Sermon: Moved with Compassion

This evening we're going to look at Luke, I mean at Luke chapter 19, verses 41 and 42. This evening,

Luke chapter 19, verses 41 through 42, we've gone through a lot of wonderful Bible texts, prophecies regarding Christ, some from the gospel narratives regarding the birth of Christ. This seems like a very unlikely Christmas text, uh, but I'm hoping that you will see why I chose it after we walk our way through it a little bit. These two verses, Luke chapter 19, verses 41 and 42.

This is the word of the Lord. And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it saying, would that you even, you had known on the say the things that make for peace, but now they're hidden from your eyes. The grass withers and the flower fades. Word of God is forever. Thanks. Speak to God. Amen. You pray for us. Our Father, we are thankful for the gift of your word. We do pray that you would bring it to bear upon our souls

and our minds this evening, our very hearts that we might get a picture of your son becoming flesh for us, the great gift of the ages, and that we would find our ourself rejoicing in him. We would find ourselves returning with thanksgiving to him. We would find ourselves adoring him afresh and anew this evening. And we pray all of this in the strong name of Jesus, the Christ. Amen. On the drive here tonight, I was thinking, uh, about

how many people are celebrating Christmas this time of year and what it means for them. And I was thinking if we did a kind of a approval rating generally in culture around Christmas and ask people of their approval rating of Santa Claus versus God, I'm assuming generally in our culture, people would give Santa Claus a much greater approval rating than God. And I think it's because of the picture that we have. We, you're this old man with a, a long beard

and uh, had way too many cookies and a jolly laugh and he seems happy all the time and, and he gives gifts. He gives me what I want and then he disappears out of our lives for a year and he comes back the next year and he does the same thing.

I was thinking, why is it that people have a different view of God as far less favorable view of God? And I think, hmm, if we were to do this just even of the second person, the triune Godhead, the one that we celebrate this evening of the son of God becoming flesh for us and entering into this world and living for us and dying for us, why is it that maybe he doesn't quite have the approval rating of Santa Claus? And my guess would be is

because people would wonder whether he truly cares for them. Does he really care? I wanna look tonight at this text and I want us to see the heart of Jesus. And I'm hoping that by the end of this tonight, you would say, oh, I will take Jesus time and time again and for all of eternity. What I want you to first notice from this text is his weeping. His weeping. He's standing on a hill overlooking the city of Jerusalem and Luke says this, he wept over it.

Now, now there are those who weep not knowing why they weep. Maybe they are just all emotion and they're given to emotion and any single moment. And so you may ask them, why is it that you're crying? And the rejoinder to you would be as they're saying with tears, I don't know why I'm crying, but that's not the kind of of weeping that Jesus is doing here. No, his is not an uninformed, weeping. There are others who are simply mood by raw emotion in

a given moment. There is a mood of sadness or there is a, a loss in the room that they're in. There's a general feeling of pain in the air and that person over there is crying. And so they begin to cry. They are weeping because they're weeping and it's just kind of a, the air has that in it and there's just kind of an emotionalism. But that is not Jesus's weeping here. There are still others who weep, but it's a fake.

We weeping. It's a fake cry. It's the sibling that goes running to their parents and they want to get their brother in trouble and say, he hit me. And there's all kinds of tears when you know that he didn't, if he did hit him that it wasn't hard enough to cause those kind of tears. If he didn't hit him at all, then he surely shouldn't have those kind of tears.

It's not that kind of weeping either, that Jesus is doing a fake weeping. His is a true informed weeping as he looks out over the city of Jerusalem. He weeps because he knows of the destruction that is about ready to come upon them. And the pain and the suffering and the trial that they are about ready to enter into

Jerusalem will be destroyed in 70 AD just a number of years later. And Jesus is informed by that. It's not raw emotion. His mind and soul are stirred with true knowledge of what's going to happen to these people. And he's moved to tears.

We come to the incarnation of the Son of God, the second person of the triune Godhead becoming flesh and dwelling in his creation. There's great comfort in knowing that he is truly human. He took to himself a true human body. He adorned himself with human flesh and not just for a moment, but for all of eternity. And as we confess, and we will do sometimes here on Sunday mornings, not only did he take to himself a true human body, he took

to himself a reasonable soul, a true human soul. He was made like us in every respect except he was without sin. And so when Jesus, here, when he is experiencing this emotion over the city of Jerusalem, it's true emotion.

It's true tears.

It's true weeping. Imagine that the, the son of

glory's known perfect joy and perfect happiness and perfect peace with his father, he's now weeping

In his flesh. He's shedding tears for the, the pain and the loss and the suffering. You know, there's another famous passage where Jesus also weeps. It is in John 11 there where he goes to the tomb of Lazarus. You know, he waited a few days and in those few days, Lazarus dies. And when he arrives at the tomb, Martha and Mary have both come to him and they were saying to him, Lord, if you had been here, our brother would not have died.

And he sees them weepy and he sees Mary weeping. He sees Martha weeping. And then the text tells us in John 11 that he sees the Jews who had accompanied them to the tomb weeping. And here, here is Lazarus in the tomb, Martha and Mary, three of his closest friends in this earthly life besides John and Peter and James. I think they were surely his closest because he would stay with them when he would go to Jerusalem. It was in their house. He would go to Bethany

and he would stay with them.

And when he sees them weeping in all of these Jews weeping around the tomb of Lazarus, we have that shortest text in the entire scripture. Shortest verse John 1135, Jesus wept.

And why does he weep? He knows he's bringing Lazarus back from the grave. He knows he's restoring Lazarus to Martha Mary. He weeps for the same reason he weeps in this text

because he has true sorrow for the effects of sin. And its great partner of death upon people created in his image.

It's compassion, which leads us from his weeping to his words. Look at his words. He, he says, would that you even, you had known on this day the things that make for peace, but now they are hidden from your eyes in tears. He, he utters these words and compassion would that you even, you had known

and you would have the things that make for peace. It's not just compassion though, is it? It's, it's a lament. Had you known on this day the things that make for peace? He's looking upon the city that this the city, Jerusalem, the city that is called the city of the prophets and the scriptures, it's the city of the prophets because prophet after prophet is sent to the city. And prophet after prophet will preach the promises

of God to the city. And prophet after prophet will be rejected by the city and they will reject God's promises over and over again. And prophet after prophet, they will not only marginalize and they will reject, but prophet after prophet, they will put to death.

Jesus will tell a parable in the very next chapter of Luke called the parable of the wicked tenants. And in that parable, he speaks of a vineyard and there's a vineyard owner. And the vineyard owner will send servant after servant to go to these tenants to speak to them. And these tenants of this vineyard will stone this servant and they will cast out this servant and they will kill the servant. And so the owner of the vineyard finally says, he says, ah,

I'll send them my son. Surely they will listen to my son.

And in that parable that Jesus tells, they take the Son and they reject him and they throw him outta the vineyard and they kill him.

Jesus Laments as he watches over the city because he knows that they have rejected him, each prophet he has sent. And now that the father sends him, he knows that they are going to reject him and that they're going to cast him out and they're going to kill him When He comes offering Peace,

they could have peace And they reject the Peace.

And so he not only has compassion, he's lamenting over this decision that he knows that they have made and they will continue to make. He offers peace.

I've heard this evening when the angels were in the sky on that first Christmas night and that song that erupted from that angelic choir that filled the night sky, glory to God and the highest and on earth, Peace Among those with whom he is well pleased.

Peace is offered, but it's more than offered. It's provided for in Christ on earth. Peace among those with whom he's pleased. Well, with whom is God pleased? Those who receive his son, those who receive, who he sinned, his son. And how do you receive his son? You receive his son in faith, A writer of Hebrews will say, as we just walk through that, uh, just, uh, less than a year ago in Hebrews 11, where he says, without faith it's

impossible to please God. How do you please God? Faith, Faith in a son and those with whom he is Well pleased. Peace.

It is a, it's an odd thing in my mind. Santa Claus is celebrated. Jesus is not. I think what does Santa do? Uh, He gives you whatever it is, that material thing that you want this year. You make your list and oh, I hope I get this thing at the top of my list. Oh no, I didn't get that. I got the second or the third thing in the top of my list. And, and then that thing, yeah, you got a new list a year later. And there's another thing that ranks at the top of it

and you can't even remember what you got last year or two years ago or three years ago or five years ago, Where the gift that Jesus gives is that which is lasting for all of eternity. It's that which is the greatest need of the soul. Peace. Peace with God

and peace here.

Peace.

But here's Jesus' lament. Not all receive him and thus not all receive this peace. John and his gospel begins it this way. He says, he meaning Jesus came to his own and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God. Some receive him, some do not. Some receive peace, some do not. Those who receive him always receive peace. Those who do not receive him never receive

Peace.

Remember in Luke two, we didn't read it tonight, but that moment when Joseph and Mary are bringing the baby Jesus to the temple, and when they get to the temple, there is that old man that meets them. Simeon the prophet. And you remember what the text says is that he was waiting for the consolation of Israel. He was waiting for the peace Of Israel. He's waiting for the peace of Israel. And when he sees this, this baby, this, this

God man, the second person of the triune Godhead that came to earth and adorned himself with flesh, Simeon, he, he does not mistake him. He immediately sees him and he knows. And he says to Mary, prophesize over this baby Jesus. He says, behold, this child is appointed for the fall and the rising of many in Israel and for a sign that will be opposed. So that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. So the thoughts of many hearts may be

Revealed.

What does Jesus reveal about your heart?

Does it have peace

because you've received him?

I want you to see his heart. If you think about here, Jesus knew what awaited him in the city and and yet he wept over the people. They've rejected him. They will kill him. And yet he weeps, which leads to our last point, his way, His Way. Luke says this, and when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it. And that's his way. He draws near you. Say, why would he draw near to Jerusalem? Why would he draw near to those who hate him?

Because that's his way.

He draws near to sinners. It's in compassionate love That The son of God came down from heaven and adorned himself with flesh and became part of his creation. The creator becoming part of his creation. He draws near. He draws near to save sinners. He is moved by compassionate love. As he looks over the city of Jerusalem that he draws near to, he goes into the city knowing what awaits him. Why he draws near to sinners. This is the only way.

This is grace he draws near. This is so Much better than Santa Claus. What does he do? He Keeps you on a list. You're either on the naughty list or you're on the nice list. And then he checks it twice just in case he puts you on the wrong one.

He Doesn't draw near

It's law. And then you know What happens? You get to the end of that year and you're constantly intention, am I on the naughty list or am I on the nice list? Well, I don't know. I'll find out on Christmas when I open up the package. Is it coal or not? And then you know what? Next year you start all over again.

Santa is not jolly.

He's a task master.

Jesus draws near to sinners. It's grace. He says, here's peace. I come to you. Here's peace. He draws near.

This is what we celebrate with a baby born in a manger. We didn't draw near to him. He drew near to us. We didn't weep for him. He wept for us. He said, but he's in heaven now. Yes. And he draws near to you this evening. How do I know that? Because you're hearing his word this evening. It's not a mistake. You're here tonight. He draws near, have you received him? If you received him, are you dwelling in the peace that he has given you?

He's given it.

If you haven't received him, it's important to think about this text.

You know, he weeps over Jerusalem because the inhabitants of that city, they have numbered days that they've rejected him and he knows what's it about to fall upon them. And he laments because their time for receiving him has passed. And here's the warning that comes every Christmas. You don't know. You don't know whether you have another year. You don't know whether you have another month. You don't know whether you have another day.

You don't know whether you have another hour or another minute and your time has passed.

It's now that you receive him.

He offers peace, everlasting. Eternal. He says to his people, my peace I give to you, but only if he's received that he's, he's drawn near.

We're celebrating that in Christmas that he is drawn near and he draws near and draws near to us for all of eternity if we but receive him. RG Lee said it this way and I think is the best way I've ever heard it. I'm gonna read this at the end here. He said, Christ to an eternity, rested motherless upon the father's bosom and in time rested fatherless upon a woman's bosom, clasping the ancient of days, who had become the infant of days.

Then he says, what? Deep descent from the heights of glory to the depths of shame, from the wonders of heaven, to the wickedness of earth, from exaltation to humiliation, from the throne to the tree, from dignity to debasement, from worship, to wrath, from the halls of heaven, to the nails of earth, from the coronation to the curse, from the glory place to the the glory place at the cross in Bethlehem, humility and glory

and their extremes were joined, born in a stable cradled, in a cattle trough, wrapped in sling, swaddling clothes of poverty. No room for him who made all rooms, no place for him who made and knows all places. Oh, deep humiliation of the creator, born of the creature, born of woman. But in his descent was the dawn of mercy. And this is the key, because we cannot ascend to him. He descends to us.

He draws near And He offers you the gift of himself And peace, peace, peace. Forever. Oh,

You can't make up a better savior. You can't make up a better king. And we have reason to give. Thanks. It's Christmas. Let me pray for us.

Father, we are thankful that you are a giver of good gifts. And truly the best of all gifts is the gift of your son. I thank you that in him we have peace and we pray that all of us would know that peace tonight, tomorrow, and for all of eternity because we have received your son by faith. And may we return as the one leopard did with Thanksgiving, for truly we have reason to give thanks and we pray this in the strong name of Jesus Christ.

Amen.