Cause for Crying

As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it. (Luke 19:41)

It’s hard for us to get the full picture of the first Palm Sunday because it is impossible for us to see that day through the eyes of Jesus. It would seem to be a day that filled him with joy and satisfaction. But, it wasn’t.

When early in his ministry he preached a sermon in his hometown, they tried to throw him over a cliff. When he worked miracles, some said it was by the power of the devil. He was accused of blasphemy. When would they see him for who he really was?

It seemed as though Palm Sunday was that day. He rode into Jerusalem with crowds shouting their approval. They sang that he was the successor to the great King David. Finally, he was recognized as a King! Was it not a day to celebrate?

Then, why was Jesus crying?

We might guess it was because he knew the crowds would turn on him. We might wonder if he was anticipating the lash of the whips, and the nails driven through his hands and feet. But we would be wrong.

He was not crying for himself, he was crying for the people of Jerusalem. Their rejection of the Lord of Glory and the peace that he offered would bring them pain, disaster, and death. He told them, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.” (Luke 19:43) He foretold the days when enemies would surround Jerusalem, when they would smash the walls of the city—and the children within the walls. “They will not leave one stone on another,” he told them, “because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” (Luke 19:43,44).

It was enough to make the Son of God cry.

This tells us something about our sin, doesn’t it? And it tells us something about our Savior!

The consequences of sin are horrible—worse than we can imagine. Only God, and those who have entered eternity without him, know how horrible.

The love of God for us is wonderful—greater than we can imagine. Only God, and those who now dwell in heaven with him, know how wonderful.

We look in at that Palm Sunday from a great distance. But, it is not a dusty page from history. It is as current as today. For today is our chance to embrace the Savior in faith. Today is our opportunity to see him for who he is, and for what he has done. Today is our chance to join the voices of those shouting his praises.

We have no cause to cry. Today is our Palm Sunday!


Written by Pastor Paul Ziemer, WELS National Civilian Chaplain and Liaison to the Military.
To subscribe to Pastor Ziemer’s weekly message, please contact him at chaplainziemer@outlook.com.

Truth: Don’t Put It Off for Another Day

Think of the things we plan on doing but often never get to, such as…

* cleaning the garage
* understanding our taxes
* learning a musical instrument or second language
* saving for retirement
* reading the fine print on our investments and health insurance policies
* exercising regularly
* doing the thousand projects on our “to do” list
* making a will
* add your own…
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Some of the items on your “never got to” list aren’t all that important. When you think about them you might even chuckle and say to yourself, “I’ve been saying I’m going to take care of that for years. Who am I fooling? I’m never going to get to it.” And, it probably won’t matter all that much if the garage never gets cleaned or you don’t learn to play the guitar. But if you don’t make a will, or save for retirement or exercise regularly, well, the consequences of putting those things off can be catastrophic!

People have the tendency to be procrastinators with something else very important – the Truth about life and death. It’s a very personal subject which makes us all feel vulnerable, and so we tend to put it off and live our lives one day at a time, thinking that someday it will all come together for us and we’ll know what Truth is.

Jesus Christ talked a lot about Truth and he encouraged people to think seriously about what he said. Hours before he died Jesus spoke with a man who didn’t have a clue either about the definition of Truth or where he could find it. Little did he recognize Truth was looking at him. The words of Pontius Pilate, “What is truth?” have rung through the halls of history. Join us this Saturday (6:00 pm) or Sunday (10:00 am) to discover Truth in the person of Jesus Christ.