Happy Palm Sunday!

Missing the Time of His Visitation

Luke 19:41-44 ESV
“And when He drew near and saw the city, He wept over it, saying,  “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

We don’t talk about this passage much on Palm Sunday but it is a very surreal moment for Jesus. At this point, He is already on the donkey riding into Jerusalem. Just the fact that He is on a donkey and not a horse symbolizes that He comes to bring peace to Jerusalem. But the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin were not looking for peace, they were stirring up trouble and contention for Jesus and His followers.

Jesus takes a moment to reflect on this great city, that means so much to Him, before continuing His ride into Jerusalem. Jesus knew what was ahead but He still would come in peace as the Prince of Peace.

Jesus ends this moment by pointing out why this great city would eventually find itself in total desolation. Jerusalem as a whole, or more correctly the Sadducees, the Pharisees and the Sanhedrin did not know the time of their visitation, when the Messiah would come or what His mission and ministry would be about.

The Pharisees, Sadducees and Sanhedrin called evil good and good evil. They preferred their own interpretation of the Scriptures instead of God’s true meaning. They preferred worldly praise rather than the praise of God. It is easy to fall into these traps but when we do, we are missing the times of His visitations.

Prayer:
Lord, keep me alert, keep me honest and keep my way straight on Your pathway. Don’t let me stumble, don’t let me fall, don’t let me miss the times that You want to speak to me.