Matthew
23:37-39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the
prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather
your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but
you were not willing! See! Your house is left to you desolate; for I say to
you, you shall see Me no more till you say, ‘Blessed is He who
comes in the name of the LORD!’” NKJV
Any Parent can testify of the extreme agony brought
into their hearts when one of their beloved children is going down a path that
will result in certain disaster. The love the Parent has for their child
compels them to say or do anything within their power to convince the son or
daughter to turn around and walk back to the way that will bring about safety.
However, despite the constant and continual pleas from the Parent to the child
to change, often those words are met with contempt or disregard and the child
plunges head long in the way they would like to go and meet with tragic
results. Matthew Chapter 23 is filled with a scathing tyrant our Lord unleashed
upon the religious leaders of the Jews the Scribes and Pharisees condemning
their hypocritical, self-righteous, greedy, self-indulgent, extortive, unclean,
sinful, and lawless hearts while they were always wrapped up in their long
flowing religious robes appearing to be such holy men to the common Jews.
Nehemiah
9:26 Nevertheless they were disobedient And rebelled against You, Cast Your law
behind their backs And killed Your prophets, who testified against them To turn
them to Yourself; And they worked great provocations. NKJV
In stark contrast to the 8 blesses He spoke of to
the multitudes and His disciples as He went upon a mountain and taught them,
our Lord pronounces 8 woe’s to these religious leaders of the Jewish people.
Our Lord was righteously angry at how they had turned the Law that He gave
Moses into such hard rules and rituals that only served to keep people who
desired a real relationship and communion with YAHWEH away from knowing and
experiencing Him. Our Lord took them to the woodshed and opened their hearts up
and showed them who they really were not so as just to hurt them, but that they
would see their need for Him and turn to Him.
Jeremiah
4:14 O Jerusalem, wash your heart from wickedness, That you may be saved. How
long shall your evil thoughts lodge within you? NKJV
Many of His parables He spoke earlier in their
presence also was so they would see the wickedness of their hearts. In the Old
Testament, Joseph who was treated horribly by his brothers and sold into
slavery by them, when they had to stand before him as he was now ruler in Egypt
next to Pharaoh, Joseph treated his brothers roughly and after doing so would
go into another room and weep profusely and then return to his brothers and
treat them roughly again and go away and weep some more. Like Joseph our Lord
did not leave Heaven and come to earth the first time to destroy men’s lives,
but He came to save them. Our Lord saw that these people that He so loved did
not want Him and had not understood what the Old Testament Prophets spoke
concerning His first coming. All of this was said to them from the heart of
their King who deeply loved them and saw what their rejection of Him would do
to them as the Roman General Titus in A.D. 70 would destroy the city and the
Jewish Temple. Like Jerusalem rejected the Lord Jesus Christ, many Gentiles
today after His death on the cross, burial, and resurrection from the dead
reject or resist His sacrifice for their sins and thousands die every day apart
from Him and He weeps over their unwillingness to come to Him in repentance and
faith.
Matthew
11:28 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. NKJV
John
5:40 And still you are not willing [but refuse] to come to Me, so that you
might have life. QAB
“When we stray from His presence, He longs for you
to come back. He weeps that
you are missing out on His love, protection and provision. He throws His arms
open, runs toward you, gathers you up, and welcomes you home.” Dr. Charles
Stanley
“Love your fellowmen, and cry about them if you
cannot bring them to Christ. If you cannot save them, you can weep over them. If you cannot
give them a drop of cold water in hell, you can give them your heart's tears
while they are still in this body.” “The man who cannot weep cannot preach. At least, if
he never feels tears within, even if they do not show themselves without, he
can scarcely be the man to handle such themes as those which God has committed
to his people's charge.” Charles Spurgeon
“Many mourn
for their sins that do not truly repent of them, weep bitterly for them, and yet continue in love and league
with them.” Matthew Henry
If
you do not know the Lord Jesus Christ and His amazing healing power, pray this
from your heart to the Lord Jesus Christ (you speaking directly to Him), Dear
Lord Jesus, I confess to You that I am a sinner and I need Your forgiveness. I
believe You shed Your Blood and died for my sins. I believe that You rose from
the dead proving that You alone are God. I repent of my sins. I want to turn
from my sins. I ask You Dear Lord Jesus to come into my heart and take control
of my life. I want You to be my Lord, Savior, and my God. Amen...
Sincerely in Christ,
Clifford D. Tate, Sr.
Author of “Silent Assassins of the Soul - Are you
Broken by Pornography and Masturbation? You can be Restored by the Lord Jesus
Christ and brought into Deliverance, Freedom, and Victory! A Guide for Men and
Women in the Enemy’s Crosshairs” e-book available now @ Amazon Kindle, @ Apple
I Bookstore for IPod, Barnes and Noble for Nook, Reader Store for Sony Reader,
Kobo, Copia, Gardners, Baker and Taylor, and eBookPie…
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