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| Jesus Wept (Luke 19:41) |
| Written by Pastor Fausel | |
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Nowhere in that reading we just heard of Mark’s account of the Passion, do we hear those words. “Jesus Wept.” We heard there that Peter wept… but not Jesus. People sometime kiddingly refer to those two words; “Jesus Wept” as being the shortest verse in Scripture. And that is true, but that verse of only two words is found in the Book of John, Chapter 11, where John is describing Jesus’ reaction at the tomb of his friend, Lazarus. Our words, “Jesus Wept” come today from the last verse of our entrance Gospel, describing Jesus coming upon the City of Jerusalem as he rode there on the First Palm Sunday. Rode on a donkey amidst the people’s acclaim with their robes and palm branches. This was the high point of Jesus virtual coronation as King … But tears of Joy do not fill Jesus’ eyes, He weeps with pity over the city. God, who has taken on our flesh and blood, is moved to shed tears. Perhaps, since we have two accounts of Jesus in two different situations shedding tears… we might be able to find something common in them both. What do we have in the first case? Lazarus. Who was Lazarus? He was the brother of the two sisters, Mary and Martha. But just any old brother? No. When Lazarus fell ill … the first thing the sisters did was to send for Jesus saying, “He who you love is ill.” He who you love. The sisters knew of Jesus’ closeness to their brother. And when Jesus approaches Lazarus’ tomb … apparently coming too late to heal him, He weeps … and the Jews, Jesus’ adversaries, say to themselves, “See how he loved him!” So … what do we learn about Jesus’ weeping? What comes first? Love. What comes next? Death? And then, what is the result? Tears! Love … death … tears. So, now, it’s Palm Sunday, and Luke now shows us what? Jesus … in Tears. Does the formula we have from Lazarus’ tomb still hold? What comes first? Love. Did Jesus love Jerusalem? The city, the buildings, the architecture? Or did He love the home of the Roman Garrison, Pontius Pilate, home of the Sanhedrin, The Chief Priest, the Pharisees, the scribes, and many who sought His life? Who or what were His tears for? Jesus, as He’s being led to the cross, turns and aims a strong warning to those following him saying, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children” …And Jesus goes on to warn them about the dark days to come for their city … Love? Undoubtedly. For whom? The Sheep. For those who would follow Him … even for those who would reject Him … Jesus loved all people. He loved Caiaphas, the High Priest, every bit as much as He loved Peter, the disciple. Jesus loved everyone… from the lowliest servant to the criminals between whom He would be crucified … to even the Herod who would have Him perform a sign. Jesus’ love knew no bounds. Love, yes, love was there that first Palm Sunday …. Love for people. Well then, how about that second element we find at Lazarus’ tomb? Death? Death Indeed. Was Jesus concerned about his own impending death on the cross as he caught a glimpse of the city near which that would occur? The city in which He would be spat upon and scourged within an inch of His life? No. Jesus knew that death that was lying in wait for the sheep He loved in Jerusalem. The death and destruction He knew coming 35 years hence at the hands of the Romans that would not leave one massive temple stone on top of the other. Physical death that would come to his followers and his adversaries alike. But worse than that, was the specter of eternal death … that eternal separation from God which was awaiting those who rejected Him and His Gospel, so feely and universally given. So here on Palm Sunday, the Sunday of the Passion, we do have Love. We do have Death … and even the final element? Yes, tears. Yes, in a sense … Jesus was riding a donkey into a tomb. A tomb yet to come, but a tomb none the less … and His tears were for the suffering and the death His chosen would have to suffer … And His tears were also for the loss of those sheep who would insist on life on their own terms. Tears, not for Himself by any means, but tears for the Daughters of Jerusalem and for their children. /// And you know who those children include? You and Me… Yes, people of Louisville Kentucky, separated by thousands of miles and thousands of years from the event we read about today … Jesus sheds His tears for you. Why? Because we are just like those daughters of Jerusalem and their children … sinners. Sinners in need of a Savior. Sinners without a hope … unless the events of the coming week were to take place. Jesus wept for you and me … and in those tears of love … we see His resolve to drink the cup the Father had placed before Him. The Cup: to save you from Death. To raise you from the grave. To make you forever His. That’s love. That’s His passion. This day … Jesus was seeing YOU … through His tears!! Ponder that thought this week. In Him, Amen |