A Reason to Mourn

 “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it…”

(Luke 19:41 ESV)

As believers, we know that we’re to reach out to the lost. We know we’re to proclaim the gospel to the whole creation. And we know that we’re to make disciples of all nations.

This means, of course, that we’re to care about the lost. We’re to care about those who are in bondage to sin. We’re to care for those who are perishing.

Often, however, it seems that we do not care. We write them off because it seems that they just don’t get it. And we write them off believing they're only receiving what they have coming to them.

We heartlessly leave them to their fate. We leave them to God's judgment. And rather than pointing them to Jesus, we sit on our hands.

No care is seen. No concern is demonstrated. No tears are shed.

As we look to Luke 19, Jesus knew the fate of Jerusalem. He knew the fate of the people who lived there. He knew the judgement that was soon to befall them.

Yet, even with this knowledge, he wasn’t numb when it came to them. He didn’t simply move on, ignoring the reality of their situation. Their fate is something that caused him to grieve.

He wept over the city who had rejected him. He mourned the city who refused the salvation he came to bring. Tears were literally shed for those who hated him.

As believers, Jesus’ concern for the lost is something that brings us great comfort. It does so because, without Jesus’ concern for sinners, without his love for those who were perishing, we ourselves would be forever lost.

We must remember that we are those who were perishing. It was we who deserved the judgment of God. It was we who, apart from his intervention, would spend eternity in hell.

Realizing this, realizing what he has graciously done for us, we should share his heart for those who are perishing. We should grieve those who remain under his wrath. We should shed tears for those who’ve rejected him and the salvation he came to bring.

It should drive us to action. It should lead us to reach out with the good news of Jesus’ coming, and that of his death and resurrection. And even when this message is refused, we should mourn.

Never Enough

 “The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him.”

‭‭Mark‬ ‭8‬:‭11‬ ‭ESV‬‬

A common objection people make, when it comes to faith in the Lord, is that he must prove himself. They want evidence for the claims that are made for him. And they want proof that he is who he says he is.

The simple fact of the matter is that there is ample evidence supporting the existence of God and the claims that he makes. Christianity is not a faith which expects us to take everything by blind faith without any evidence whatsoever. The truth it teaches is verifiable.

The problem is that, more often than not, nothing is enough. No matter what evidence we are supplied with, it isn’t enough. And regardless of what God has revealed about himself, it’s never enough.

We see an example of this attitude in Mark 8. Jesus had just performed a great miracle. He’d just fed a crowd of more than four thousand people with only seven loaves of bread and a few fish. This is a miracle that was both seen and experienced by so many, there’s no denying it.

Yet, immediately afterward, the Pharisees argued with Jesus asking for yet another sign from heaven. What he had just done was apparently not enough to convince them. And, in all reality, nothing would.

We can make excuses for their unwillingness to believe. Perhaps they weren’t there when Jesus did this great work. Perhaps they hadn’t eaten of the loaves. But the fact remains that many had. There was so much testimony regarding what Jesus had done, they could not simply dismiss it.

Not even the resurrection of Jesus was enough to convince them. The religious leaders of the Jews went as far as trying to cover this up. They would not believe and they would do whatever they could to prevent others from doing so.

This is an attitude that we regularly see in society today. And we cannot take upon ourselves the burden of proving the truth of the gospel to those who will not believe. We can only share the Word and allow the Spirit of God to do his work.

Hopefully, however, we are not one who refuses to be convinced. If we are, I pray that we’ll recognize it, and that we’ll ask the Lord to open our eyes to the truth. And I pray that we’ll take an honest look at all of the evidence that is before us.