Jesus Wept Over It

Scripture

Luke 19:37-44, 47-48

³⁷ As he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds of power that they had seen, ³⁸ saying,

“Blessed is the king
    who comes in the name of the Lord!
Peace in heaven,
    and glory in the highest heaven!”

³⁹ Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, order your disciples to stop.” ⁴⁰ He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shout out.”

⁴¹ As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴² saying, “If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ Indeed, the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up ramparts around you and surround you, and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴ They will crush you to the ground, you and your children within you, and they will not leave within you one stone upon another; because you did not recognize the time of your visitation from God....”

⁴⁷ Every day he was teaching in the temple. The chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people kept looking for a way to kill him; ⁴⁸ but they did not find anything they could do, for all the people were spellbound by what they heard.  (NRSV)

 

Devotion

Holy Week is once again upon us; and here as we remember the final days leading up to Christ's Passion and death, I can't help but reflect on what led things to transpire the way they did.  Those who sought to kill Jesus were not inherently evil people. They were people like you and me--people whose fears, aspirations, assumptions, and desires led them to make terrible choices.  And if we look carefully, we can catch glimpses of ourselves in all of them. 

Today, I want to focus on those whose focus on worldly power blinded them to the truth of what Jesus had come to Jerusalem to do.  From the crowds to some of Jesus's most ardent followers to those who conspired to kill him, people's inability to see the way of peace that Jesus was showing them that led them to trust in some violent visions of their own.  Those visions and the plans that came out of them led to our Savior's trial, torture, and death. 

The Gospels give us a clear sense that most people expected Jesus to declare himself king and mount a political insurrection against Rome.  The disciples and zealots who praise Jesus's name are excited about this prospect, because they are sick of Roman oppression and all the injustices and inequalities that came with it.  As Jesus enters Jerusalem, some of these folks are happy to shout praises and watch from the sidelines as he rises to power.  Others are keyed up and ready to literally fight alongside him.  Either way, they cannot wait to watch Jesus liberate their people from Roman rule.

Meanwhile, the people who were members of Judah's religious, political, and social establishment, were terrified.  They knew that the Jewish people did not have the power to truly stand up to Caesar.  Any organized revolt was bound to result in annihilation of the Jewish people at the hands of Roman soldiers.  Even the rumor of a planned insurrection could bring about wide-spread death. This is why they asked Jesus to get the disciple to stop shouting that he is their king.  And if Jesus couldn't or wouldn't do that...well then they felt duty-bound to have him killed.  Finding a way to execute Jesus was distasteful.  It was even risky in certain ways.  But it was a sacrifice the establishment was willing to make in order to protect the people as a whole.  

Jesus, meanwhile, mourns that both sides understand neither the kind of king he is nor the kind of liberation he brings.   Jesus knows that the ways we humans try to protect ourselves and grasp for power result in death...and that widespread death will indeed come to Jerusalem in just a few short decades when the people try to liberate themselves from Roman rule.  All that death-dealing and more comes not because God wills such violence...but because our own sinfulness blinds us to the things that make for true peace.  And so, with the truth hidden from our eyes, we continue to choose things that continue to hurt ourselves and others.

We today have the benefit of hindsight in that we know the truth about what Jesus came to do.  Still, we are often no better at recognizing the things that truly make for peace.  As  William Carter of First Presbyterian Church of Clarks Summit, PA, puts it:

Someone tells us the best way to create peace is by initiating a war.  The strong are strengthened by holding off the weak.  Parents confront fear by buying a handgun for their dresser drawer.  Governments and businesses seek to win at all costs, even if it bankrupts them.  Jesus rides his lowly farm animal through all of it.  (154) 

I believe that Jesus weeps over these situations and more...just as he wept over Jerusalem all those years ago.  And why does Jesus weep?  Because despite all he has done to show us God way of peace and everlasting life, we let our sinful addiction to violent and death-dealing quests for power continue to blind us.  The Truth is right in front of us, yet it remains hidden to our eyes.  And so, our troubles remain many.  We keep convincing ourselves that it is okay to do sinful and violent things as long as they are for the Greater Good...and it keeps backfiring on us.

As we move forward into Holy Week, I encourage you to watch the videos from Jesus Christ Superstar below.  As you watch the first three, ask yourself, "which one of these groups would I most likely be in?  Am I someone who just wants Jesus to simply seize the reigns and fix things for me whatever it costs?  Do I identify more with those primed to violently wrest control from others?  Or am I more likely to agree that certain 'sacrifices' must be made in order to preserve a sense of safety or security?"  

Whoever you identify with, I invite you to ask yourself whether the way you feel drawn to is really what God wants of you.  Then, listen carefully to Jesus's response and ask Christ to open your eyes to God's way of peace.  And finally, with your blinders hopefully removed, take a good look at the world spread out around you.   What is Christ helping you see is your true path forward through our hurting and hurtful world?  Whatever path he reveals to you, I pray that you commit to taking it as Jesus continues his journey to the cross.  

The Crowd's Desire for a Savior

The Zealots' Vision for the Future

The Establishment's Plan to Ward Off Danger

Christ's Response

 

Prayer

Jesus, open my eyes to the things that make for peace.  And those things have been revealed to me, may I follow your better way.  Amen.

 

Works Cited

Carter, William G.  "Luke 19:28-40 Pastoral Perspective."  Feasting on the Word: Preaching the Revised Common Lectionary.  Year C, Volume 2.  Eds. David Bartlett, David Lyon and Barbara Brown Taylor  Lousivlle: Westminster John Knox Press, 2009. (152-156)