41 He [Jesus] came closer to the city, and when he saw it, he wept over it, 42 saying,
If you only knew today what is needed for peace! But now you cannot see it! 43 The time will come when your enemies will surround you with barricades, blockade you, and close in on you from every side. 44 They will completely destroy you and the people within your walls; not a single stone will they leave in its place, because you did not recognize the time when God came to save you!
Read Luke 19:41-44 in context and/or in other translations on BibleGateway.com!
As Jesus approached Jerusalem for the final time before being crucified, Luke’s gospel describes how as He approached the city, Jesus wept for it. Part of the reason Jesus cried at this point in His ministry was because He knew what would happen to it in several decades when it would be surrounded and destroyed – with many people still hiding inside.
However, Jesus also cried because of another phrase Luke includes in His gospel record of this event. Luke tells us Jesus began His message to Jerusalem by saying, “If you only knew today what is needed for peace! But now you cannot see it!” (v. 42)
It is interesting in my mind that Jesus would use the word peace in His message to this city. At that time, even while there was political unrest, when compared to other points in history, Jerusalem was experiencing peace because those living there were not trying to rebel against Rome.
However, while the people had one type of peace, I believe Jesus is speaking here on multiple levels. While those living in Jerusalem had peace from military aggression, most people living in the city likely were missing peace in their hearts and lives.
Many of us miss out on this peace as well. Living busy lives 2,000 years later, most of us live in areas that are more peaceful than other parts of the world, but we take this type of peace for granted and instead focus on other things that are less peaceful. For many of us, we unknowingly focus on things that rob us of peace. Think with me for a moment what portions of a typical day include time we could call peaceful. If you have not incorporated times of peace in your schedule, then I’m positive that your life doesn’t have any times where you can stop and experience peace. Peaceful moments don’t demand our attention, and when we focus on the things demanding our time, we miss out on experiencing peace.
When Jesus opened His message for Jerusalem by talking about peace, I believe this is because Jesus is the only one who can bring true peace into a city, a culture, a community, or even into an individual’s life. By focusing on Jesus, we can experience peace because Jesus has done everything for us that is important from an eternal perspective, and all we have left to do is be thankful and help others like God has helped us.
Culture tries to rob our peace by distracting us from spending time with Jesus, but when we push culture’s demands back in order to spend time with God each day, we will experience a peace that few in this world truly understand.
Jesus knows what we need to experience peace, and He offers it to those who follow Him each day.
This thought was inspired by studying the Walking With Jesus “Reflective Bible Study” package. To discover insights like this in your own study time, click here and give Reflective Bible Study a try today!
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