28 After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem. 29 As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 30 “Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here. 31 If anyone asks you, ‘Why are you untying it?’ say, ‘The Lord needs it.’”
just as he had told them. 33 As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, “Why are you untying the colt?”
34 They replied, “The Lord needs it.”
35 They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it. 36 As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.
37 When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen:
38 “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!”[a]
“Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!”
39 Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples!”
40 “I tell you,” he replied, “if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.”
41 As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 42 and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43 The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 44 They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”In this scripture passage, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. The scene is not mere “objective reporting,” but is written from Luke’s own perspective at the end of the century, looking back on the terrible war between the Palestinian Jews and the Romans (66-70), in which Jerusalem was destroyed after its population had suffered the terrors of a long siege. Jesus does not celebrate the destruction of those who reject him, but weeps for them and prays for them. This is repeated once again in verses 23-34.
The Hebrew word for peace, shalom, signifies more than the absence of war, although it includes that as well. It points to all that makes life worthwhile. The birth of Jesus was hailed by the angels as the good news of peace on earth, and Jesus’ disciples had just echoed the angels’ song. Jerusalem includes the Hebrew word for peace in its name, but Jerusalem does not recognize what brings authentic peace. In Luke’s view, their rejection of Christ is a matter of ignorance, of not seeing and not knowing what is really happening before their eyes. From one point of view, they are responsible; from another point of view, such ignorance and misunderstanding is an aspect of the divine mystery of life in the present fallen world, ignorance and misunderstanding to which all, including the disciples, are subject. It is not an incurable ignorance, but the cure is repentance rather than education.
The scene is filled with echoes and allusions to the Scripture. What is about to happen in and to Jerusalem is not random evil, but is taken up into the larger purpose of God as revealed in Scripture. Jesus cries over the fate of Jerusalem, as did the prophet Jeremiah. Jesus’ lament is reminiscent of the numerous laments in the Psalms, one of which also includes the terrible picture of the siege in which the city walls are finally torn down and children are dashed into the ground.
It is no wonder that Jesus wept. Would we not also weep at such destruction and harm? When Jesus was in the form of mortal man, he displayed all of the human characteristics that we all have, including sorrow and tears. We probably all remember the shortest Scripture verse as, “Jesus wept.” Now, with this bit of commentary, we may add new understanding to the reasons for which he wept.
May we weep with our Lord and Savior at harm and destruction wherever it may be. May we practice shalom, peace to our Christian brothers and sisters and also to our enemies. May we, with the grace of God, reach out in peace and become builders, never agents of destruction. We ask this all in Jesus name and for His sake. Amen.
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