Christ Is Our Peace :: Luke 19:41-48
The word for our meditation today comes to us from the Gospel reading, where we read: And as [Jesus] drew near, having seen the city, he wept over her, saying that if you, even you, knew on this day the things (that bring) peace! (vv 41-42a)
Please open your service book to page 321 and join me in confessing our faithful doctrine on the Third Commandment.
What is the Third Commandment? Remember the Sabbath day by keeping it holy.
What does this mean? We should fear and love God so that we do not despise preaching and His Word, but hold it sacred and gladly hear and learn it.
Then we will know the things that bring peace.
4. Our Lord weeps for those who don’t know peace.
There were two occasions during his earthly ministry when Jesus wept. The first time, you should know, was at the death of Lazarus (Jn 11:35). There, he quietly shed tears.
Today Luke recounts for us the second time Jesus wept. He writes, And as [Jesus] drew near, having seen the city, he wept over her. Here, Jesus, the sinless son of God, true God and true man, doesn’t just shed tears ... here, he cries out in lament. That is really what this word for weeping means. He sees the city of Peace, Jerusalem and weeps because he knows that the people there only think they know what peace is. He knows we don’t actually understand what is actually required to deliver peace.
If you, even you, knew, he says.
Our Lord sees what we are doing to ourselves ... so he weeps. He sees our sin killing us ... so he weeps. He sees how we continue to allow sin to fester ... and so he weeps. He sees people rejecting his grace, which is peace. He sees people rejecting his word, which proclaims peace. He sees people rejecting his teachings that guide us to peace. More than that, he knows people will begin rejecting his sacraments that give us peace.
And so our Lord, the very embodiment of peace, weeps and wails.
3. If you ... yes, even you ... knew on this day the things (that bring) peace!
It’s hard to hear this word, isn’t it? Because let’s face it ... we still think we know peace. But we don’t. ... We really don’t.
From the moment of his birth, we have been trying to silence and destroy the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. When the angels announced his birth, Herod sought to destroy the Prince of Peace, slaughtering children. When Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, the Pharisees began seeking ways to kill peace. When Pilate gave the people the choice to free Barabbas or Jesus, they sought to kill our only peace. Crucify him! Crucify him! The apostles then proceeded to preach Christ Crucified, and the world stumbled over this rock of offense.
Many people today are still trying to kill Jesus. They want to silence our Lord and his Word. They say his doctrine of peace is false and unnecessary. They accept his word of peace only on their terms. They don’t want to be reminded that they are sinners. They don’t want to be reminded that their sin is why Jesus suffered and died. They are offended by the cross and the blood he shed for you. They think their work will tip the balance of justice in their favor. They think that their fuzzy feelings are proof that they have faith in him. They think they prove themselves to be Christians simply because they come to church every Sunday, or at least more Sundays than not. They think that they should look the other way when their loved ones live in sin. They think that God will ignore their sin. The world thinks that peace comes through human rights, and education, and medicine, and diplomacy. The world thinks that peace comes only when we follow the golden rule.
So Jesus weeps.
Brothers and sisters in Christ, peace ... and the joy that comes with peace ... is not obtained by what you do. It is obtained only by the work of Christ alone, according to his Word alone.
And that word is this ... It is necessary, Jesus said, for the Son of Man to suffer much and to be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and to be killed, and on the third day to be raised. ... Let these words be placed into your ears for the Son of Man is about to be handed over into the hands of men. ... And having taken the twelve, he said to them, Behold, we are going up into Jerusalem, and everything that is written through the prophets concerning the Son of Man will be fulfilled. For he will be handed over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and mistreated and spit upon. (Lk 9:21, 44; 18:31-32).
Therefore, how ironic is it that Jerusalem, whose name includes peace, didn’t recognize the Lord of Peace on the day of his visitation ... even as they sang out, Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord (v 38)?
Brothers and sisters in Christ, If you, even you, knew the things that bring peace. God desires all men to come to the knowledge of the truth.
2. So repent: Look to the cross, and recognize the things that bring peace.
It is precisely Jerusalem’s lack of faith in the death and resurrection of Jesus that prompted our Lord to weep and wail when he saw the city. Our Lord’s heart breaks over those who have not received his Gospel.
Like the world, the people of Jerusalem thought that if they simply dotted their Is and crossed their Ts that they could establish their own righteousness, their own Gospel. They thought their fasting and bodily preparation was the important thing in their religion. But you know the truth, don’t you? Fasting and bodily preparation are certainly fine outward training, but that person is truly worthy and well prepared who has faith in these words: Given and shed for you for the forgiveness of sins.
Repent of thinking that preserving your tradition will give you peace.
Repent of your self-reliance!
Repent of thinking the day of visitation is still to come.
Listen to the prophet Jeremiah, and repent! Will you steal, murder, commit adultery, swear falsely, make offerings to Baal, and go after other gods that you have not known, and then come and stand before me in this house, which is called by my name, and say, ‘We are delivered!’ ... only to go on doing all these abominations? Has this house, which is called by my name, become a den of robbers in your eyes? Behold, I myself have seen it, declares the Lord” (Jer 7:9-11).
Repent every one of you in the name of Jesus ... and, believe the Gospel ...
CHRIST ALONE IS OUR PEACE
We know this because ...
1 The things that bring peace are no longer hidden from our eyes!
God loved you in this way: He has sent his only begotten son, our Lord Jesus, to Jerusalem to be nailed to cross on the mountain of death and die. Just a few days after drawing near to the city and weeping, Jesus will take his stand in your place. He will be arrested, mocked, falsely accused, condemned, beaten, scourged, bloodied, spit upon, crucified, and die ... for the sins of the world.
He doesn’t weep because all of that awaits him. Jesus weeps because he knows that too many people simply won’t believe in him even when he rises from the dead. They won’t receive his Gospel. They may hang on his words, but they won’t believe that his innocent life, death, and resurrection is enough to save them. They will continue to lean on their own understanding ... thinking the sacraments are things we do and not the things God does for you.
This is why we preach Christ crucified. God has given us his grace ... that is, the forgiveness of sins ... because Jesus was born without sin, and lived without sin, and was crucified for your sin. God has forgiven you and set you free from sin and death on account of our Crucified Lord. He has cleansed your temple ... the temple of your body ... in Holy Baptism. He has covered you with his robes of righteousness, and raised you into eternal life (Rm 6:3-4). Now you have peace.
So it is indeed good to give thanks to the LORD, to sing praises to his name, the Most High ... to herald his love in the morning, and his faithfulness at the close of the day (Ps 92:1) ... and to do this every time we meet. As we gather here to hang upon his every word (v 48), all of God’s people are directed to trust our Savior, who delivers even more peace through Sacraments he has prepared for you. Through his means of grace, he delivers an irrevocable promise ... the forgiveness of your sins ... which is peace. He sets it into your hands and mouths. His peace is no longer hidden from your sight.
This is why the Lord’s Supper is so important to us. It delivers peace. Jesus gives us his precious body and blood to eat and to drink so that we will trust in his body and blood for our salvation ... and depart in peace, forgiven and free. He has seen our sin and has invited us to receive his grace ... to know the things that bring peace. Christ is our peace.
Heavenly Father, defend us from the unbelief that takes away our peace which surpasses all understanding, and give us true faith in Christ our Savior ... in Jesus’ name.