"Tears of Jesus" 3-29-26
Overview
The Tears of Jesus
Tears tell the truth about the human heart. We are fearfully and wonderfully made Psalm 139:14—even down to the chemistry of our weeping, where emotional tears differ in composition from those that simply protect the eye. The notion that "real men don't cry" cannot survive contact with Scripture. Peter wept bitterly after his denial, David wept over Absalom, Job's friends wept at the sight of his suffering—and Jesus Himself wept. He is true God and true man John 1:1–14, and His tears prove the reality of His humanity even as His mission reveals His divinity.
As Holy Week opens with Palm Sunday, the crowd in Luke 19:36–40 spreads cloaks before Jesus and the disciples praise Him "for all the deeds of power that they had seen." Notice what catches their attention: the miracles, the healings, the prospect of a political deliverer who might unseat Rome. They cry "Hosanna"—save us—and call Him Son of David Matthew 21:9. They say the right things, but they don't yet believe the right things. When the Pharisees protest, Jesus answers that even the stones would cry out—an echo of creation's praise in Psalm 98:8–9.
Then comes the moment that shapes the whole week: "As he came near and saw the city, he wept over it" Luke 19:41–42. The Greek uses the strongest word for weeping—the same depth of grief He showed at the tomb of Lazarus John 11:35. In the original, His sentence in verse 42 is broken; He cannot get the words out for weeping. He grieves over a people who wanted His power but missed His peace, who wanted a political savior but not a Savior from sin, whose hearts remained superficial and unrepentant. "If you, even you, had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace."
Jesus wept again in Gethsemane, offering up "prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears" Hebrews 5:7–8, and in obedience He went to the cross. There He bore our trite obsession with miracles, our shallow demand that He fit our agenda, and the superficiality of our unrepentant hearts. The church wears scarlet this week—the color of blood—because the people cried "Hosanna, save us," and that is precisely what Jesus did. Holy Week is one continuous service: from the palms of Sunday, through the Supper of Thursday, through the cross of Friday, until the benediction breaks open on Easter morning. Walk through it slowly. Let His tears search yours. And receive again the cry of forgiveness He won for us.
Transcript
Would you open your Bibles with me please? 3s
To the Gospel of Luke the 19th chapter. 6s
The Gospel of Luke is in the New Testament. 9s
If you're using a few addition, you'll find that on page 72. 11s
Luke the 19th chapter. 16s
Tears. 22s
Tears. 24s
Do you know there are three different types of tears? 26s
First there's basil tears. 31s
We all have basil tears constantly. 33s
It's the tears that are constantly in our eyes that lubricate our eyes, that protect our eyes. 37s
There are reflexive tears. 47s
Those are tears that come when there's an irritant, wind or dirt or onions. 50s
Fact sometimes they're called onion tears. 61s
And then there are emotional tears. 66s
Emotional tears, of course, are those tears that are triggered by something that occurs 70s
and the tears come. 77s
What's so fascinating? 81s
Did you know that with emotional tears, emotional tears are thicker than other types of tears? 82s
And in fact, when an emotional tear is looked at under a microscope, it has a different 90s
form dependent upon the emotion that burst it. 99s
Why emotional tears even have a little pain killer in them? 107s
It's true. 114s
We are fearfully and wonderfully made. 116s
You've heard the phrase. 122s
Sometimes it's just good to have a good cry. 124s
There's a lot of wisdom in that isn't there. 130s
It's also another phrase. 136s
Real men don't cry. 140s
Real men don't cry. 146s
I beg to differ. 151s
So also would Peter, why the Scripture tells us that after Peter had pledged his loyalty 156s
to the Lord, Jesus said, Peter, before the cock crow is you're going to deny me three times. 164s
It's exactly what happened. 170s
And when the cock crowed, the Bible tells us that Peter, he whept. 176s
He whept. 184s
Real men don't cry. 188s
David would disagree with that. 194s
Upon the death of his son, Absalom, Scripture tells us that David went into the chamber 198s
above the gate, any whept. 204s
Real men don't cry. 214s
Job's friends would differ with that. 218s
After Job had been afflicted, the book of Job tells us that when Job's friends came to him, 223s
they saw Job at a distance and they didn't recognize Job because of a suffering that he was going 230s
through. 238s
They didn't recognize him. 239s
And the Scripture says that Job's friends, they just burst out in weeping. 241s
Real men don't cry. 251s
I'd beg the differ. 258s
Do you know what? 262s
So also would Jesus? 265s
We enter into a new chapter in this sermon series on the red letters. 272s
It's simply entitled the week reflecting Holy Week. 279s
This coming Thursday, we're going to be remember when the Lord Jesus instituted the 285s
sacrament of Holy Communion for the first time at a Passover celebration, the cross 290s
loomed and he institutes that sacrament. 296s
This coming Friday, we're going to remember in a special way the crucifixion of our 301s
Lord when the land became dark, the fulfillment of prophecy. 307s
And then of course next Sunday is we enter into a new week, the crown of Sundays. 314s
We'll celebrate a new and with specialness, the resurrection of our Lord. 320s
And notice in all of these services here, it's one long service because notice there's 327s
no benediction after the service today. 334s
Because this service doesn't end. 338s
It goes right into Thursday's service and you'll notice Thursday evening that the Thursday 341s
it's the same thing with Friday. 351s
There's no benediction because Holy Week is understood as one long service that we move through. 353s
And the benediction comes in the new week. 364s
Easter Sunday when we remember and celebrate the resurrection of Christ. 369s
And it all begins the week with today, Palm Sunday. 378s
Look at me please, at verse 36 of our text, as he Jesus rode along, people kept spreading 390s
their cloaks on the road. 397s
This was a sign of respect. 400s
It was a sign of homage being given. 402s
It was a sign that would be done for royalty. 406s
In verse 37 says, and he was now approaching the path down from the Mount of Olives, 410s
the whole multitude of the disciples began to praise God joyfully with a loud voice for all the deeds 416s
of power that they had seen. 426s
Notice here, it doesn't say the crowd in this particular verse. 431s
It says the disciples. 436s
The 12 disciples have been augmented here with other disciples. 439s
But what's the focus? 445s
The focus is an on the teachings of Jesus. 447s
The focus is an on who he is and what he has come to do to reconcile the world. 451s
That's not the focus. 458s
The focus is on what? 461s
The deeds of power. 463s
That's what their focus is on. 466s
That's what the disciples here are singing their praises for. 468s
Their focus on the healings and the miracles. 473s
The other gospel writers tell us that they shouted, 477s
Hosanna, which means, save us. 480s
Matthew 21st chapter says that they referred to Jesus 484s
That's a messianic title. 490s
But what do they want Jesus to save them from? 494s
They want Jesus to save them from the nasty Romans to set things right, 501s
to change the political structure of it all. 510s
They didn't focus on the teachings. 516s
They focused on Jesus as some kind of political leader. 522s
They said the right things. 529s
They said the right things. 533s
Hosanna saved us. 534s
They just didn't believe the right things. 537s
A dialogue then is recorded. 544s
Going on after the crowds are saying, 549s
blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord, 551s
peace and heaven and glory and the highest heaven. 554s
It says some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, 559s
teacher, order your disciples to stop. 562s
He answered, I tell you, if these were silent, the stones would shut up. 568s
Naked day sometimes Gentiles, the non-Jews, 576s
referred to his stones, what's Jesus saying, 579s
if you order his disciples to be silent here, 583s
then the Gentiles will cry out in praise. 588s
It can also refer to nature itself. 590s
Psalm 98 says, let the floods clap their hands, 593s
let the hills sing together for joy at the presence of the Lord, 598s
for he is coming to judge the earth. 603s
Jesus says, if I order them to be quiet, the Gentiles will sing the praises, 608s
then, or very creation will sing the praises. 613s
See the picture? 618s
And then the words are recorded. 625s
Verse 41, as he came near and saw the city, 629s
he wept over it. 639s
He wept over it. 645s
The word here translated wept is the strongest word in Greek for weeping. 653s
It's the strongest word. 667s
Crying is one thing weeping is something else, isn't it? 670s
That's a whole different layer and layers upon the crying. 675s
This isn't the first time where Jesus has wept. 685s
It's not the first time. 689s
Why we read in the Gospel of John. 692s
We read about Mary and Martha and Lazarus. 695s
They were all siblings. 698s
And we know that Jesus loved them. 701s
There was a special closeness that he had with them. 703s
And when Lazarus died, Jesus comes and he comes to the tomb. 707s
It was a cave. 711s
And a scripture reveals to us in the 11th chapter of John. 714s
It says, Jesus began to weep. 718s
So the Jews said, see how he loved him. 723s
And the basis for his weeping over his friend Lazarus's death was grief. 730s
And grief is the same basis for his weeping here as he looks out. 739s
And he sees Jerusalem. 746s
Look at verse 42. 748s
Jesus says, if you even you had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace. 752s
But now they are hidden from your eyes. 763s
The grief of Jesus was rooted in the fact that they didn't understand why he came, 768s
that he was the one that had come to effect peace at the greatest of levels between God and human kind. 777s
And they didn't understand that. 785s
His grief was rooted in the fact that they didn't understand him in any other way than simply some powerful person here who could be a great political leader and really change things. 787s
And his weeping is rooted over the tritoness of the people's focus on the miracles and the healings that had done. 804s
His weeping was focused and born out of the shaloness of the people that simply looked at him. 822s
And he was the political leader that they had hoped for. His weeping was rooted because of the superficiality of the unrepentant heart of the people. 833s
And it is deep weeping. 849s
Why verse 42 in the English translation it smooths it all over. 853s
It smooths it all over. But in the Greek what you see in the Greek what you see is that Jesus is sentence here recorded as just one sentence that he says in verse 42 is interrupted by his weeping. 859s
Have you ever wept like that? 876s
Where you're weeping so that you can't get the words out. 880s
That the weeping interrupts your words that's verse 42. 886s
Jesus is weeping to the extent he can't get this sentence out. 892s
And he has to wait and he has to start it over again. 899s
And he cries, if you even you had only recognized on this day the things that make for peace. 905s
But now they're hidden from your eyes. 913s
Real man. 923s
Don't cry. 928s
Really. 935s
96 days ago. 947s
We gathered here for Christmas Eve. 950s
96 days. 953s
That was such a lovely night wasn't it? It's just just so beautiful. 957s
I don't think the sanctuary has ever been adorned more beautifully with all the new decorations in the trees and gathering together as the people on that night and singing silent night. 962s
And there's just a richness and a beauty. It was beautiful. 978s
Wasn't it 96 days ago? 982s
And now we're five days from Friday. 985s
On that Christmas Eve where we were reminded of Jesus, the second member of the Trinity, God, 994s
becoming and fleshed. 1004s
John the first chapter. It records this. 1006s
In the beginning was the word and the word was with God and the word was God that's 1012s
paralyzed there because it's the logos Jesus word. 1017s
All things came into being through Him and without Him not one thing came into being. 1024s
What has come into being in Him was life and the life was the light of all people. 1031s
Everything that was created was created through Christ. 1036s
And one member of the Trinity Act, they all act. 1043s
And also the focus there in that great chapter, first John, 1047s
and the word became flesh and lived among us and we've seen His glory, the glory as of a father's 1052s
only son full of grace and truth. 1062s
Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, true God and true man, 1069s
cried. He wept and the fact that He cried, showed 1082s
that He was also really man. 1097s
Jesus wept at the tomb of His friend Lazarus, Jesus wept 1109s
when He looked at Jerusalem and Jesus wept in the garden right before the cross. 1118s
Hebrews the 5th chapter, it says, in the days of His flesh, Jesus offered 1127s
up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to the one who's able to save Him from death. 1133s
And He was heard because of His reverent submission. Although He was a son, He learned obedience 1142s
through what He suffered. He wept in the garden and in obedience to the will of the Father, 1150s
He went to the cross and on the cross He bore our trightness over our obsession with the miracles 1164s
and the healings that He does on the cross. He bore our shalloness for how we want Jesus to be, 1173s
how we want Him to be and on the cross He bore the superficiality of our hearts that are so often 1184s
unrepentant on the cross He bore it all shedding His blood for us for us. 1195s
The church adorns herself in scarlet. 1216s
This color of scarlet, it only appears for two services all year long, then disappears. 1222s
Here's for Palm Sunday and it appears for Monday Thursday and then it disappears. 1231s
The church has chosen the color scarlet and uses the color scarlet to differentiate with the 1238s
last reformation on festival Sundays. Scarlet is chosen because scarlet is the color of blood. 1250s
The people cried, Hosanna save us and that's exactly what Jesus did. 1266s
And adorned in scarlet and holding the palm we enter in to the weak. 1278s
Real men? They don't cry. 1296s
Really now? Really? 1306s
And Jesus Christ goes to the cross and He bears our sin to win the cry of forgiveness. 1316s
For us. 1337s