Luke 19:41-44 And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it,… 1. The tears of Jesus Christ are compassionate tears. Like His heavenly Father, He has no pleasure in the death of him that dieth. The office of the Judge is not His willing office. It made Him sorrowful to see men sin. It made Him sorrowful to see men reject the gospel. It made Him sorrowful to see men choose their own misery. 2. Again, the tears of Jesus are admonitory, warning — some have even called them terrible tears. He would not have wept, I think we may say with confidence, merely because a little pain, or a little suffering, or even a little anguish and misery, lay before us. He shrank not from pain: He endured suffering — yea, the death of the Cross. He faced anguish and misery, and flinched not. There was only one thing which Jesus Christ could not endure — or, if He endured it for an hour Himself, certainly could not advise others, nor bear others, to encounter without Him — and that was the real displeasure, the prolonged hiding of the countenance, the actual, terrible, punitive wrath of God. It was because He foresaw that for impenitent, obstinate, obdurate sinners, that He wept these bitter tears. I call them admonitory tears; I will even consent to call them terrific tears. They seem to say to us, "Oh, presume not too far!" 3. I will add another thing. The tears of Jesus were exemplary tears. As He wept, so ought we to weep. We ought to weep tears of sorrow over our sins. We ought to weep tears of repentance over our past lives, over our many short-comings and backslidings, omissions of good and commissions of evil, lingering rebelling obstinate sins, cold poor languishing dying graces. But more than this. We ought to weep more exactly as He wept. He wept not for Himself: so also, in our place, should we. 4. I will add, without comment, a fourth word — the tears of Jesus Christ are consolatory tears. Yes, this, in all their accents, is the sweet undersong — Jesus Christ cares for us. The tears of Jesus are, above all else, consolatory. They say to us, "Provision is made for you." They say to us, "It is not of Christ, it is not of God, if you perish." They say to us, "Escape for your life — because a better, and a higher, and a happier life is here for you!" (Dean Vaughan) Parallel Verses KJV: And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, |
    |