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Day 241

Luke 19 : 28-48 "NO BLISS IN IGNORANCE"

Day 241 – Luke 19

Text: Luke 19 : 28-48

NO BLISS IN IGNORANCE

As we ponder the tears of Jesus as He wept over Jerusalem, we remember an earlier occasion when He uttered the following words.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem,
The one who kills the prophets
And stones those who are sent to her!
How often I wanted to gather
Your children together,
As a hen gathers her brood under her wings,
But you were not willing!
See! Your house is left to you desolate…”
Luke 13:34-35

Let us compare these words with what Jesus said as He drew near the city. The second pronouncement of doom was even more ominous.

“If you had known, even you”
For days will come upon you
When your enemies will build
An embankment around you,
Surround you and close you in
On every side, and level you,
And your children within you,
To the ground;
And they will not leave in you
One stone upon another,
Because you did not know
The time of your visitation.”
Luke 19:42-44

Jesus saw the destruction of Jerusalem. That prophecy of destruction would actually take place in AD 70. The Romans under General Titus came to Jerusalem and literally fulfilled what Jesus announced prophetically.

The Romans were famous for their tactic of laying siege to a city. When Jerusalem became so troublesome because of its frequent rebellion against Rome, General Titus was sent to quell the violence. He employed the famous Roman tactic of besieging Jerusalem, and then sacking the city. Jerusalem was reduced to rubble at the end of the Roman campaign!

Jesus wept over the destruction of lives! Jerusalem brought on its own fate! “If only they had known…” Those sad words of lament were found often on the lips of the ancient prophets of Israel. Those were the saddest words, for Israel was never in want of prophets who preached to them the Word of God.

“HEAR THE WORD OF THE LORD…” Hosea 4:1

Hosea was another prophet who preached sad and solemn words to ancient Israel. In one of his messages to the rebellious nation, he cried out,

“Hear the word of the Lord,
You children of Israel,
For the Lord brings a charge
Against the inhabitants of the land:

“There is no truth or mercy
Or knowledge of God in the land,
By swearing and lying,
Killing and stealing and committing adultery,
They break all restraint,
With bloodshed upon bloodshed.

My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,
Because you have rejected knowledge,
I will also reject you from being priest for Me,
Because you have forgotten the law of your God,
I also will forget your children.”
Hosea 4: 1-2, 6

Right from the start, Jesus had come to His people, the nation of Israel with the Word of the Lord. He came preaching the Kingdom of God. How had Israel received the Word of the Lord all this while?

Even a quick review would reveal that all was not well in the land. From Nazareth in Galilee, to Jerusalem the capital, Jesus met great resistance.

1. Nazareth wanted to kill Jesus after they heard His Message. Luke 4:28-30

2. Luke noted that “the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected the will of God…” Luke 7:30 (This was with reference to their rejection of the ministry of John the Baptiser)

3. On a number of occasions, Jesus lamented that the people were “faithless and perverse”. Luke 7:31-32; 9:41; 11:29-32

4. Some of the people had gone on the offensive and declared Jesus to be in league with Beelzebub. Luke 11:15

5. More than once, Jesus exposed the sins of the Pharisees and the lawyers. Luke 11:37-54

6. Prophetically, Jesus knew that His enemies would not stop at slandering Him, and opposing His teachings. He knew that they would plot to kill Him. Such was the wickedness of His enemies!

SIN UPON SIN

The people had sinned with great impunity! Did they really think that they could commit sin upon sin, and not be punished? Did they think that they could do with Jesus as they pleased? They would be judged and their beloved Jerusalem would be destroyed!