After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem …
When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
“Blessed be the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
… As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace – but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”
(verses 28, 37-38, 41-44)
-
I love the story of the Triumphal Entry. There is so much pageantry and joy-filled welcome as Jesus enters Jerusalem. Each of the four Gospels recounts this exuberant moment. Myriad voices shout aloud, high praises ring out: “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”
But Luke unfolds his account differently than the other Gospels, bookending it with two statements from Jesus which are almost jarring amid such celebration.
The first comes as Jesus concludes his Parable of the Ten Minas. The newly appointed king of that story demands that those who had rejected his kingship be executed in his presence (Luke 19:27). It’s a horrific moment. Luke deliberately ties it to his account of the Triumphal Entry with these words: “After Jesus had said this …” It's a somber introduction to a scene of celebration.
Fast-forwarding, Luke ends his account with a detail given by none of the other Gospel-writers: Jesus weeps. Passionately. It’s grief that is poured out as Jerusalem itself comes into his line of sights. He grieves that the city and its people have missed their opportunity for peace. Instead, what is coming upon them is a cataclysmic season of destruction and death, brutally carried out by the Romans in 70 CE.
It's a scene that matches the conclusion of the Parable.
I’m thankful for this sighting of Jesus’ grief poured out over Jerusalem. The depth of his emotion helps clarify the somewhat troubling ending to that Parable. When the king’s enemies are executed it’s not an act of spiteful vindictiveness. Nor is it the peevish cruelty of a despot. Rather, it’s a graphic picture of the real consequence of rejecting God’s gift. The King has come. “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!” Those who truly welcome him will find the door wonderfully opened into the kingdom. But those who reject him will ultimately find themselves falling under the judgement that our own sin has earned. Jesus – the Master, the King – grieves that awful reality. Indeed, in coming into Jerusalem he is purposefully on his way to the cross, so that judgement might be put aside, that salvation might be received, and that the kingdom might be opened wide to those who turn to the Saviour. He’s grieved that any would miss it.
There’s one final unique sighting that comes through in Luke’s account. The crowd cries out, “Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” None of the other Gospels include that line. The emphasis on heaven’s peace is unique.
It’s the loss of that very peace that Jesus grieves. Weeping over Jerusalem, he says, “(It’s been) hidden from your eyes.” Peace, in fact, is the very thing he’s dying to give us. Not as the world gives. No. Instead, he says, “My peace I give you” (John 14:27).
Oh, may we have eyes to see. May we welcome the King. May we receive his peace.
-
Lord Jesus, you bore the weight of judgement that would otherwise have come to me. You grieved over those who were blind to the gift, who turned aside from salvation, who rejected you as King. Oh, may I never lose sight of the gift. Oh, may you use me to share its goodness. Oh, may your kingdom come.
-
Reflect:
Think of any in your own circle of relationships who is still blind to the peace Jesus brings. Pray for them by name. Ask the Lord to use you in any way he would to bring his light to darkened eyes.
-
Photo by Matt Botsford on Unsplash
Comments