SUNDAY, APRIL 13, 2014
7 Days to
Resurrection Sunday
Luke 19:41“And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept
over it…”
SCRIPTURE READING: LUKE 19:29-44
29And
it came to pass, when he was come nigh to Bethphage and Bethany, at the mount
called the mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples,
30Saying,
Go ye into the village over against you; in the which at your entering ye shall
find a colt tied, whereon yet never man sat: loose him, and bring him hither.
31And
if any man ask you, Why do ye loose him? thus shall ye say unto him, Because
the Lord hath need of him.
32And
they that were sent went their way, and found even as he had said unto them.
33And
as they were loosing the colt, the owners thereof said unto them, Why loose ye
the colt?
34And
they said, The Lord hath need of him.
35And
they brought him to Jesus: and they cast their garments upon the colt, and they
set Jesus thereon.
36And
as he went, they spread their clothes in the way.
37And
when he was come nigh, even now at the descent of the mount of Olives, the
whole multitude of the disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud
voice for all the mighty works that they had seen;
38Saying,
Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and
glory in the highest.
39And
some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke
thy disciples.
40And
he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their
peace, the stones would immediately cry out.
41And
when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,
42Saying,
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.
43For
the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about
thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side,
44And
shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they
shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the
time of thy visitation.
REFLECTION:
To a crescendo of
praise Jesus headed to Jerusalem for His final Passover. “Hosanna!”
His faithful shouted. “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the
Lord!” Word spread along the way.
His disciples took
their clothing and laid it on the path as the Lord rode toward the Holy City on
a colt. Some took branches from nearby
palm trees and waved them in celebration.
I suppose that some of the children
whom Jesus loved were there. “Forbid them not!” Jesus invited.
No doubt there were some in that crowd whom
Christ had healed. Eyes that had never before seen witnessed the majesty of
that moment.
The lame that Christ had
touched now ran to participate. Perhaps
there were some of the 5,000 whom Christ had fed with five loaves and two
fish. I cannot imagine that Lazarus,
whom Christ had raised to life only a few days earlier, would have missed this
moment.
The critics were
there too. “Master, rebuke thy disciples!” they shrieked. They could not see Christ for who He was.
They would not. He just didn’t fit their expectations.
But this was our
Lord’s day. He said, “if
these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out.” (Luke 19:40)
As the procession
rounds a turn in the path, the city appears in panoramic view. Jesus halts. The
sound of praise turns to hushed tones. A
warm tear courses down our Savior face. Those who were closest heard Him, “If only you had known…” Staring off into the future the Savior
whispers, “The days will come…your
enemies will compass you…keep you in on every side…lay you even with the
ground, and your children…not leave one stone on another…”
He knew what was
coming.
“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,” He warned, “You kill the prophets, stone them that are sent to you; how often
would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under
her wing, and you would not.” (Luke 13:34)
In the year of our
Lord 70, forty years after that first Palm Sunday, the Roman ruler Titus laid
siege to Jerusalem. Conditions inside the city walls deteriorated. There were
even reports of cannibalism among the starving inhabitants. For some
unexplained reason Titus lifted the siege for a short time.
The Christians, remembering what our Lord had
said, fled for their lives. Those who
remained were devastated when the full force and fury of the Roman military was
unleashed on the city. Listen to Jesus.
Looking down the
road, Jesus saw the future for the Holy City.
Looking down the pathway of our lives, Jesus sees our destiny. Is there a tear in His eye? Is He crying, “If you had only known…” Does our Lord see you refusing His Word,
ignoring His witnesses, and denying His love? Does Christ see destruction in
our future?
The Lord knows our
destiny. But it is we who determine our
destiny. He is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to
repentance.”
PRAYER: Our Father, We pause again to thank you for your
great faithfulness. We thank you for
caring. We thank you for loving. We thank you for demonstrating your
compassion. We thank you for warning
us. We pray that our eyes would be open,
that our ears would be listening, that our hearts would be willing ,and that
our feet would be walking on the highway of holiness. May it be that when we stand before you there
would only tears of joy, as we hear the Lord say, “Welcome home.” In the name of Jesus we pray, Amen. “Our Father, &c.”