That mankind can break the heart of God is a truth from the beginning of time. In the days of Noah, as God looked upon the wickedness in the heart of men, “It grieved Him in His heart.” When God’s nation strayed into idolatry, He said, “I am broken with their whorish heart.” The idea that God is aloof and unfeeling is wrong.
Three times in the Bible we are told that Jesus wept. At Lazarus funeral, as Jesus saw all the people weeping, “He wept.” Jesus hates death. This is the reason He came to earth – to destroy death’s hold on us by forgiving our sins and gifting us His righteousness – resulting in everlasting life. The word for “weep” here means ‘to shed tears softly.’
Four days before Jesus went to the Cross, He rode a donkey into Jerusalem, declaring Himself Israel’s long-awaited King. Did they not know the Scripture? … “Behold, your King comes to you! He is righteous and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon a donkey…” (Zechariah 9:6). The Bible tells us… “When He came near, he looked at the city, and wept over it, saying, “If only you had known the time of Your visitation!” (Luke 19:41-44). The word for “weep” here means ‘to sob loudly.’ They had rejected their King. That generation would never know the peace, joys, and eternal good He came to bring.
Then, the night before the Cross, as He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane, “He offered up prayers, and supplications with strong crying and tears…” (Hebrews 5:7). The word here is even stronger… “boisterous, loud, grief-stricken crying.” The horrors of the Cross lay before Him, but unless He saw it through, the horrors of Hell lay before you and me. His love for us was in those tears and He saw it through… “for the joy set before Him” of saving us. Can we fathom such love?
Toward such sacrificial love, there is only one response Heaven is waiting for. And oh, the rejoicing! If God’s people weep often talking about His love, it’s no wonder. When did you realize the Cross was for you?
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