And when he drew near, seeing the city, he wept over it, saying:
και ως ηγγισεν ιδων την πολιν εκλαυσεν επ αυτη
12 Church Fathers comment on this verse
If those who are lost are to grieve and shed tears, what pardon or justification can be offered to those who lack compassion and still find joy? Do you not observe how Christ, on the brink of His execution, weeps for the ruin of Jerusalem? Likewise, you can see how Paul expresses sorrow, mourning, and weeping over the plight of others (Rom. 9:2). Yet, there are individuals so morally corrupt that they perceive the suffering of others as a source of solace in their own troubles.
The Lord, in His profound love for humanity, mourns for the city; He did not want its people to face destruction due to their defiance against Him. Through His tears, He demonstrates His heart of compassion. It is clear that His pity extended not only prior to His crucifixion but also afterwards, as He yearned for their transformation. This longing is evident in the fact that after many years, specifically thirty-five, He handed them over to the Romans. Clearly, He suspended their judgment out of His deep desire for their repentance.
The esteemed prophet Jeremiah fiercely denounced the arrogance and ignorance of the Jewish people, expressing his disapproval in the following: ‘How do you claim to be wise, and that the word of the Lord is among you? The deceitful writings of the scribes are futile. The scholars were ashamed; they were misled and ensnared; any wisdom they possessed was forsaken when they dismissed the word of the Lord!’ Lacking true wisdom and familiarity with the Holy Scriptures, the scribes and Pharisees, despite presenting themselves as knowledgeable of the law, turned away from the Word of God. When the Only Begotten took on human form, they did not accept Him nor submitted to His call as proclaimed in the Gospel.
By rejecting the Word of God through their nefarious actions, they faced rejection themselves, as decreed justly by God. For He declared through Jeremiah, ‘Call them rejected silver, for the Lord has rejected them.’ Furthermore, He instructed, ‘Shave your head, and cast it down, and take weeping upon your lips, for the Lord has rejected and forsaken the generation that has done these things.’ What these actions entail has been made clear by the God of all, who proclaims, ‘Hear, O earth: behold! I am bringing disaster upon this people, the result of their detestation, because they have not listened to My word and have disregarded My law.’ They failed to uphold the commandment given by Moses, as they preferred ‘the doctrines of men,’ rejecting the Word of God the Father and dishonoring Christ through lack of faith when He reached out to them. Consequently, the visible disasters they encountered were direct outcomes of their apostasy: they endured suffering as the recompense for the murder of the Lord. Yet, their descent into such calamity was not aligned with God’s benevolent intent; He desired for them to find joy through faith and obedience. Unfortunately, they were obstinate and presumptuous. Nonetheless, despite their transgressions, Christ showed compassion, for ‘He desires that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.’ It is told that ‘when He beheld the city, He wept,’ which allows us to perceive His profound sorrow, a sentiment we might dare to attribute to God, who surpasses all. However, we might not grasp His compassion for their wickedness if He had not displayed that sorrow through human action, making the unseen visible. The tear that falls from the eye serves as a sign of grief, or an expression of it. Thus He also wept for Lazarus, illustrating His distress over humanity's vulnerability to death. For ‘He created all things for incorruption; yet through the envy of the devil death entered the world’: not because the devil's envy overwhelms the Creator's will, but because it was fitting for the breach of the Divine command to incur a punishment that would humble those who rejected the law of life.
Aware that he was destined for destruction due to his profound sinfulness, He expresses deep compassion through His human experience, demonstrating the immense sorrow He felt for the ungrateful Jewish people.
It is essential to consider the meaning behind the phrase, "Looking upon it, he wept for it." The Savior lamented in advance for the ruin of the deceitful city, a city unaware of the imminent judgment it faced.
Following the words of the hymn, the praises of the children resonated among the people and provoked all those who opposed Him. Gazing steadfastly at Zion, He expressed His sorrow and lamented, proclaiming: ‘Weep, O Jerusalem! For you have recognized the children of your ancestors as the mentors of your youth. You are in your prime, filled with vigor for wrongdoing, but in righteousness, you are burdened by age; these children embody the finest of your spirit, calling out to Me: ‘Blessed is He who comes to seek Adam!’
When God judges a sinner who refuses to repent, He does not do so with favor. Consider how Christ mourns over the impending ruin of Jerusalem, a city He could not lead to repentance, as the holy Evangelist observes: looking upon it, He wept for it. For Him, it is an alien act to bring about destruction, being One whose essence is to do good. It is contrary to His nature to bring demise, for He is fundamentally a Savior. For it is written, our God is a God of salvation (Psalm 67:21), declares the Psalmist. This reflects the harmony of creation. Execution
Yet, the popular fervor did not truly nourish Him, a fact evident in His tears as He beheld Jerusalem. His heart was heavy with love and compassion, deeply empathizing with human suffering, as He looked upon Jerusalem. This was the city where He had frequently called the people to repentance, yet it was destined to face destruction for its iniquity. In His sorrow, He lamented, "O if thou hadst but now learnt what is for thy salvation!" addressing Jerusalem. "But now it is hidden from thy eyes." While the city envisioned triumph alongside its king and imagined itself elevated above all adversaries, the King Himself foretold anguish, ruin, and devastation at the hands of its foes.
The walls of the now-flourishing city would soon be encircled by armies, besieged, and ultimately laid waste, leaving not one stone upon another. The jubilant crowds would not celebrate then as they do now; even children would face annihilation. What was the purpose of this? Was the reception Jerusalem extended to Jesus, the Messiah, truly more genuine? The Lord observed that the people were jubilant, yet they were unaware of the true nature of their joy. In contrast, the leaders of the people, distant from this elation, harbored other sentiments towards Him. He foresaw that soon the cries of "hosanna" would shift to demands of "crucify Him," and the King of Israel would be condemned to the cross. And tears streamed from His eyes.
As Christ neared the city, He gazed upon it and wept for the sorrowful destiny that awaited Jerusalem, a fate brought about by the disbelief of its people (Luke 19:41-44). This particular day, marked by His public and royal entry into Jerusalem, is regarded by Christ as especially significant for Israel. God had promised the nation a King from the lineage of David, one who would usher in peace for His people. However, the understanding of a theocratic king, as the Messiah was intended according to the authentic meaning of Old Testament promises and prophecies, has been distorted among contemporary Jews into a purely worldly notion of a conquering monarch. Nevertheless, Christ remains directly the true Messiah.
He has yet to explicitly identify Himself as the Messiah, and He has instructed others, including the demons He expelled, those He healed, and even His apostles, not to proclaim Him as such. Nevertheless, had Christ completed His earthly mission without revealing His true identity, the skepticism of the Jews might have seemed somewhat justifiable in the eyes of God. Thus, prior to the conclusion of His ministry, Christ allows the fervor of the crowd to reach its height, openly identifies Himself as the Son of David, and accepts their praises in this light. “Oh, if you, O Jerusalem, who have shown such hardness and disbelief, could have recognized on this momentous day what leads to your peace!” Yet, Christ perceives in His spirit that this truth remains concealed from the eyes of the afflicted city, foreseeing that even this pivotal occasion will not guide it toward righteousness, and He thus predicts its ultimate desolation.
As Jesus made His way through the crowd enveloped in silence, the harsh comments from the Pharisees filled His heart with sorrowful thoughts. He understood that this enthusiastic gathering, which presently recognized Him as their Savior, would soon turn and vehemently shout, ‘Crucify him, crucify him!’ He was aware that this sacred city He was entering, the pride and splendor of its inhabitants, would soon face destruction, leaving not one stone upon another. The weight of this realization overwhelmed Him with an indescribable anguish, causing Him to weep.
Just days later, after enduring insults, being scourged, and nailed to the cross, He had refrained from shedding tears; yet in that moment, He cried, fully aware that His chosen people were in a state of ruin and that there was no hope of their salvation.
For most individuals, the breathtaking view of the city might have been a source of joy; however, the true Sovereign did not focus on the external grandeur but on the inner worth of its people. Before Him lay a profound chasm of disbelief and wickedness, fully prepared for the most egregious offense imaginable. This magnificent scene pierced the heart of Christ, overflowing with boundless compassion, filling Him with indescribable sorrow. He had previously wept over the hardness of human hearts and the prevalence of sin, yet now His cries were loud and heart-wrenching. The humiliation He would soon endure and the unbearable agony of His impending suffering had failed to draw a sound or even a tear from Him until this moment; here, His inner turmoil consumed His spirit.
He did not simply shed tears but wept uncontrollably, his choked voice barely able to form the words. "Oh, if thou also!" He cried out while the crowd stood in astonishment, unsure of how to react, "oh, if thou also hadst understood, even in this thy day, what is for thy peace!" Grief interrupted His utterance, and as His voice steadied, He added, "But this is now hidden from thine eyes; for the days shall come upon thee when thine adversaries shall lay siege against thee and surround thee on every side, and they shall lay thee even with the ground, and shall dash thy children within thee to the ground, and shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation." This was the final plea from the Messiah to the sinful city that had silenced the prophets, and since it heeded not this warning, it was destined to face the foretold consequences. Indeed, four decades later, Christ's prophecy was realized in its entirety.
He shed tears over it, and this poignant aspect of the incident, along with His words of sorrow for the city, is recorded solely in the Gospel of Luke. From the hillside of the Mount of Olives, Jerusalem, with its glorious temple, stood revealed in its splendor. The vision of this sacred city, coupled with the memory of its wrongdoings and the divine grace it had received, alongside the realization of its current spiritual blindness and stubbornness—endangering it with impending ruin—struck a deep chord. Even at that moment, it was not too late to avert such destruction, provided the city acknowledged its error and ceased its rebellion against its Messiah.
The sight of the crowd, filled with genuine joy, shouting "hosanna," contrasted painfully with the looming reality that this jubilant exclamation would soon give way to the dreadful demand—"crucify Him." All these thoughts profoundly moved the heart of the Lord, causing Him—the Sovereign of Zion—to weep at the sight of the city.
Passages read together with this verse.
Greek text, 9 words with lemma, transliteration and Strong’s number. Tap to expand.
THEOSIS