Following His entry into Jerusalem as the Messiah Jesus entered the temple and looked around at everything then left for Bethany, he would postpone the temple cleansing until tomorrow. The next day He approached Jerusalem and viewed the city from the Mount of Olives. As He was looking down over the beloved city and it's inhabitants He began to deeply mourn and lament over Jerusalem saying how He longed for them to know the way of peace but it was to late now, they had rejected Him as Messiah and would be judged. They did not realize that God had visited upon them His Son. About this time, Jesus sees a fig tree without edible fruit and symbolically curses it showing the coming judgment on Israel. This is a time of deep emotion for Jesus, the beginning birth pangs of coming agony. I can remember several times in my life when God visited upon me the opportunity to receive His Son and obey His truth but I rejected Him too. As I look back over my life now I can see that I fell deeper into sin each time I turned away from Him. How grateful I am that He mercifully brought me back and didn't utterly reject me and I wish that I had surrendered to His will sooner. My hope now is that others will join with the great cloud of witnesses that hails Jesus as the Son of God. Have a blessed Palm Sunday celebration in your fellowship with Jesus.
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,...how often would I have gathered thy children together,
even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!
Do you know who painted the picture of Jesus overlooking Jerusalem? I would love to know if you have any idea.
ReplyDeleteThanks for preaching the Lord's Word!
~Alan