As Jesus approached Jerusalem
This moment occurs during Jesus' final journey to Jerusalem, a significant event in the Gospels. Jerusalem, the city of David, is central to Jewish identity and worship, housing the Temple, the heart of Jewish religious life. Jesus' approach signifies the culmination of His earthly ministry and the fulfillment of His mission. The city is also the site of many prophetic events, including those foretold by prophets like Isaiah and Zechariah, who spoke of a coming Messiah. Jesus' entry into Jerusalem is a fulfillment of Zechariah 9:9, where the King comes to Zion.

and saw the city,
Jerusalem is not just a geographical location but a symbol of the Jewish people and their covenant with God. The city is often depicted in the Old Testament as a place of divine presence and future hope. Jesus' view of the city would have included the Temple, a place of worship and sacrifice, which He had previously cleansed. The sight of Jerusalem evokes a deep emotional response from Jesus, highlighting His connection to the city and its people.

He wept over it
Jesus' weeping is a profound expression of His compassion and sorrow for Jerusalem. This is one of the few instances in the Gospels where Jesus is described as weeping, indicating the depth of His lament. His tears reflect His awareness of the impending destruction of the city, which would occur in AD 70, as well as the spiritual blindness and rejection of His message by its inhabitants. This moment echoes the lament of the prophets, such as Jeremiah, who mourned over the fate of Jerusalem. Jesus' tears also reveal His role as a compassionate Savior, who grieves over the lost and desires their repentance and salvation.

1. Jesus
The central figure in this passage, Jesus is the Son of God, the Messiah, who is approaching Jerusalem. His weeping signifies His deep compassion and sorrow for the city and its people.

2. Jerusalem
The city of great historical and spiritual significance for the Jewish people. It is the center of Jewish worship and the location of the Temple. Jesus' lamentation over Jerusalem highlights its impending judgment and the people's failure to recognize Him as the Messiah.

3. The Weeping
This event is significant as it shows Jesus' humanity and His deep emotional connection to the people of Jerusalem. It reflects His sorrow over their spiritual blindness and the consequences they will face.Compassion of Christ
Jesus' weeping over Jerusalem demonstrates His profound compassion for humanity. As followers of Christ, we are called to emulate His compassion and concern for others, especially those who are spiritually lost.

Spiritual Blindness
The people of Jerusalem failed to recognize the time of God's visitation. We must be vigilant in our spiritual lives, ensuring that we do not miss God's presence and work in our midst.

The Consequences of Rejection
Jesus' lamentation foreshadows the destruction of Jerusalem. This serves as a warning of the consequences of rejecting God's offer of salvation. We must heed the call to repentance and faith in Christ.

The Heart of God
Jesus' tears reveal the heart of God, who desires that none should perish but that all should come to repentance. This should motivate us to share the Gospel with urgency and love.(41) He beheld the city, and wept over it.--This, and the tears over the grave of Lazarus (John 11:35), are the only recorded instances of our Lord's tears. It is significant that in the one case they flow from the intensity of personal friendship, in the other from that of the intense love of country which we know as patriotism. Neither element of character could well be wanting in the perfect pattern of a holiness truly human.

Verse 41. - He beheld the city. It was a very different view to what the traveller of the present day would see from the same spot. Though Jerusalem, when Jesus Christ was teaching on earth, was subject to the stranger Herodian, and the Herodian to the great Italian power, yet the beauty and glory of the city were remarkable. Still glittered in the midst of the great city that "mass of gold and snow" known as the temple. The far-extending suburbs were covered with the gardens and palaces of the wealthy Jews. But the mighty memories which hung so thickly round the sacred city and the glorious house of God after all constituted its chief charm. What might not that city have been! what splendid and far-reaching work might it not have done l and now the cup of its iniquities was just brimming over; only a few more short years, and a silence the most awful would brood over the shapeless ruins of what was once Jerusalem and her house on Zion, the joy of the whole earth. And wept over it. No merely silent tears of mute sorrow, but ἔκλαυσεν, he wept aloud. All the insults and the sufferings of the Passion were powerless to elicit from the Man of sorrows that expression of intense grief which the thought of the ruin of the loved city called forth.

Parallel Commentaries ...


As
ὡς (hōs)
Adverb
Strong's 5613: Probably adverb of comparative from hos; which how, i.e. In that manner.

[Jesus] approached [Jerusalem]
ἤγγισεν (ēngisen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 1448: Trans: I bring near; intrans: I come near, approach. From eggus; to make near, i.e. approach.

[and] saw
ἰδὼν (idōn)
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular
Strong's 3708: Properly, to stare at, i.e. to discern clearly; by extension, to attend to; by Hebraism, to experience; passively, to appear.

the
τὴν (tēn)
Article - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 3588: The, the definite article. Including the feminine he, and the neuter to in all their inflections; the definite article; the.

city,
πόλιν (polin)
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Strong's 4172: A city, the inhabitants of a city. Probably from the same as polemos, or perhaps from polus; a town.

He wept
ἔκλαυσεν (eklausen)
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 2799: To weep, weep for, mourn, lament. Of uncertain affinity; to sob, i.e. Wail aloud.

over
ἐπ’ (ep’)
Preposition
Strong's 1909: On, to, against, on the basis of, at.

it
αὐτήν (autēn)
Personal / Possessive Pronoun - Accusative Feminine 3rd Person Singular
Strong's 846: He, she, it, they, them, same. From the particle au; the reflexive pronoun self, used of the third person, and of the other persons.


Luke 19:41 NIV
Luke 19:41 NLT
Luke 19:41 ESV
Luke 19:41 NASB
Luke 19:41 KJV

Luke 19:41 BibleApps.com
Luke 19:41 Biblia Paralela
Luke 19:41 Chinese Bible
Luke 19:41 French Bible
Luke 19:41 Catholic Bible

NT Gospels: Luke 19:41 When he drew near he saw (Luke Lu Lk)