“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, 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,” Luke 19:41-42.
These words of the Saviour came to me with fresh power just about one month ago during my daily reading.
They are among the most poignant and pitiful in all the Bible. They reveal to us the greatness of the loving, patient heart of the Saviour. They were spoken to a people in a nation that was privileged above all nations and sadly, surpassed all nations in their folly and blindness.
It is the nation of Israel, of which it was said regarding the coming of their Messiah amongst them: “He came unto his own, and his own received him not,” John 1:11.
They were spoken on the 9th day of the Jewish year, 5 days before the Passover lamb was slain, John 12:12. This was the day before the Passover lamb was selected, Ex 12:3.
Four days later, Luke 22:7, 14th day of the new year, the lamb was slain, as was Christ. These days at the beginning of the Jewish year were spent by the Saviour in and around the Temple, 19:45, 47, 20:1. There He taught the people.
Passover is near and the enemies of Christ, unaware of their fulfilling of the types and prophecies, plan to murder the Saviour. “And the chief priests and scribes sought how they might kill him,” Luke 22:2.
Luke 22:3, John 13.30, Luke 22:47-48. Judas, filled with the devil, betrayed Him. From the Garden of Gethsemane the Lord Jesus went to the cross the next day.
What we have in this verse is the reaction in sorrow and grief to Israel’s rejection of their Redeemer. The shadow of the cross falls upon them! He said, verse 44, “Thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.” What a tragic blindness is highlighted here.
I. SUCH IGNORANCE IS A MATTER OF GREAT SORROW
“He beheld the city, and wept over it.”
1. Christ’s weeping is a most eloquent appraisal of the folly of His rejectors! Oh take heed today rejector. What a contrast between your view of what you do and that of the Saviour’s view.
2. Men can be at ease and indeed rejoice at such ignorance. Nowhere is this more evident than during the trial and crucifixion of the Saviour. Soldiers, Matt 27:29,31; Chief priests, V 41 and the people, 39-44. So it was prophesied, “All they that see me laugh me to scorn: they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, [saying], he trusted on the LORD [that] he would deliver him: let him deliver him, seeing he delighted in him,” Psalm 22:7-8.
Throughout my years I have thought, in horror, of the fate that awaited such utter wickedness and folly.
3. What a contrast the Saviour manifests. “He beheld the city, and wept over it.” This is a weeping that is beyond that which we would term ‘normal’! It is a weeping of one who feels a sorrow beyond bounds. Here is the word in another context. Rev 18:11-19. The Saviour was distressed for He saw the ‘distress’ that lay ahead of these foolish rejectors of Him and His message.
II. THE TIME OF GOSPEL OPPORTUNITY IS CALLED A ‘DAY OF VISITATION’
“in this thy day . . . the time of thy visitation,” verse 42, 44.
1. It is a short time. It is a time of light and brightness but limited.
2. It is a visit from the Lord. He draws near to speak, to inspect and to look for a response.
3. He comes with gifts and blessing. There never was a more generous visitor! He came with “the things [which belong] unto thy peace.” That entailed His death as an atoning sacrifice for our sin and His continually intercession as our High Priest.
III. FAILURE TO RIGHTLY RESPOND TO THIS VISIT WILL RESULT IN THE MOST TERRIBLE JUDGMENT
1. Terrible because of the great measure of grace shown. “Even thou”. This was the most sinful, stubborn, rebellious people the world has ever known! Yet, even to them was mercy wonderfully, powerfully offered.
2. It is a judgment that is not seen immediately. AD 70 lay nearly 40 years hence. But come it did! The delay, born of mercy, is wrongly viewed by the wicked. “Because sentence against an evil work is not executed speedily, therefore the heart of the sons of men is fully set in them to do evil,” Ecclesiastes 8:11.
3. It is a lasting, eternal judgment. Those who die in rejection of the gospel are destined to the lake of fire for ever. “And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire,” Revelation 20:15.
IV. CHRIST’S WEEPING WAS A HARBINGER OF THE ETERNAL WEEPING OF LOST SINNERS.
His weeping was of the most bitter character. This is the sorrow, born of the love that brought the Saviour to the cross to bear away the sins of His elect that they might never weep as He did! His Words and His Weeping are warnings indeed of what lies ahead for the rejector!
“So shall it be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just, and shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Jesus saith unto them, Have ye understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord,” Matthew 13:49-51.
I ask you all today, here in the church and those watching online: “Have ye understood all these things?”. Do you realise that this is what lies ahead FOR ALL ETERNITY for those who reject the Saviour and His gospel?
O give heed in this ‘thy day’, before God’s mercy is withdrawn.