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Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, "If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another, because you did not know the time of your visitation." Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, saying to them, "It is written, 'My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a 'den of thieves.'" And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.(Luke 19:41–48)
Have you ever, out of love, given a friend some advise but they refused to listen to you? It hurts, doesn't it? They are walking on a pathway of destruction and you want to help them. You care about them. But it doesn't matter what you say, they refuse to listen to you.
There is an old saying, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make it drink.” It means that you can offer good advice to someone but you cannot make them take it.
Jesus came to His own Jewish people bringing life giving words, but they refused to listen to Him. Jesus performed many miracles clearly proving that He is the Son of God, yet they refused to believe in Him. Jesus came to save everyone from their sins, but His own Jewish people did not think that they had sins which needed to be forgiven. Jesus was identified by John the Baptist as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, but He was rejected by His own people. A blind beggar knew who Jesus was and called out to Him saying, “Son of David, have mercy on me,” but Jerusalem is blinded to this truth and remains in the darkness of unbelief. They refused to acknowledge that Jesus is the Prince of Peace. They did not believe that God was visiting them in the person of Jesus.
John the Baptist called them to repent. Even Jesus rebuked them for their unbelief, but they refused to listen.
Just like during the time of Jeremiah the prophet, Jesus' own people refused to relent from their evil. Like a horse plunging into battle, they were plunging into eternal destruction. They rejected the word of the Lord. Everyone was greedy for unjust gain. They made the temple into a den of thieves. Everyone dealt falsely with one another. They thought that there is peace with God when there was no peace. They have sinned, but they were not ashamed.
St. Paul in our Epistle lesson says that his own Jewish people have a zeal for God, but according to work righteousness. They have rejected the righteousness which Christ brought, therefore they have rejected the Gospel itself. John 3:36 says, “Whoever does not believe in the Son does not see life and the wrath of God abides on him.”
Do you believe in Christ? Are you repentant of all your sin? Do you seek the forgiveness of sins through the Gospel and the sacraments?
Would that Jerusalem — the city of peace — even Jerusalem had known that the things that make for peace are found in Jesus, but they refused. Jesus once said, “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 chicks under her wings, but you were not willing” (Matt 23:37).
Our text says that Jesus “wept.” But this Greek word means to “burst into crying.” We can see that the unbelief of Jesus' own people was heavy on His heart. This shows Jesus' great love and sorrow even for those who reject Him. It shows His sympathy for the people. Jesus weeps because he knows of the destruction that awaits this beloved city. Jesus weeps because he knows the eternal damnation that awaits his own people.
What about you? If a son or daughter lives in a wicked and evil sin, will you support them or will you speak out against their sin? Jesus once said, “He who loves father and mother more than me is not worthy of me and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.”
If you yourself are involved in an addictive sin breaking especially the first commandment, then repent. But who here is sinless? Martin Luther said that if we were to be punished for our sin we would not live beyond seven years old.
But God is merciful and patient. He waited over 100 years for the people during Noah's time to repent. He even waits in patience for you and me to repent. In Christ, there is mercy. In Christ, there is a peace with God. In Christ there is the forgiveness of sins. In Christ there is life and salvation.
But one who rejects the Gospel found in Christ and he who resists the Holy Spirit will not go unpunished. Judgement will come on the last day.
Christ died and rose again in about the year 31 A.D. This Gospel went out to all nations and to all people even to those living in the city of Jerusalem. God waited 40 years for the city of Jerusalem to repent. But they refused to believe that Christ rose from the dead. They refused to believe that God visited them in the person and work of Jesus. They rejected the Gospel itself found in Christ alone.
The Jewish historian Josephus records what happened to the temple in 70 A.D. The Gentile Romans — lead by Titus — surrounded the city and built an embankment around Jerusalem. No one could get out or in. Over 1.5 million people were trapped inside for five months. It's interesting to note that what Josephus wrote parallels exactly to what Jesus predicted.
Does God take pleasure in the death of the wicked? No! God says in Ezekiel 33:11, “I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from their way and live.” Jesus desired that his own people would turn from their wicked way and live a life of repentance and faith, but they were not willing. God wants all to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth, but some reject the Gospel and they resist the Holy Spirit.
Jesus once said, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” The Jews replied, “It has taken forty–six years to build this temple, and you are going to raise it in three days?” But the temple Jesus had spoken of was His body (John 2:19–21).
They destroyed Jesus alright. Our text says that the chief priests and the scribes and the leaders among the people sought ways to “destroy” Jesus (Luke 19:47). Eventually, they arrested Him and handed Him over to Pilate. Jesus was the stone which the builders rejected. They didn't want Jesus.
The people made the temple a den of thieves and yet, Jesus was nailed to the cross between two thieves. The temple was a place of sacrifice and yet, Jesus was the real Lamb of God come to sacrifice Himself for the sins of the whole world. Jesus was the real priest offering Himself as the final offering.
Since the once–and–for–all sacrifice for the world's sin was made, there is no more need for the temple. And so, God had the curtain of the temple torn from top to bottom. The temple of Jesus' body was destroyed and yet it was raised in three days. The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone. The resurrected Christ has become the chief cornerstone of the New Testament church.
The good news is that because of Christ's death and resurrection, there is now peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom 5:1). Jesus has reconciled us with the Father. Jesus has bridged the gap between sinful mankind and our heavenly Father. The old way to approach God through an earthly temple is gone and the new way to God is now open for all people through Jesus alone.
The good news is that in Christ there is the forgiveness of sins.
Where do we find Jesus? We find Him not in a temple, but in the water of Holy Baptism, in the Word taught or preached and in the bread and wine of the Lord's Supper. Where do we find true peace? Not within ourselves, but only in Jesus. For He is our Prince of Peace. He is our hope and joy. He is our only source of salvation. Where does God meet us? He meets us here in His house — a house of prayer, a house of life and salvation.
Dearly beloved, today our Lord visits us bringing us that peace in Christ which the world cannot give. Today He comes giving us the forgiveness of all our sin. Here in this place, God brings us the blessings of the cross through Word and Sacrament.
God grant you faith to believe in Christ and to live in His peace all the days of your life. Peace be with you. Amen.
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