Chapter 1—Weeping Over Jerusalem
The triumphal ride of Christ into Jerusalem, just prior to his cru-
cifixion, was the dim foreshadowing of his coming in the clouds of
heaven with power and glory amid the triumph of angels and rejoicing
of the saints. Then will be fulfilled the words of Christ: “Ye shall
not see me henceforth, till ye shall say, Blessed is He that cometh in
the name of the Lord.” Zechariah, in prophetic vision, was shown the
day of final triumph, when Christ shall come in glory; and also the
condition of the Jews who rejected him at his first advent: “And they
shall look upon me whom they have pierced, and they shall mourn for
him, as one mourneth for his only son, and shall be in bitterness for
him, as one that is in bitterness for his firstborn.”
The tears of Christ as he wept over Jerusalem were for the sins
of all time. The Jewish nation was a symbol of the people of all
ages who scorn the pleadings of Infinite love. Those who profess
to be the representatives of Christ upon earth, yet whose lives are a
continual denial of him, may read their own condemnation in Christ’s
denunciation of the self-righteous Jews. The Saviour came to the
world bringing the light of truth; but his counsel has ever been rejected
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and his mercies despised by those who have allowed selfishness and
the love of mammon and worldly honor to possess the temple of the
heart.
The sin of Jerusalem was in the rejection of her then present mer-
cies and warnings. As a tender father pities a loved but erring and
rebellious son, so had Jesus compassion upon Jerusalem. He had
sent prophets and wise men with counsel, entreaties, and warnings
of threatened judgments if she refused to forsake her sins. Sacrificial
blood had flowed continuously for centuries, symbolizing the great
atonement of the Son of God, to be offered for the salvation of man.
But though the sacrifices of beasts had been abundant, they could not
supply the place of true sorrow for sin and obedience to God. A broken
heart and contrite spirit would have been of far more value in the sight
of God than multitudes of offerings without true repentance.
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