On Lent and Weeping

That time Jesus wept...again

If you’ve been attentive to the practice of Lent these many weeks, you’re likely feeling it. You know, the weakness that comes from resisting the thing you’ve given up. What is Lent but a season designed to bring us to the end of ourselves?

We are coming close to the end now. Next week begins the last week of Jesus’ life. This is a great opportunity to dive a little deeper into the Gospels. Check out The Spoken Gospel Podcast and listen to their Holy Week series. Each day, they explore what Jesus was doing on that particular day, all culminating in Good Friday and His death on the Cross.

Palm Sunday is this Sunday, and honestly thought I wanted to write about Jesus’ Triumphal Entry. After all, Jesus parading into Jerusalem like a King is a beautiful image that captures my heart and imagination. Yet, while I was digging through the familiar passage involving swaying palm branches and donkey riding, another section of Scripture just after his grand entry surprised me.

Here it is: Luke 19: 41-44

Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem

⁴¹ And when he [Jesus] drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴² saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side ⁴⁴ and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

Just four little verses, found only here in the Gospel of Luke. My first thought was, “Wait…Jesus wept again?” We all know the famous scene of Jesus’ first display of waterworks: The tomb of his buddy Lazarus. The moment is captured in the shortest verse int he Bible: John 11:35

Jesus wept.

And yet here He is, weeping again. He just rode through the streets of Jerusalem, hearing the cheers of the crowd, relishing the moment that foreshadows the future moment when everyone will bow to Him as King of the Universe. Yet, moments later, he’s weeping. What makes our Savior cry?

What Jesus sees

Jesus gazes upon the city, filled with God’s people. This city, meant to be a beacon to the nations, will soon turn against Him. He weeps at their betrayal, yes, but also their hardness. Their sin has blinded them to God living in their midst. Their sin has blinded them to the One who can save them from themselves. He weeps because He’s come to rescue them, and they will soon murder Him.

I think the discipline of sacrifice this Lent is teaching me that the things I hold on to too tightly are not petty or insignificant. These things can hurt us, maybe even destroy us and others, if they don’t have their proper place in our lives. Isn’t this what Jesus says while weeping over Jerusalem? “Enemies are coming to destroy you! And you can’t see it!”

Giving up allows us to see that Jesus looks at our lives and weeps. Both times our tender Savior weeps in Scripture, it’s because He sees death where there should be life.

Here’s good news for you today, friends: God is not angry with you. He’s not disappointed in you. He’s not ashamed of you. We serve a God who weeps for you.

Then, He dies for you.

Next week, we’ll go to the Passover Supper together. You might be surprised what you find there. He’s waiting for you.