Introduction: The last three weeks have brought us face to face with the realities of our nation’s war with Iraq. They have created a muted response to our normal celebration of spring and the excitement of Easter. They are days that have been filled with tears for a variety of reasons. There have been tears of separation as those we love have left those they loved and obeyed their pledge to their country. There have been tears of grief over the casualties of war. There have been tears of sorrow because of the harsh facts of war. There have been tears of joy over lives saved, a nation freed and an expectation of coming reunion. Tears have come sometimes because—well, we just don’t know why.

It is, I admit, awkward to talk about tears when the idea of Palm Sunday traditionally centers on celebration. Yet the gospel of Luke is the only one of our four gospels that mentions this mixing of a day of triumph with the heartbreaking emotion of Jesus weeping. Today as we join Jesus and his disciples upon their entry into the city of Jerusalem I want us to ask two questions: What caused the tears of the Son? The second question is, "Will I allow those same causes to fill my eyes with the tears of the Son? In my research for this message Wayde Wilson in a sermon titled "The Weeping Hero" gives three reasons for Jesus tears: he wept for the city, himself and for you and me. We’ll talk about those in a moment.

Before we examine the cause of Jesus’ tears let’s spend a moment recognizing the events that led to his tears. As you heard these words you get the feeling that Jesus is the one who is in charge of his destiny. He is determined to go into Jerusalem and to do so required a certain type of entry. Jesus was set to enter Jerusalem as a humble king not as the leader of a conquering army.

When a conquering king entered a city after a time of warfare, he would ride on a horse or something even more impressive. History tells us Julius Caesar returned to Rome in 45 B.C. in a golden chariot harnessed to 40 elephants! But whenever a king entered a city on a donkey it was a sign he was coming in peace.

As you can see from this picture, people were celebrating by laying their garments in front of Jesus—that’s like rolling out the red carpet. John tells us they were waving Palm branches as well; that’s why it’s called Palm Sunday. Jesus was intentionally fulfilling the scripture God had given through the prophet Zechariah 500 years earlier. The Bible says, "Shout, daughter of Jerusalem! See your King comes to you, righteous and having salvation, gentle and riding on a donkey." (Zechariah 9:9).

Four generations earlier, Judas Maccabees, who was called "the Hammer", rallied an army of Jewish men to fight against the Syrians who occupied Jerusalem. In 163 B.C. he entered Jerusalem riding on a massive stallion, and the people shouted and waved palm branches and cheered, "Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!" They cleaned out the Temple, burned incense, offered sacrifices, and lit a huge menorah that burned for eight days. Judas was their hero—and many thought he was the Jewish Messiah. To this day our Jewish friends celebrate 8 days of the Festival of Light or Hanukkah. Not long afterwards, Judas was killed in battle, buried, and that was the end of the Hammer.

Two hundred years later, when Jesus entered Jerusalem, the Jews were occupied by another world power, the Romans. They were hoping Jesus would be a military Messiah to lead them in battle to overthrow the Romans. But Jesus intentionally rode a donkey to let them know He was coming in peace. He was not a revolutionary like the Hammer—He was a Redeemer. A revolutionary is willing to kill others for his cause but a redeemer is willing to die for others.

Jesus has commanded his disciples to go to a certain place and find and return with a donkey on which for him to ride. After Jesus was placed on the donkey they all began the ascent into the city. As they pass the Mount of Olives his disciples began shouting joyfully praise to God for all they had seen Jesus do in the last three years. Now, just as the Old Testament had foretold, Jesus as the Messiah was coming to Jerusalem, they believed, to establish his kingdom they began to shout, "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord; peace in heaven and glory in the highest" (Luke 19:38 NASV).

Not everyone was pleased to witness this arrival for the Pharisees immediately began to tell Jesus to tell his disciples to stop their announcing him, the Galilean carpenter, as the Messiah of Israel. Jesus’ response was swift." "I tell you if these become silent, the stones will cry out!" (Luke 19:40). Jesus addresses their rebuke by saying that this event is not the result of mere human orchestration but something that God has woven into the very essence of creation. "Be silent if you will but I am on a mission that God has determined before the creation of the universe!"

Yet Luke records, "And when He approached, He saw the city and wept over it…." (Luke 19:41) For Jesus, "Palm Sunday" did not feel like the joyous occasion we make it out to be today. Palm branches were waving, people were shouting, "Hosanna!" and Jesus was the center of attention as he rode through the streets. But as the parade came to an abrupt end, Jesus, the Son began to weep.

Why was Jesus crying on the day when he was given a victorious welcome into the city of Jerusalem? Why, instead of laughter and joy, were there tears running down His face? Scripture only tells of two times when Jesus cried. The first was at the grave of Lazarus. John 11:35: "Jesus wept." The word describes a hushed crying. He compassionately wept with Mary and Martha, identifying with their sorrow. This was the second occasion. Luke 19:41: "As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it…" The word Luke used here for wept means loud wailing not a quiet sob. Why did Jesus react so deeply?

The Prince of Peace was in town! The Messiah was riding through the streets of Jerusalem. The Redeemer, the Savior of the world was touchable by human hand. The Son of God could literally give you His autograph…and they missed Him! Like so many of us, they wanted God on their terms. They wanted a mail-order leader; they got a suffering Savior. They ordered a ruler; God sent a servant. They wanted a King and a throne and a crown, they got a dead carpenter’s son hanging naked on a cross. They didn’t understand! He had come to liberate their souls, not their cities! To deliver them from the eternal punishment of sin, not from a temporary earthly dictator! To conquer death, hell and the grave and to defeat the armies of the Kingdom of Darkness, not to destroy the Roman Empire.

Like so many of our cities today, they were living for the here and now and Jesus was trying to impact eternity. And so he wept for them saying, "If you only knew! Things could have been so different. You are headed for destruction and I’m trying to save you. God sent me to you but you did not recognize the day of my visitation." They did not understand or accept the Messiah when he was right in their midst. And Jesus wept. He looked out and saw the towering Temple of God silhouetted against the sky. But he could see beyond that to the years immediately ahead when the Roman general Titus would surround the Holy City. When the temple stones would be taken down and the city leveled. He could see bodies in the streets, blood running in the gutters and thousands of people crying because they are starving to death while Titus waits for Jerusalem to surrender.

All of that because they didn’t recognize the Messiah when He came! How different their lives could have been! How different the history of Israel could have been if they had recognized the one who came into town that day, riding on a colt. Jesus wept for the city. He is still weeping for our cities, nations and generations today.

In Either Way, I Win: God’s Hope for Difficult Times, Lois Walfrid Johnson writes about visiting Oklahoma City, a city that was changed forever by the terrorist bombing in April 1995 of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building, which killed 168 people:

"In the national memorial building on the Murrah Building site, 168 empty chairs are placed in the location where each person sat when he or she died. Beyond that memorial and across another street is a statue constructed by St. Joseph’s Catholic Church. The statue’s powerful image represents a tall, white-robed Christ. He stands with his back to the busy street and the place where the federal building once stood. The representation of Christ faces a brick wall in which there are 168 empty spaces—one space for each person who died. With bowed head Jesus faces that symbol of loss, covers his face with one hand, and weeps." (Either Way I Win, p. 50-51, Augsbury, 2000)

In a way that you and I may never fully grasp I believe Jesus’ heart still breaks for the cities, nations and generations that have turned their back on Him. He sees not just 168 empty chairs that mark senseless suffering and hate but sees billions of those whose streets and lives were filled with the dark and tragic results of rejection. If the tears of the Son are shed so profoundly over the world he sees, can we bear looking at the cities, nations and generations and letting our eyes be filled with the same tears? When the tears of the Son fill the eyes of his children we will not sit passively as cities, nations and generations reject Him.

II. Jesus Wept for Himself. Jesus was both human and divine. God and man. Because He was God, He knew everything that was coming. Because He was man, His decision to go to Jerusalem was one of the most difficult decisions Jesus ever made. He could see the cross before He rode in the parade. He knew He was headed for crucifixion and yet he chose to go ahead with the plan. I can’t help but wonder what was going through His mind on this day. How could he smile? Could he have enjoyed that moment at all? Was there by chance a spot along the route from which he could look up and see Golgotha, the place where he would be crucified just a few days later? Were the tears on his face a result of the very human emotion of a man who was about to die?

I have been with people who knew they were going to die. I have seen tears come to their eyes and roll down their cheeks as they considered that fact that they would be leaving their loved ones behind. Tears of emotion because they would never again in this life do the things they enjoyed. Tears of wonder, even for the Christian as they tried to imagine going someplace they have never been before. Facing death is an awesome thing for us as humans. And Jesus was very much human. So He wept. He knew what was coming.

Is it any wonder he prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, "Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; nevertheless, not my will, but Thine be done"? There we are told in Luke 22 that Jesus sweat great drops of blood and Matthew records Jesus as saying, "My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death." (Matthew 26:38).

Max Lucado writes, "As Jesus looks at the city of Jerusalem, he sees what the disciples can’t. It is here, on the outskirts of Jerusalem, that the battle will end. He sees the staging of Satan. He sees the dashing of the demons. He sees the Evil One preparing for the final encounter. The enemy lurks as a spectre over the hour. Satan, the host of hatred, has seized the heart of Judas and whispered in the ear of Caiaphas. Satan, the master of death, has opened the caverns and prepared to receive the source of light. Hell is breaking loose. History records it as a battle of the Jews against Jesus. It wasn’t. It was a battle of God against Satan. And Jesus knew it. He knew that before the war was over, he would be taken captive. He knew that before victory would come defeat. He knew that before the throne would come the cup. He knew that before the light of Sunday would come the blackness of Friday. And he is afraid." (And the Angels Were Silent, p. 152-153.)

I believe Jesus, knowing what was coming and looking out across Jerusalem, wept the tears of the Son, who "for the joy set before Him endured the cross." What Jesus did for you brought tears to His eyes. As God he wept for the city. As man he wept for himself. And as the Savior…

III. Jesus wept for you. For Jesus, there are no "strangers" in the crowd. He picks out each one and knows them by name. He knows their stories. Their history. Their hurt and their pain. He sees what's in your heart. I wonder what it was like for Jesus as He looked over the vast crowd that day and saw the mixture of expression on their faces. Try to imagine those who were there:

There were those who loved him. Perhaps Bartimaeus was there, the man who had received his sight, no longer in his beggar’s rags. How about Zacchaeus? He had paid back his debt to society and made peace with God. And the lepers? Their skin had been cleansed and now they were rejoicing for the healing that the Lord had given them. Maybe Jairus’ daughter was there, brought back to life after experiencing death, as was Lazarus who was there with this sisters Mary and Martha. These people and many more reflected the love that was in their hearts for this man who had taught them, molded them and changed them.

There were also sinister faces there. Faces with squinty eyes, waiting for Him to say one wrong word, to make one mistake. The Pharisees and Sadducees were there. They were supposed to be keepers of the Law. Spiritual leaders. But Jesus had gained so much popularity that they felt threatened. They watched, full of jealousy, with evil intent, looking for an opportunity to kill him. The Romans were there, fearing a possible revolt and watching for any signs of rebellion. They were ready and waiting to crush any uprising. Jesus realized, as He listened to their "Hosannas!" that soon the sinister voices would drown out the voices of love. That those crying for Him to be King would soon be crying out, "Crucify Him!" or that they would simply stand aside, saying nothing at all. And so as He looked out at the faces in the crowd, Jesus, with the tears of the Son, stood weeping.

The tears of the Son are tears for you if you have chosen to reject Him and His love. I believe there is nothing more painful to a human than to offer love and have love rejected. A parent can love a child but that child rejects their love. A child can love a parent but that parent rejects their love. A spouse loves their mate but that love is rejected. Nothing hurts so deeply as when love is offered but love is rejected. If for any reason you have rejected the love that Jesus offers you today, then know He waits, weeping, for you to accept what before now you have rejected.

There is a story from the Middle Ages about a young woman who was expelled from heaven and told that she would be readmitted if she would bring back the one gift God valued the most. She brought back drops of blood from a dying patriot. She collected coins given by a destitute widow for the poor. She brought back a remnant of a Bible used by an eminent preacher. She even brought back the dust from the shoes of missionaries who served many years in a distant land. Although she brought back these things and more, she was turned back repeatedly.

One day as she watched a small boy playing by a fountain, she saw a man ride up on horseback and dismount to take a drink. When he saw the boy playing, he thought of his own childhood innocence. But he looked into the water of the fountain and saw a reflection of his hardened face. He was overcome by the sin in his life, and in that moment, he wept tears of repentance. The young woman took one of those tears back to heaven, where she was received with joy. ("Jesus the Judge," Preaching Today, Tape No. 129).

Oh, how the tears of the Son wait for those tears on your face today.

Conclusion: "And when He approached, He saw the city and wept over it…"(Luke 19:41) He wept for the city then and he weeps for cities, nations and generations now. He wept for Himself for He knew the battle for our eternity demanded the ultimate sacrifice-His violent death. He weeps for you, tears of grief because of your rejection and senseless fate if you continue to refuse His love. Heaven asks for nothing more than your tears. For when you receive the gift of the Son then the tears of the Son are tears of joy. Jesus said, " In the same way, heaven will be happier over one lost sinner who returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are righteous and haven't strayed away!" (Luke 15:7)

Sunday, April 13, 2003

Dr. Bruce Tippit, Pastor

First Baptist Church

Jonesboro, Arkansas

[email protected]