the people of Jerusalem found themselves.
By the way, Bible College was the first place I saw grown men weeping for people estranged from God. Preachers would wipe away tears as they described God’s love for all people everywhere. For God so loved the world he gave his one and only son that whoever believes in him will not perish but have eternal life! I met students who had felt called their whole life to become preachers, youth ministers, and even missionaries. I encountered Bible passages (not just Luke 19 and 21) but also Philippians 3:18 where the apostle Paul laments, “For I have often told you, and now say again with tears, that many live as enemies of the cross of Christ.” It was in the presence of so many tears, I felt convicted about my sheer ambivalence. I’d certainly never shed a tear at the thought that maybe my own spiritual house was in order. Neither had I ever shed a single tear (much less felt a call) that maybe my life should be spent helping other people recognize Jesus and find peace with God! That maybe—far more than physical death—that people’s eternal and spiritual life more critically lay in the balance of faith in Jesus.
Jesus wept. He was weeping at the horror of death in this life. The A.D. 70s. The 911s of every age. The death of beloved friends like Lazarus. But he was weeping more profoundly—because we recognize God’s Christ NOT… this Jesus, this peace, this light of salvation who came into world that all men might live.
Luke 19:11-27. The Parable of the Ten Minas. A nobleman goes to a far country to do eternal business… to receive for himself authority to be King. This is a picture of Jesus. The nobleman entrusts ten minas to his servants. But in Luke 19:14 Jesus makes an editorial note… the nobleman’s subjects hated him, and even sent a delegation to him saying, “we don’t want this man to rule over us.” This is first and foremost a parable about spiritual reality. People hate Jesus, and don’t want King Jesus to rule over their lives. In Luke 19:27 the nobleman orders his enemies—who did not want him to rule over them—"to be slaughtered in my presence.”
There are physical realities, like the judgement of A.D. 70, for which one must be warned, be prepared, that they may live. There are spiritual realities like Luke 19:14, 27—that you don’t get to hate God’s King, and reject God’s Christ, and think it matters not. A worse fate awaits those who reject God’s King.
Luke 20:9-19. The Parable of the Vineyard Owner. A man plants a vineyard, leases it to some farmers, and goes away. At harvest time, the Owner sends a servant to get some fruit from the vineyard. But they beat the servant and sent him away empty handed! So, the owner sent another servant, and they beat him, shamed him, and sent him away empty handed! The owner sent a third, and they wounded him and threw him out! The owner thought, “I know… I’ll send my beloved Son to my vineyard. They’ll surely respect my One and Only Son!” But when the farmers saw the Son they said, “The Son is the heir. Let’s kill him so the inheritance will all be ours!” And so, they did. In Luke 20:15-16 Jesus asks, “What then will the owner of the vineyard do to them? He will come and kill those farmers and give the vineyard to others.”
In Luke 21:1-24 Jesus forecasts the material destruction of Jerusalem. But then he alludes to something infinitely more dreadful than A.D. 70 for which all men must be ready. Luke 21:25-28, “And there will be strange signs in the sun, moon, and stars. And here on earth the nations will be in turmoil, perplexed by the roaring seas and strange tides. 26 People will be terrified at what they see coming upon the earth, for the powers in the heavens will be shaken. 27 Then everyone will see the Son of Man coming on a cloud with power and great glory. 28 So when all these things begin to happen, stand and look up, for your salvation is near!”
According to Luke’s gospel, there is A.D. 70… but then anytime post A.D. 70, the Son of Man will come again. Luke 21:29-36, “Then he gave them this illustration: “Notice the fig tree, or any other tree. 30 When the leaves come out, you know without being told that summer is near. 31 In the same way, when you see all these things taking place, you can know that the Kingdom of God is near. 32 I tell you the truth, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these things have taken place. 33 Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear.”
34 “Watch out! Don’t let your hearts be dulled by carousing and drunkenness, and by the worries of this life. Don’t let that day catch you unaware, 35 like a trap. For that day will come upon everyone living on the earth. 36 Keep alert at all times. And pray that you might be strong enough to escape these coming horrors and stand before the Son of Man.”
What an amazing thing to observe not just a grown man, but the Son of God, weeping over a city… weeping over humankind… weeping because he’s hated not loved, ridiculed not revered nor recognized (Parable of Ten Minas). Abused, Shamed, Beaten, Crucified on a cross, fatally Wounded, Buried in a grave (Parable of the Tenants).
If Jesus warning about A.D. 70 came to pass, then what shall me make of his warning about the coming Day of the Lord? Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will never disappear. These stones. These towners. But not my words! Do we imagine that Christ Jesus is unaffected by us? Unaffected by our hatred of God? Unaffected by our ingratitude, wickedness, and sin? Unaffected by our unrepentance? Unaffected by our carousing, drunkenness, incessant worry, lack of faith or trust? Unaffected by our spiritual ambivalence? Our spiritual scoffing? OR, do we understand we’re fully accountable whether we believe on Jesus?
Communion…. [Read 2 Peter 3:5-16. . .]