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JERUSALEM THE CITY OF PEACE?
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28
Luke 19:41-44, Matthew 21:10-11

Psalm 122

 

“…he beheld the city,

and wept over it.”

 

JERUSALEM THE CITY OF PEACE?
 
Jesus lovingly looked at Jerusalem and wept over her. He was grieved by the people’s rejection of Him. How greatly would the Jews be blessed with peace if only they had believed on Him. This peace refers to the peace with God that Jesus gives to those who are justified by faith (Rom 5:1).
 
Jesus also prophesied that Jerusalem would be punished for rejecting the Messiah. Indeed, this is seen in the fact that the Jews have been a persecuted people since they crucified Jesus on the cross. They were eventually driven out of their homeland in AD 70, and scattered all over the world. In these foreign lands, they were generally hated, despised and ill-treated. The Jewish holocaust in World War II saw the massacre of six million Jews by Hitler. Anti-semitism is generally a world-wide sentiment. The worst is yet to come. The time of Jacob’s trouble awaits Israel. This will happen during the second half of the seven-year Great Tribulation period when the Antichrist will attempt to exterminate the Jews. Peace will come to Jerusalem only when the Prince of peace returns. Then all Israel shall be saved (Rom 11:26). Israel is presently blinded, but on that day, God will open her eyes. The Jews will then confess Jesus as Lord. Read Revelation 1:7 and Isaiah 25:9.
 
Since the Passover was just around the corner, there were many Jewish pilgrims in Jerusalem. The question “Who is this?” was probably asked by those who lived outside of Palestine who might not have heard of Jesus. The answer given was, “This is Jesus the prophet of Nazareth of Galilee.” By this time, the people did see Him as a prophet (John 4:19, 6:14, 7:40), and as a Nazarene (Mark 1:24, 10:47, 16:6). It was really quite a superficial answer. Jesus was not simply a prophet; He was the Christ, the Son of the living God (Matt 16:16). He was not just from Nazareth but from heaven itself (John 3:13). How dull the Jews were to the identity of Jesus, their Messiah. No wonder Jesus wept over Jerusalem, and lamented, “If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes!”
 
THOUGHT: What does “Jerusalem” mean?

PRAYER: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem…” (Ps 122:6).

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