Weeping for Our City
LENT: A Journey to the Cross Week 6 • Sermon • Submitted
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29 As he came to the towns of Bethphage and Bethany on the Mount of Olives, he sent two disciples ahead.
30 “Go into that village over there,” he told them. “As you enter it, you will see a young donkey tied there that no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.
31 If anyone asks, ‘Why are you untying that colt?’ just say, ‘The Lord needs it.’ ”
32 So they went and found the colt, just as Jesus had said.
33 And sure enough, as they were untying it, the owners asked them, “Why are you untying that colt?”
34 And the disciples simply replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 So they brought the colt to Jesus and threw their garments over it for him to ride on.
36 As he rode along, the crowds spread out their garments on the road ahead of him.
37 When he reached the place where the road started down the Mount of Olives, all of his followers began to shout and sing as they walked along, praising God for all the wonderful miracles they had seen.
38 “Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”
39 But some of the Pharisees among the crowd said, “Teacher, rebuke your followers for saying things like that!”
40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
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.”
A scene we are familiar with!
What are the people doing as Jesus comes to Jerusalem?
They are singing and dancing
They are most likely reciting Psalm 118
They are claiming Jesus as King!
What is Jesus doing?
He’s riding on a donkey.
He’s fulfilling the prophetic message of Zechariah 9:9-10
9 Rejoice, O people of Zion! Shout in triumph, O people of Jerusalem! Look, your king is coming to you. He is righteous and victorious, yet he is humble, riding on a donkey— riding on a donkey’s colt. 10 I will remove the battle chariots from Israel and the warhorses from Jerusalem. I will destroy all the weapons used in battle, and your king will bring peace to the nations. His realm will stretch from sea to sea and from the Euphrates River to the ends of the earth.
He’s showing his royalty, but he is doing it in an odd way. He is on a donkey and not a war horse. He’s a gentle, humble leader who will bring his Kingdom to bear in gentle humble ways.
He’s also encouraging people to shout their praises - even though they do not understand what exactly is happening.
40 He replied, “If they kept quiet, the stones along the road would burst into cheers!”
But, in the midst of all this excitement and hoopla there is an odd scene.
Jesus is being championed, but in the midst of this he stops and weeps over Jerusalem.
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.”
Why does Jesus weep over the city?
Now, at first, we could probably think of a few reasons Jesus would weep over Jerusalem.
After all, he is going to Jerusalem to die. Maybe his weeping is over freight and terror over what will happen to him. No one would blame him for that!
But, that doesn’t seem to be the case! Jesus’ weeping is over the spiritual state of the people of the city!
He weeps because they have ignored his message. A message that was intended to bless them and bring them peace - true peace.
This is NOT the 1st time he has wept over the city!
31 At that time some Pharisees said to him, “Get away from here if you want to live! Herod Antipas wants to kill you!” 32 Jesus replied, “Go tell that fox that I will keep on casting out demons and healing people today and tomorrow; and the third day I will accomplish my purpose. 33 Yes, today, tomorrow, and the next day I must proceed on my way. For it wouldn’t do for a prophet of God to be killed except in Jerusalem! 34 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me. 35 And now, look, your house is abandoned. And you will never see me again until you say, ‘Blessings on the one who comes in the name of the Lord!’”
Jesus weeps because like a compassionate parent who watches their children stray, Jerusalem would not listen and hear his message. Jesus wants to care for them, but the people will not listen to his message. And, in that regard, he will be like a list of all the other prophets that have shared a message to God’s people, who were ignored, and then killed because of the lack of understanding of the people.
Since the people would not listen to Jesus’ message, he knows there will be consequences
The city will be destroyed
The temple has already been judged, but if they repent God could relent
The people felt the answer to their problems was MORE violence and MORE murder. These actions will NEVER bring peace.
In their fear of Jesus and His message, and out of fear of revolution and what the Roman Emperor would do, the people decide that peace is NOT the answer. Death of the one they fear would be the answer.
So, the man that they hailed as king they would kill - and not realize that his true, humble, world changing coronation will be his crucifixion.
And, this story reminds me of another prophet who brings a message to a city and also weeps over the city because of the response. JONAH.
Remember, Jonah is told to go to Nineveh and he refuses
He sails in the opposite direction and is thrown over the boat in the midst of a storm and is saved when swallowed by a whale.
He is vomited onto dry ground and FINALLY agrees to go to Nineveh.
His message for the city is SIMPLE - DESTRUCTION AND JUDGMENT
3 This time Jonah obeyed the Lord’s command and went to Nineveh, a city so large that it took three days to see it all. 4 On the day Jonah entered the city, he shouted to the crowds: “Forty days from now Nineveh will be destroyed!” 5 The people of Nineveh believed God’s message, and from the greatest to the least, they declared a fast and put on burlap to show their sorrow.
And, the response was AMAZING!
6 When the king of Nineveh heard what Jonah was saying, he stepped down from his throne and took off his royal robes. He dressed himself in burlap and sat on a heap of ashes. 7 Then the king and his nobles sent this decree throughout the city: “No one, not even the animals from your herds and flocks, may eat or drink anything at all. 8 People and animals alike must wear garments of mourning, and everyone must pray earnestly to God. They must turn from their evil ways and stop all their violence. 9 Who can tell? Perhaps even yet God will change his mind and hold back his fierce anger from destroying us.” 10 When God saw what they had done and how they had put a stop to their evil ways, he changed his mind and did not carry out the destruction he had threatened.
The people decided to repent and turn from their evil ways and accept the ways of God - perhaps, they thought, God might decide NOT to destroy the city.
But, what was Jonah’s response to this - He pouted and wept!
1 This change of plans greatly upset Jonah, and he became very angry. 2 So he complained to the Lord about it: “Didn’t I say before I left home that you would do this, Lord? That is why I ran away to Tarshish! I knew that you are a merciful and compassionate God, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. You are eager to turn back from destroying people. 3 Just kill me now, Lord! I’d rather be dead than alive if what I predicted will not happen.”
How does Jonah’s response to Nineveh compare to Jesus’ response to Jerusalem
What are the similarities?
What are the differences?
Whose response do you prefer?
Whose response do you want to imitate?
Here we see a difference in 2 prophets and 2 responses
Jesus taught a message of peace - but it had a reminder of God’ judgment upon those who refuse to change their ways.
Jonah, he taught a message of God’s message, but did not share much grace.
Jesus’ message wasn’t received by many - not enough to change the ways of the leaders.
Jonah’s message was heard and responded to immediately - with success.
This is also a commentary of the Spiritual state of the people
Jesus weeps because the people refuse to believe
Jonah weeps because the people DID believe...
Don't lose heart if people don't respond to the message. Continue to love them passionately and continue to weep for them
What a contrast!
Jonah pouts because he didn’t get his way
Jonah pouts because he didn’t want the city to repent
Jonah pouts because he didn’t want God to show compassion
Jonah pouts because he might not be taken seriously as a prophet any longer - and because he might die if his prophetic message does not come to pass.
But, Jesus WEEPS!
Jesus is weeping over us who chose the world's standards over God's
He's weeping over us who choose violence over peace
His weeping over us who ignore His ways only to experience consequences for our actions
But, he also reminds us of the passion with which he served
He know ls he will be crucified and yet he still has sorrows for those who will carry out his death sentence
He served with passion for the lost
Jonah served because he had to and he had no compassion
Jesus served with passion
When was the last time you wept over your city/county/state/nation?
Not because they were sinners and needed to be punished
But because they had missed the point and were ignorant?
When was the last time you wept out of a broken heart, full of compassion, for the people in YOUR world?
When was the last time you loved people so deeply that the thought of their missing the message moved you to tears?
Too many time we are too much like Jonah. We don’t want to go to those people. They deserve what’s coming to them. We don’t want them in our church or in our fellowship. We don’t want them to experience the goodness of God. So, we don’t go to them and we pout when they find life in Christ.
But, Jesus shows us a different way. A way that deeply loves people and is moved to tears with compassion for them. A way that wants people to experience ALL that God has in store for them. A way that is willing to go and do WHATEVER it takes - even CRUCIFIXION and DEATH so that people can know and experience what God desires for them.
Lord, help us to love, live, and be more like Jesus!
Do you find yourself acting more like Jonah or more like Jesus? How? When?
How can you respond differently to those in your world to better model Jesus?