2025-01-30 2025-01-30
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Christ's entry into Jerusalem during Holy Week was triumphant. Crowds raised their voices in cheers as the Lord walked past them, but his reaction might have surprised them had they seen it. He wept. Why? Why did Jesus weep over Jerusalem?

Here Christ was—the Son of God Almighty in the flesh—being glorified by the people. These people had an opportunity to hear God's message of salvation directly from the Lord and accept the saving grace He offered.

Yet, Christ knew that many of them would not do so.

He had visited Jerusalem numerous times during his childhood and ministry, but this time was different. People in the crowd waved palm branches and called out, "Hosanna!" But many did not believe Jesus was God's Son or open their hearts to him. They saw a man who would lead them to a military victory that would rid them of oppressive Roman rule, and they cheered.

Why Did Jesus Weep For Jerusalem?

On that first Palm Sunday, Jesus made His way through Jerusalem and stopped at a place with a good view of the city. It was there that He began to weep.

He was grieving for the people who continued to turn away from Him. He knew that in rejecting Him, they missed having a relationship with God and gaining the eternal life He offered. He also mourned because Jerusalem was not living up to its name, "city of peace."

The people's past and future sins troubled Him as well, and He grieved because of the dark future He saw for Jerusalem and its people. Jesus knew that within 70 years, the Jews would openly rebel against Roman rule, and Rome would respond by sending its soldiers to surround Jerusalem and starve its residents into submission.

People who cheered Christ's entrance into Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday wanted a temporary, earthly victory against their enemy. They did not understand that Christ would one day bring peace to the broken world—a world filled with hatred, deceit, hostility, violence, treachery, and carnage.

A City That Killed Prophets

"O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those that are sent to you," Christ cried out as He wept for the city. "How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not?"

"Now the peace is hidden from your eyes" (Luke 13:34).

As Christ wept for Jerusalem and its people, He knew they didn't realize God was standing before them. He also knew the people would not recognize Him as the Savior "until the time comes when you say, 'Blessed is he that comes in the name of the Lord'" (Luke 13:35).

Christ's triumphant entrance into the city on the first Palm Sunday anticipated His second coming when a new Jerusalem would come down. And at that time, He would bring judgment to the world and wage war against the darkness. It would be too late for the world's lost souls.

Christ's Tears of Sympathy

The tears Christ shed over Jerusalem on that first Palm Sunday were not the only tears He shed during His ministry. The Bible tells of two other times when Jesus wept. Once, He wept when His friends were mourning the death of a loved one, and another occurred when He was praying in the garden of Gethsemane.

The scripture's first mention of Jesus crying is in John 11:35, when the Bible says simply, "Jesus wept." It took place as the Lord walked toward the tomb of His dear friend Lazarus.

Lazarus lived in Bethany with his sisters Mary and Martha, and Christ had a close friendship with the family. During one visit to their home, He shared His message of salvation as Mary poured perfume on His feet and wiped it away with her long hair.

Now, the sisters were grieving the death of their brother. They had sent a message to Jesus saying Lazarus was ill, but Christ did not immediately begin His journey to Bethany. "Our friend Lazarus is sleeping, and I'm going to wake him," He told His disciples. By the time He reached the sisters, Lazarus had died, and his body had been entombed for four days.

"Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died," Martha said to Christ. She and the other mourners then took Him to the grave of Lazarus, and the Lord wept with them.

Jesus knew He was going to raise Lazarus from the dead, but He felt the anguish of people who had lost their friends and family members. Jesus told them Lazarus would come back to life, and Martha responded that she knew her brother would arise on the last day when everyone would rise from the dead.

But Christ said, "I am the one who brings people back to life, and I am life itself. Those who believe in me will live even if they die." Jesus knew that Lazarus, Mary, and Martha would have eternal life because they had accepted Him into their hearts and souls.

He then raised Lazarus from the dead (John 11:1-25). And He tells us today, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live even if he dies" (John 11:25).

Jesus Wept Before the Crucifixion

Christ knew death would not defeat Him, but He wept as He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane for God to deliver Him from it. In other words, He prayed for the resurrection as the crucifixion loomed before Him (Hebrews 5:7).

The garden of Gethsemane still exists as an orchard of ancient olive trees. In Christ's time, it was a place where He could privately pray and weep as the weight of the world pressed down on Him. God the Father was, after all, asking Him to accept the full burden of humanity's sins.

Even worse, Christ felt His Father's love leaving Him, and He prayed, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me" (Matthew 26:39). And as He prayed, He thought about His baptism and mission, as well as His Father's love, and said, "Not as I will but your will" (Matthew 6:9-10).

Thus, in the garden of Gethsemane, as Jesus prayed and wept, He made the deliberate choice to die on the cross for us.

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