Dear saints, Jeremiah was called the ‘weeping prophet’ because his calling was to proclaim the coming judgment of God over Judah. Prophet after prophet, and even Jeremiah himself, had called them to repent of their evil and idolatry for generations. But he knew that his message of repentance would be rejected. He knew that judgment and exile for God’s people in Judah was coming. And so, he weeps over what is coming to God’s people and God’s Holy City.
The people persisted in their unbelief. They continued in false worship. And Jeremiah witnesses the fall of Jerusalem. He sees men, women, and children slaughtered or carried away captive. He observes houses and palaces being burned to the ground. He sees the Temple, once the glorious house of the Lord, in tatters and destroyed. Who would not weep at that? At knowing it was coming. At knowing it did not have to happen. And then seeing it all happen before your eyes.
Our Gospel lesson comes as Jesus enters Jerusalem at his Triumphal Entry. He knows his death is mere days away and he weeps. But he does not weep because he knows what he is about to suffer and how awful his death will be. He weeps because Jerusalem, the City of Peace, does not know Peace. The God of Israel has taken on flesh and come to them, and they have rejected him. Time and again his coming was prophesied. All the signs were present: the birth and testimony of John, the testimony of the Wise Men, our Lord’s miracles, teachings, and testimony concerning himself. Anyone who had spiritually open eyes would see.
Even with all this, Jerusalem was blind to him.
It was blind to Jesus just as they were to the many prophets sent to her so many centuries ago. In those days, they heard the prophets and saw his signs. But they did not listen. They did not turn from their evil and return to their God. And so, the city was destroyed, and the people taken to exile.
As Jesus enters Jerusalem on this day, he knows history is about to repeat itself. In his days, they have heard and seen him. They have heard their Creator teach and heal. They see his miracles and signs. Yes, like in the days of the prophets, some believe. But the majority, especially the rulers and religious leaders, reject his message. They reject him.
It is not the case that these leaders do not know who Jesus says he is. They are keenly aware. It is because they know who Jesus claims to be that they desire to destroy him. Not kill. Destroy. They want him to die and be condemned by God. And in a few days, they will succeed in killing him.
But because they have rejected the Author of Life, it is they who will be destroyed. The first destruction will be in the year 70 AD when the so-called Peace of Rome comes to Jerusalem. This is what Jesus references in our lesson: “For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
The second destruction, the worse destruction, also occurs in two parts. First at those people’s death when they finally realize who and what they rejected. And the second at the Final Judgment when they are thrown into the lake of fire. The fire created not for man, but for the devil and his angels.
It is right that Jesus wept for Jerusalem that day. He was about to win for them salvation, and they would reject it.
What we hear from St. Luke is a solemn warning for us today. For we know what happened in Jerusalem in those days and in the decades that followed. It is a warning that we should apply to our own lives and proclaim to all nations around us. We should not think that the judgment that happened to Jerusalem cannot or will not happen today. Perhaps not in the same way, but God is still holy. He still demands that we be holy. And when people intentionally and continually disregard this call to be holy, he will allow or even send disaster.
What happened to Jerusalem can also happen to our cities. Jesus came to Jerusalem in the flesh, and they did not know him. They rejected and crucified him. He has come through the ages in his Word and Sacraments. And the people have spurned them and rejected him.
Italy was once a Christian nation. As was Germany. I am sure there are others I have forgotten. But look at them now. They are deeply secular. Not only in government structure, but also in belief and worldview. Luther saw the possibility of Germany’s fall when he writes to the councilmen of her various cities:
“O my beloved Germans, buy while the market is at your door; gather in the harvest while there is sunshine and fair weather; make use of God’s grace and word while it is there! For you should know that God’s word and grace is like a passing shower of rain which does not return where it has once been….And you Germans need not think that you will have it forever, for ingratitude and contempt will not make it stay. Therefore, seize it and hold it fast, whoever can; for lazy hands are bound to have a lean year.”
His words are as applicable to us today as they were then. It is enough to make us weep. But do not merely weep for Jerusalem. Also weep for Berlin, and London. Weep for Rome and Moscow. Weep for Beijing and Seoul. Weep for Sydney and Rio. Weep for Baghdad and Johannesburg. Weep for Quebec and New York, for San Francisco and Dallas. Weep for St. Louis and Ft. Wayne and Sioux Falls.
Weep for all the cities of man where men are gathered either for commerce or war. Weep because they do not know what makes for peace, for they know not the Son of God, born of Mary. One day they will all be destroyed and reduced to rubble. This world is passing away, so put not your trust in princes. They are mortal.
But you also should not think yourself innocent of the same things they are guilty of. We have all had our fair share of breaking up good order. Perhaps it is through gossip or betraying our friends and family. Or maybe you have stolen, whether by taking or by neglect and laziness. Think about all the vile things you hate and know that you are still guilty of.
Weep over these things too. But do not only weep; repent of them. Repent of your many real and grievous sins. Not one of them are simple or innocent, but each of them are deadly. They hurt you, but they hurt more than just you. They hurt those around you, especially those whom you love. Those who are closest to you.
But do not despair of these sins. The Lord knows them and has wept over you because of them. Your sins were not enough to keep him from the cross. Your sins were not enough to cause him to stop loving you. Rather, he loved you to the very end. Through the cross, he brings you peace. He wipes away your tears. He gives you an everlasting family and friends. He promises you a land and a city not built with hands. In that city, you will endure.
Your day to go into that land will come, but none of us knows when that will be. On that day, you will finally be led fully out of temptation and delivered from evil. On that day, your deepest wounds will be healed, and you will be made whole. For his sacrifice was not in vain.
Not all weeping is because of sorrow. So, as we await our day to go into that land, permit me to give you something to weep for joy: In the death of Jesus, the mouth of the devil has been stopped. You have been won and redeemed from your sin. You are declared to be the child of God by none other than God himself. He forgives you all your sins. And he will give you a new body that will live with him forever. That is a grand thing to weep tears of joy about. Amen.
Rev. Brent Keller
Peace Lutheran Church
Alcester, SD
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