Luke 19:41 gives us insight to what Jesus was thinking as he entered the city:
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.”
How many different reasons can we think of that Jesus would be weeping? Before we answer that we have to acknowledge that "weep" in this context is waling. I want everyone to notice that so they realize that this wasn't some sort of manly cry, I got dust in my eyes and this donkey stinks cry. This is full body, I can't hold it back weeping. So, now we can answer, why was he weeping? My first thought is that he knows that all of this is temporary and soon he will be in more physical and emotional pain than anyone can imagine. It could be that he knows he will be leaving everyone soon. It could be that he is going to go through betrayal in a way no man has ever seen. But, if you read verse 42, he isn't thinking about any of those things. He is having a conversation about the people of Jerusalem. And, why does he say "You of all people would understand"? To get that answer we need to go all the way to the book of Daniel.
Daniel 9:25-26
25 Now listen and understand! Seven sets of seven plus sixty-two sets of seven will pass from the time the command is given to rebuild Jerusalem until a ruler—the Anointed One—comes. Jerusalem will be rebuilt with streets and strong defenses, despite the perilous times. 26 “After this period of sixty-two sets of seven, the Anointed One will be killed, appearing to have accomplished nothing, and a ruler will arise whose armies will destroy the city and the Temple. The end will come with a flood, and war and its miseries are decreed from that time to the very end.
What?
1. I'm horrible at math
2. Even if I take out the math, I don't think I understand any of that
3. Ok, I'm going to assume that the Anointed One is Jesus
Let's start simple, When was Jerusalem rebuilt? To get that answer we need to go to the book of Nehemiah chapter 2.
Nehemiah Goes to Jerusalem
Early the following spring, in the month of Nisan, during the twentieth year of King Artaxerxes’ reign, I was serving the king his wine. I had never before appeared sad in his presence. 2 So the king asked me, “Why are you looking so sad? You don’t look sick to me. You must be deeply troubled.” Then I was terrified, 3 but I replied, “Long live the king! How can I not be sad? For the city where my ancestors are buried is in ruins, and the gates have been destroyed by fire.” 4 The king asked, “Well, how can I help you?” With a prayer to the God of heaven, 5 I replied, “If it please the king, and if you are pleased with me, your servant, send me to Judah to rebuild the city where my ancestors are buried.” 6 The king, with the queen sitting beside him, asked, “How long will you be gone? When will you return?” After I told him how long I would be gone, the king agreed to my request. 7 I also said to the king, “If it please the king, let me have letters addressed to the governors of the province west of the Euphrates River, instructing them to let me travel safely through their territories on my way to Judah. 8 And please give me a letter addressed to Asaph, the manager of the king’s forest, instructing him to give me timber. I will need it to make beams for the gates of the Temple fortress, for the city walls, and for a house for myself.” And the king granted these requests, because the gracious hand of God was on me.
Ok, so now we know that part, but what about the math?
- Add 7 + 62 weeks of years = 69 weeks of years
- Multiply 69 (weeks) x 7 (to get the total number of years in this prophecy) = 483 years
- Multiply 483 years x 360 (to get the total number of days in this prophecy) = 173,880 days
That means that Jesus was weeping because Daniel told them he was coming. The Pharisees, the people that Jesus had run-ins with the most studied the book of Daniel. They spent their whole entire life starting as a young boy looking at scripture. But somehow didn't see the person they had been waiting their whole entire life for. So, what about Luke chapter 19 verses 43-44? We still don't know what Jesus is talking about there. In verses 41-42, Jesus is referring to the past, now he is directing the focus to the future.
In April 70 AD, about the time of Passover, the Romans besieged Jerusalem. The Romans encircled the city with a wall to cut off supplies to the city completely and thereby drive the Jews to starvation. By August 70 AD the Romans had breached the final defenses and massacred much of the remaining population. They also destroyed the Second Temple.
Jesus knew what their disbelief would lead to, the Old Testament is filled with warnings about what would happen if God's people didn't follow his commands. Jesus looked at the past and he looked at the future of God's people and it made him weep.
How many warnings have been given to us? What are we completely ignoring in a way that is making Jesus weep?
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