“And when Jesus drew near and saw the city He wept
over it…” (St. Luke 19:41)
In 19:41-44 of Luke’s gospel, our Lord weeps as he
makes a prophecy regarding the Holy City of Jerusalem. The Greek word used in
describing this moment did not mean the simple shedding of tears, but rather a
loud, violent, uncontrollable sobbing. What caused such a sudden act of wailing
and lamentation?
Even though Jesus entered the city on Palm Sunday as a
“King,” He also knows that these same people paying
lip-service will cry out for His crucifixion in a few short days. Therefore,
even though the Jews have had hundreds of years of preparation for this
particular Messianic moment, Christ realizes that not only will they squander
it, but 40 years after His death (in the year 70 AD) the Roman army will lay
siege to Jerusalem: surrounding it, leaving the Jews the starve, and then
destroying the entire city while leaving “no stone upon another.” Foreseeing
the anguish of this future dire catastrophe causes our Lord to suffer a great
physical and emotional breakdown.
Fr. John
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