Jesus Tells of the Destruction of Jerusalem

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Tenth Sunday in Trinity
Jesus Tells of the Destruction of Jerusalem
August 8, 2010

TEXT:  (Luke 19:41-48 NKJ)  Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, 42 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. 43 "For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you, surround you and close you in on every side, 44 "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." 45 Then He went into the temple and began to drive out those who bought and sold in it, 46 saying to them, "It is written,`My house is a house of prayer,' but you have made it a`den of thieves.'" 47 And He was teaching daily in the temple. But the chief priests, the scribes, and the leaders of the people sought to destroy Him, 48 and were unable to do anything; for all the people were very attentive to hear Him.
 
This is one of two places in Scripture that Jesus wept—the other is at the death of Mary and Martha’s brother Lazarus—Mary and Martha told Jesus that if He had been there, their brother would not have died—Jesus wept tears of love and compassion for the sisters at the loss of their brother—in our text Jesus weeps with love and compassion for those whom He came to save—God’s chosen people, the Jews—Jesus wept for Mary and Martha as a man—and He wept for Jerusalem as the Son of God—witnessing the future destruction of this great city and its occupants because of their unbelief and rejection of the Savior—they were about to murder the Son of God on a Roman’s cross—such a terrible suffering should bring us all to tears
We should see the destruction for what it is—a warning to all who reject the things of God for the doctrines and teachings of this world—we are Christians—we are God’s chosen people—like the city of Jerusalem in our text, we are held to a different standard than those of this world—we are citizens of heaven—and God demands that we act like it
 
(Philippians 3:20 NKJ)  For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ,
 
Jesus uses two methods of preaching and teaching the stiff-necked Jews about their disobedience and the results that would follow—first He threatens them—they did not learn
 
(Matthew 11:21-24 NKJ)  "Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22 "But I say to you, it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon in the day of judgment than for you. 23 "And you, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24 "But I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you."
 
The threat didn’t work—the Jews rejected the Christ—even though, as Jesus states in His WOE!—Capernaum was the place where many of the miracles of Jesus were performed—yet they did not believe—the leadership of the Jews plotted to kill Him—they hated Him
 
(Matthew 26:3-4 NKJ)  Then the chief priests, the scribes, and the elders of the people assembled at the palace of the high priest, who was called Caiaphas, 4 and plotted to take Jesus by trickery and kill Him.
 
The second method Jesus uses to communicate His warning to the Jews is His display of sadness for their future—our text takes place during His triumphant entry into Jerusalem for His last week of ministry—the people cheer and shout hosannas they recognize His power and majesty
 
(Matthew 21:7-11 NKJ)  They brought the donkey and the colt, laid their clothes on them, and set Him on them. 8 And a very great multitude spread their clothes on the road; others cut down branches from the trees and spread them on the road. 9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: "Hosanna to the Son of David!`Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD!' Hosanna in the highest!" 10 And when He had come into Jerusalem, all the city was moved, saying, "Who is this?" 11 So the multitudes said, "This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth of Galilee."
 
In just a few days more, these same people would shout “crucify Him!”—the murderer Barabbas would be released at the request of the Jews, and Jesus would die on the cross—His death would be an innocent death suffered for the sins of the world—but Jesus does not shed a tear for Himself—He weeps for the lost sheep of Israel who would suffer for their unbelief—and such suffering it would be—nowhere in the history of the world do we see such suffering as these Jews would experience 40 years later in Jerusalem—and all of it was by the will of God—we know this from Scripture and the words of the Roman officers who conquered the city—they said the city fortifications could not have been breached were it not the will of God—there is no doubt that the Romans were used to crucify our Lord—and the Romans were used to destroy Jerusalem as a punishment of God
 
The tears of Jesus were tears of His knowledge of the future—specifically for these citizens of Jerusalem—but also for all men for all time who would reject the truth of God—and cling to the things of this world—especially those who pretend to be God’s people—but instead they are just going through the motions of being a Christian—they show up for church—they attend Bible class—and they live a life of this world until next Sunday—most of us are aware of the destruction of Jerusalem—but perhaps it would be beneficial for us to review some of the details as recorded by the historian Josephus—the destruction of Jerusalem was an act of God
 
Jerusalem was besieged by the Romans during the time of the festival of Easter and Passover—the normal population of 100,000 was temporarily increased to approximately 3 million people—the Apostles and the believers were not in the city—they had already been scattered among the heathens and the Gentiles by the persecution of the Jews—God had separated the wheat from the chaff—just as John the Baptist preached before he baptized Jesus in the River Jordan
 
(Luke 3:16-17 NKJ)  John answered, saying to all, "I indeed baptize you with water; but One mightier than I is coming, whose sandal strap I am not worthy to loose. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 17 "His winnowing fan is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clean out His threshing floor, and gather the wheat into His barn; but the chaff He will burn with unquenchable fire."
 
Josephus tells us that the besieged city devoured all available food—they began to eat even the leather of their shoes—in desperation, mothers butchered their dead children—soldiers smelled the boiling meat and forcefully took it from the starving families—bird dung became a commodity and was used for seasoning—it is said that the distress and bloodshed in Jerusalem was enough to bring a rock to tears—when the Roman Army finally forced their way into the city
Some of the Jews swallowed their money to protect it from the Romans—again an action showing their love for the things of this world—soldiers began to rip open thousands of the survivors seeking their money and swallowed wealth
 
The slaughter was so horrible and massive that the Emperor of Rome ordered the remainder of the Jews to be captured and sold as slaves—there were so many Jewish slaves on the market that 30 sold for the equivalent of a penny—sale into slavery is how the Jews were dispersed throughout the world—they would never again establish a temple and a priesthood—they became hated by the world—this was God’s punishment for turning away from His Word
 
Now consider our country today—the longer I live, the more vile this nation becomes—we have the gift of God’s Holy Gospel message clearly taught by many faithful ministers—we have Bibles in clear English or any of over 250 languages around the world—we have buildings dedicated to preaching and teaching the Word—but we have lost our love for God—we have become dependent on our own power and wealth for our survival—we don’t need God—God is just a superstition followed by some small group of people in our neighborhoods
 
When I was a child, God’s ministers were revered and respected—God’s people were respected in their community—we read the Bible at the beginning of each school day—the day opened with the Lord’s Prayer—but all that has been lost—today a Bible in school is a punishable offense—we can’t even say the pledge of allegiance to our nation because it contains the name of God
 
When I was a child profanity was not tolerated on the radio or television—today it is considered acceptable and in many cases necessary for success
 
When I was a child abortions were sleazy illegal activities conducted in cheap hotels and back alleys—today abortion clinics are a major business—homosexuals used to conduct their abominable activities behind closed doors and in secret—today they are invited openly to conduct their so called relationships in children’s amusement parks—we have had so many attacks in our court systems on Christians by homosexuals that I cannot keep track—now we are asked to turn our backs on the very institute of marriage—where God said the two shall become one—where God said woman is to be a helpmate for man—we now are asked to accept two men or two women as married—I ask, what difference is there between the besieged city of Jerusalem and the United States if we allow these abominations to encroach upon our beliefs and God’s Church—homosexuals are recognized and honored by many industries across our great nation—society’s celebration of the things of the devil will not be tolerated by God—we will be punished as a nation—and it will be soon
 
In our text, God punished Jerusalem for her wickedness and open ignorance concerning God’s Son—God did not want anyone to misunderstand that it was His punishment—the destruction was total and complete—just as Jesus said it would be—the Roman soldiers noticed the gold on the temple walls melted between the blocks of stone—they knocked every stone over looking for the melted gold—just as Jesus said in our text—not one stone will remain upon another
 
God punished the Israelites as an example for our learning—and God will punish our country if we continue to disregard His Word and follow the pleasures, riches, and abominable behavior of this world—John’s Gospel taught us about the nation of Israel pursuing their own comfort in this world instead of following the teachings of God—they rejected God’s Son and our Savior—they did this to protect their status in this world—to maintain their authority and independence
 
(John 11:48 NKJ)  "If we let Him alone like this, everyone will believe in Him, and the Romans will come and take away both our place and nation."
 
We will close with the words of our Lord—listen, learn, and obey—it is the only way to survive
 
(Matthew 19:28-30 NKJ)  So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you, that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the throne of His glory, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel. 29 "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life. 30 "But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!