Don Graham Revival Ministries

"Behold, God In Tears"

Luke 19:28-41

Like many of you, I grew up with a father who taught me that real men don't cry. I bought into his philosophy and determined one day as an eight year old boy that I'd prove to my Daddy that I was a "real man" by not crying the next time he whipped me. I was successful at that and shut my tears down and never shed a tear for twenty years.

Now, my father was wrong! He was wrong because he and all men like him somehow failed to study closely the narratives of the greatest man who ever lived, the Man, Jesus Christ! A careful study of His life will reveal that His days were punctuated with "strong tears and crying." (Hebrews 5:7) Come with me now alongside one of those narratives and Behold, God In Tears. On the occasion of His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, the Scriptures say that He beheld the city and wept over it. (Luke 19:41) The word wept signifies bitter anguish as though one bewailed the dead. It was not silent grief welling up in a few tears but rather audible sobbing, the evidence of great sorrow. (cf. John. 11:45) Remember this is God in tears, clothed incarnate in His Son, the Lord Jesus. What makes God cry?

Observe: These tears were...

I. THE TEARS OF PERPLEXITY

The Lord had healed their sick, cleansed their lepers, fed their hungry but had failed to win an abiding place in their hearts. Now the time was getting short—they had spurned His warnings and refused His help.

How often would He have gathered these people under the shadow of the Almighty, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, yet they would not. (Luke 13:34) Now it was too late and considering this tragic fact, the tears ran down His face. Knocking on the doors of human hearts He was denied admittance for He came unto His own and His own received Him not…(John 1:11)

But notice: These were also….

II. THE TEARS OF PAIN

In verses 42-45 the Lord unerringly saw and described the horror soon to fall upon the city He loved. In less than forty years in AD 70 the Romans overwhelmed the city in one of the bloodiest battles in the annals of history. Rivers of blood flowed through the gates of the city. Unable to leave, thousands perished, women were molested, children slaughtered, hundreds died of starvation. It was a holocaust: 97,000 were taken captive and 1,100,000 were slain. It was this disaster that Jesus foresaw. It was for this disaster that He prepared His disciples.

Christ saw this and it broke His heart. He was hurt long before they were touched. When the Jews cried, His blood be on us and on our children they signed their own death warrant.

For this our Lord wept!

III. THE TEARS OF PITY

Yet He loved them! This fact is inscrutable; it is bewildering; it is amazing but when all the definitions have been exhausted, we can only repeat, Christ loved them!

Yet He also knew that now the die was cast! Their doom was sealed. Their hearts were irreparably hardened. There was nothing to do to ward off this coming disaster and so He wept.

There is another day of judgment coming—read about it in Revelation 20:11-15. Christ still loves this world and yearns to save all who will come unto Him. Yet nothing can be done to avoid this judgment of all lost men. Thus, the Lord looked at the city and wept. Then, looking beyond that generation to us He slowly and resolutely went down into that city where a cross awaited Him.

"The Son of God in tears,
The wondering angels see.
Be thou astonished, O my soul,
He shed those tears for thee."

LASTING LESSONS FOR LIFELONG SERVICE

1. If you had been there and saw Jesus crying, how would you have felt?

a. Embarrassed for him (and maybe for yourself): Grown men don't cry.
b. Relieved: It's okay to cry.
c. Mad: Surely you could have done something.
d. Awkward: Let's get on with it.
e. Confused: What in the world's going on?
f. Comforted: He really cares!

2. When was the last time you cried over the spiritual needs of a loved one or a beloved nation?
3. What situations have made you wonder about turning away from Christ? At those times, of what advantage is it to you to remember the scene of Jesus weeping?
4. How do you respond to Jesus’ display of deep emotion? We must never be afraid to reveal our true feelings to Him. He understands them, for He experienced them. Be honest and don’t try to hide anything from your Savior. He cares!