Post by Cindy on Mar 10, 2016 13:28:09 GMT -5
Today I studied Luke 19:28–44, The Triumphal Entry. It made me consider how I generally see those who are living in sin, especially those who are being blatant about it. When Jesus looked at the thousands of people who were cheering for Him, He knew their true hearts and that their cheers were superficial. He knew much better then any of us ever could, just how tightly sin held them in it's grip. Yet He didn't start yelling at them. Nor did He get angry or even look at them with contempt, which is often what I do, at least inwardly. Jesus didn't do any thing remotely like that. Judas was even right there with Him too, and He knew that Judas would soon betray Him and that the other disciples would all leave Him; He could look out in the crowd and pick out the pharisees that would stage a trial and bribe people to lie about Him,He could see the soldiers who would torture Him, but still He didn't look at them with contempt. Instead, He wept over them! God, the creator of the universe, the One who created each human being alive then and now, looked out on the vast crowd and wept. He didn't cry silently, but literally wailed loudly, like one would do in those days when weeping over the dead. I guess, in a way, that's what He was really doing, for He knew that although they were welcoming Him now, they would soon totally reject Him as Messiah and that would seal their fate. In His grief, He told them quite graphically what their fate would be, and it obviously broke His heart. That great heart of love, that would soon die for us all, that we might live. It breaks my heart to think of it.
Let's reflect though on how He reacted to those people, the people we'd likely look on with contempt if not outright anger, just as we do when we see others who are living in sin. If Jesus reacted to these people with such amazing love that He would grieve over their refusal to know Him, and come into the Light, shouldn't that be how we view people too? It seems like every time I turn around, every page I read in the Bible, I'm yet again confronted with God's amazing love for us and His command that we love others the same way He does. When I read what Jesus said as He wept, I can imagine that it was hard for Him to even get the words out. But if I read it and think about how I would feel, I can see myself saying something like that in a very angry voice, even vindictive... like, "you didn't accept me, so now you're really going to get it!" But that's not how our Lord said this. He said it in a broken voice, weeping, because He so longed to comfort them and give them a life full of His blessings . He was broken hearted because they wouldn't accept His gift. I'm not suggesting that God doesn't get angry over sin, we know He does. We know He hates sin. He hates it because of what it does to us. And one day, there will be a final accounting, and on that day, those who reject Him will be punished, just as the people in Israel were 40 years after Jesus spoke these words. As surely as that happened, so will the final judgement. That doesn't change the fact though, that Jesus expressed these words in love. He quite literally, spoke the truth in love and with love, and who knows, maybe someone in the crowd heard Him and their eyes were opened because of it. I sincerely hope so. His love for us is simply amazing...there's no words to really express it, and every page in the bible confirms it, just as His life was a picture of His love for us. Certainly something to reflect on, don't you think?
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 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. 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. 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.”” (Luke 19:41–44)
Let's reflect though on how He reacted to those people, the people we'd likely look on with contempt if not outright anger, just as we do when we see others who are living in sin. If Jesus reacted to these people with such amazing love that He would grieve over their refusal to know Him, and come into the Light, shouldn't that be how we view people too? It seems like every time I turn around, every page I read in the Bible, I'm yet again confronted with God's amazing love for us and His command that we love others the same way He does. When I read what Jesus said as He wept, I can imagine that it was hard for Him to even get the words out. But if I read it and think about how I would feel, I can see myself saying something like that in a very angry voice, even vindictive... like, "you didn't accept me, so now you're really going to get it!" But that's not how our Lord said this. He said it in a broken voice, weeping, because He so longed to comfort them and give them a life full of His blessings . He was broken hearted because they wouldn't accept His gift. I'm not suggesting that God doesn't get angry over sin, we know He does. We know He hates sin. He hates it because of what it does to us. And one day, there will be a final accounting, and on that day, those who reject Him will be punished, just as the people in Israel were 40 years after Jesus spoke these words. As surely as that happened, so will the final judgement. That doesn't change the fact though, that Jesus expressed these words in love. He quite literally, spoke the truth in love and with love, and who knows, maybe someone in the crowd heard Him and their eyes were opened because of it. I sincerely hope so. His love for us is simply amazing...there's no words to really express it, and every page in the bible confirms it, just as His life was a picture of His love for us. Certainly something to reflect on, don't you think?
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it 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. 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. 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.”” (Luke 19:41–44)
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