And when He was come near, He beheld the city, and wept over it. Luke 19:41
According to the Jewish historian Josephus, who was there at the time, more than a million people died during the siege and sack of Jerusalem by the Roman armies of Titus in the year 70. He also recorded that another 97,000 people were captured or enslaved when Jerusalem fell. After a bitter siege, three Roman legions destroyed the walls of the city and levelled the temple as they swept through the city in August of that year. Here is Josephus’ description of the terrible carnage inflicted by the Romans: ‘The slaughter within was even more dreadful than the spectacle from without. Men and women, old and young, insurgents and priests, those who fought and those who entreated mercy, were hewn down in indiscriminate carnage. The number of the slain exceeded that of the slayers. The legionaries had to clamber over heaps of dead to carry on the work of extermination.’ Is it any wonder that, in our text today, the Lord Jesus would weep over the city?
Other than a rankling Roman presence, there was little hint of the future Roman destruction of Jerusalem at the time the Lord Jesus entered into the city. But the Lord Jesus, as He viewed the beauty and magnificence of the city and its glorious temple, and watched the happy conduct of the population, knew all about the coming Roman destruction. He was fully aware of the savage battering rams and the bloody swords that would cause so much damage and torment. These were His people and He loved them, and He knew they were going to die. Their rejection of Him would seal their doom, something that the city failed to understand and accept. His tears were real; He would have loved to save them. He could only mourn their foolish decision. The loss of every soul that fails to accept Him as Lord and Saviour is also a grief to Him.
The compassion that the Lord Jesus had for lost souls is something that should grip every one of us. Those who proclaim the Gospel do so in love, knowing the terrible destiny of those who reject the message. Those whose lives are a testimony for their Lord feel sorrow that their testimony is rejected by sinners who must bear the awful cost in eternity. If it could grieve the heart of our Lord to see the folly of His rejection, it should also grieve us. For example, if we look at a large crowd of people at a public event, we often wonder how many of them are Christians. We should also wonder how many are rejectors and neglecters of God’s great salvation. If we cared as much about those who are perishing around us, we might well do more to see that they hear the Gospel message.
What do we know about weeping over the destruction of lost souls? It caused our Lord to weep. – Jim MacIntosh