THE WEEPING JESUS

THE WEEPING JESUS

Palm Sunday, March 25, 2018

CONNECT Many marches and demonstrations… One of the greatest in Jerusalem in 33 AD… Israel was converging on Jerusalem for Passover… Jesus made His Triumphant Entry!

TEXT God’s Personal Visit

Luke 19:28–31 (MSG) After saying these things, Jesus headed straight up to Jerusalem. When he got near Bethphage and Bethany at the mountain called Olives, he sent off two of the disciples with instructions: “Go to the village across from you. As soon as you enter, one that has never been ridden. Untie it and bring it. If anyone says anything, asks, ‘What are you doing?’ say, ‘His Master needs him.’”

32–33 The two left and found it just as he said. As they were untying the colt, its owners said, “What are you doing untying the colt?”

34 They said, “His Master needs him.”

35–36 They brought the colt to Jesus. Then, throwing their coats on its back, they helped Jesus get on. As he rode, the people gave him a grand welcome, throwing their coats on the street.

37–38 Right at the crest, where Mount Olives begins its descent, the whole crowd of disciples burst into enthusiastic praise over all the mighty works they had witnessed:

 Blessed is he who comes,

 the king in God’s name!

 All’s well in heaven!

 Glory in the high places!

Matthew 21:10-11 (NKJV) And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, “Who is this?” So the multitudes said, “This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee.”

39 Some Pharisees from the crowd told him, “Teacher, get your disciples under control!”

40 But he said, “If they kept quiet, the stones would do it for them, shouting praise.”

41 When the city came into view, he wept over it.

TENSION Jesus weeping over His people. Everyone is celebrating but Jesus is weeping!  

Why is Jesus weeping?

He had mourned over Jerusalem before…

Luke 13:34 (NKJV) O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you were not willing!

He wept at Lazarus’ grave…

John 11:35-36 (NKJV) Jesus wept. Then the Jews said, “See how He loved him!”

Jesus was not weeping over Lazarus; He was about to raise him from the dead!  He was weeping over their unbelief!

Jesus tells us why he is weeping…

42–44 “If you had only recognized this day, and everything that was good for you! But now it’s too late. In the days ahead, your enemies are going to bring up their heavy artillery and surround you, pressing in from every side. They’ll smash you and your babies on the pavement. Not one stone will be left intact. All this because you didn’t recognize and welcome God’s personal visit.”

Pastor Warren Wiersbe says this in his Bible Exposition Commentary: “No matter where Jesus looked, He found cause for weeping. If He looked back, He saw how the nation had wasted its opportunities and been ignorant of their "time of visitation." If He looked within, He saw spiritual ignorance and blindness in the hearts of the people. They should have known who He was, for God had given them His Word and sent His messengers to prepare the way.  As He looked around, Jesus saw religious activity that accomplished very little. The temple had become a den of thieves, and the religious leaders were out to kill Him. The city was filled with pilgrims celebrating a festival, but the hearts of the people were heavy with sin and life's burdens.  As Jesus looked ahead, He wept as He saw the terrible judgment that was coming to the nation, the city, and the temple. In a.d. 70, the Romans would come and, after a siege of 143 days, kill 600,000 Jews, take thousands more captive, and then destroy the temple and the city. Why did all of this happen? Because the people did not know that God had visited them! John 1:11 He came unto His own, and His own received Him not". Luke 19:14 "We will not have this man to reign over us!"

There it is right there. Jesus is weeping because He has wonderful plans for them, but they will have none of it. It is breaking His heart. He is not weeping out of rejection or anger, but the pain that’s comes from knowing their outcome!

My question: Is Jesus weeping over us today?

INSPIRATION John Wimber…

Are we breaking God’s heart?  Are we understanding the work of God in our life?  Or are we only wanting His acts but not His ways.

After His entered Jerusalem, he went to the temple and cleaned it out! This was what Malachi had promised!

APPLICATION

Let the Lord clean out our temple…

1.     Any area of known sin?

2.     Any rebellion to His will?

3.     Is Jesus only a part of our life?

4.     Are we living for ourselves?

A.W. Tozer wrote this over 50 years ago… “The most pressing need just now is that we who call ourselves Christians should frankly acknowledge to each other and to God that we are astray; that we should confess that we are worldly, that our moral standards are low and we are spiritually cold. We need to cease our multitude of unscriptural activities, stop running when and where we have not been sent, and cease trying to sanctify carnal projects by professing that we are promoting them “in the name of the Lord” and “for the glory of God.” We need to return to the message, methods and objectives of the New Testament. We need to boldly and indignantly cleanse the temple of all that sell cattle in the holy place and overthrow the tables of the money-changers. And this must be done in our own lives first and then in the churches of which we are a part.”

INVITATION

HASHTAG #weepingJesus