REPERCUSSIONS OF REJECTION

(Luke 19:41-44)
January 1, 2017
Read Lu 19:41-44 - Bob Uecker, the lifetime .200 hitter who played for many
teams once said, I knew my days with the Phillies were numbered when I
pinch hit one night, looked at the coach for a sign and he turned his back
on me. Rejected as useless for their purposes! Well, in a sense, thats exactly
what is happening to Jesus in this passage tho the stakes here are much,
much higher. The people of Jerusalem havent outwardly turned their back on
Him, but by weeks end they will kill Him as useless for their purposes.
Its so sad. Huge crowds cheer Jesus every move as He enters Jerusalem
publicly proclaiming His role as King and Messiah. BUT as they cheer, what
is He doing? Weeping. And not just weeping, He is distraught with grief. At
Lazarus tomb in Jn 11:35, Jesus wept -- quiet tears, participating in the
grief of Lazarus family and friends, but knowing He will soon raise him.
Here the word is strongest Greek word for sobbing uncontrollably. It
is used of Peter in Mt 26:75. After denying Jesus, he went out and wept
bitterly. It is used in Lu 8:52 of those mourning the death of Jairus daughter.
This is not Jesus wiping away a casual tear. This is Jesus sobbing with
emotion over the reality of rejection that the crowd does not yet see.
Most rejected people weep for themselves. Not Jesus. He weeps for others! V.
42: Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for
peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. He despairs over the
blindness that sees Him only as political deliverer but rejects what He really
came for to deliver from sin. SO with tears He pronounces the judgment
that must inevitably fall on all who reject Him. But this is a view straight into
the heart of God. Despite His infinite patience, judgment will ultimately fall
on all who reject Him. But never without His heartfelt grief at the repudiation
of Him that leaves the penalty on the shoulders of the unbeliever. No sin is
worse than the sin of rejecting Jesus. So Jesus is forced to pronounce a 3fold judgment on this generation of Jewish people. It foreshadows the
hopeless future of all unbelievers. The price of rejecting Him is very, very
high.
I.

Deprived of Gods Purposes

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Two phrases should really catch our attention in this passage. V. 42 Jesus
wishes the crowd: had known on this day the things that make for peace!
And at the end of v. 44, judgment is coming because you did not know the
time of your visitation. Visitation in the broadest sense refers to Jesus
earthly mission. Hes Immanuel. God with us an amazing 33 years. But
Jesus is focused on this day -- that very day. Is He hinting at something
beneath the surface? I think Hes referring us back to Daniel 9.
In 606 BC God sent Babylon to take Judah captive after 300 years of warnings
against their idolatry. As one of Judahs best and brightest teens, Daniel was
ushered off for service in Babylon. Thru his faithfulness and Gods blessing he
soon was made #2 in Nebuchadnezzars government. Fast forward 70 years
and Daniel is now a major player in the government of the Medes who have
taken over. One day in his devotions, he finds Jeremiahs prophecy that
Judahs captivity will last 70 years. And 70 years are almost up. So Daniel
prays for Gods promise. In response, God does an amazing thing. He sends
the angel Gabriel to announce Gods future plans for the nation (24-27).
Now, this is a difficult prophecy. But the major points are discernible. First
Gabriel says in Dan 9:24: Seventy weeks have been decreed for your
people. Literally, Seventy 7s, 70 periods of 7. And there is virtually
unanimous agreement that this means 70 periods of 7 years each = 490 years.
I know of no commentator who disagrees. And this period of 490 years relates
to Daniels people. That can only be the Jews. This is the 490-year plan!
The starting point for this 70 groups of 7 years is from the going out of the
word to restore and build Jerusalem (25). The Persian King Artaxerxes
issued such a decree on March 5, 444 BC. That starts the time clock. Now, in
the ESV, the remainder of v. 25 has a confusing translation, so on the screen
youll see the NASB translation that reflects exactly how the original Hebrew
reads: So you are to know and discern that from the issuing of a decree to
restore and rebuild Jerusalem until Messiah the Prince there will be seven
weeks and sixty-two weeks. It will be built again, with plaza and moat, even
in times of distress (after first 7). 26 Then after the sixty-two weeks the
Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is
to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. That makes 69 weeks total
all but one of the 70. So Gabriel has prophesied that 483 years after 444 BC
Messiah will be on the ground and doing something in Israel, then rejected.

Various attempts have been made to pinpoint that 483-year period most
notably in The Coming Prince by Sir Robert Anderson, and Chronological
Aspects of the Life of Christ by Harold Hoehner just a few years ago. Taking
into account that Bible prophecy always uses 360-day years, taking into
account variations in calendars and other complexities, the end of the 483
years is estimated to fall in AD 30 or AD 32. The best historical data indicate
the triumphal entry of Christ was 9 Nissan (late March) in AD 30 -- at or
near the end of the 483 years. I think its possible, in fact, likely, that was
exactly what Jesus had in mind when He said that Jerusalem did not know
the time of your visitation -- they did not know on this day the things that
made for peace. This is further suggested by the fact that Daniels prophecy
predicts in v. 26 that Messiah will be cut off (killed) at the end of the 69 weeks
or 483 years exactly what was going to happen to Jesus by weeks end.
But bc the nation rejected Christ, when He was cut off, so was Gods time
table for Israel. The clock stopped at one minute to midnight, if you will
with one week of 7 years left to go. Dan 9:27 and Rev 6-19 describe what will
happen when that time clock starts up again at a time yet future to us. Trouble
for Israel leading to repentance: Zech 12:10: I will pour out on the house of
David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of
supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they
will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son. After the final week is
ended, all Israel will finally, turn to the Messiah who wept bitter tears on the
day of His rejection. But when the nation finally turns, they will be the ones
weeping at unforgiveable actions of their ancient predecessors in killing their
own Messiah. What a day that will be when all the promises of Dan 9:25
finally come to fruition an end to sin and installation of righteousness.
But meantime, Jesus generation of Israel deprived themselves of a role in
Gods purposes, leading to a delay that is already 2,000 years in duration.
What a tragedy to remove oneself from Gods purposes. Curtains for them
-- what unbelief got them --what unbelief will get us. Rejection of Jesus is an
act of war against a God. It is to condemn oneself to eternal damnation. You
can reject Christ only so long before the day of accountability comes.
During WWII an American carrier in the North Atlantic was subjected to
attack, so a blackout was ordered. Tragically, 6 planes were still in the air and
they desperately requested the lights be left on long enough for them to land.
But the request was denied. Thousands of lives could not be jeopardized and
the lights went out. All six crews had to ditch in the cold waters and died. So
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we can reject the light of Gods salvation only so long before the time is up.
The lights go out and we are lost forever from His purposes. Dont be blind,
Beloved. We must open our hearts to Gods love while time remains.
II.

Devoid of Gods Peace

Jesus says in v. 42, Would that you, even you, had known on this day the
things that make for peace! Everyone wants peace. The people welcoming
Jesus wanted peace. Peace at home, peace at work, peace for their country.
They wanted release from the cruelty and arbitrariness of Roman captivity that
led to cheating on taxes, persecution and death. They wanted peace. But Jesus
weeps. Why? Because they did not now on this day the things that make for
peace! They thought it was just a matter of kicking the Romans out. But
Jesus knew better. Hed been trying to tell them, but they would not listen.
So what makes for peace? Its the things listed in Dan 9:24. Gods 490-year
plan was decreed to finish the transgression, to put an end to sin, and to atone
for iniquity, to bring in everlasting righteousness. Thats what brings peace.
Peace starts inside, not outside. Peace starts with God, not man. Peace is a
spiritual issue, not a political issue. Before peace can move in, sin has to
move out. It takes atonement to do that forgiveness based on payment of the
penalty. That brings peace with God and everything else stems from that.
Peace with others can only come when we have peace with God. And how do
we have peace with God? Exactly what Jesus had been preaching since Day
One. Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand. Peace with God is not a
matter of doing better; it is a matter of repentance. Its accepting Jesus death
as mine by faith! Rom 5:1, Therefore, since we have been justified by
faith, we have peace with God thru our Lord Jesus Christ. No Christ, no
peace. Reject Christ and you have bought an eternity devoid of peace.
When Adam fell, a rupture occurred between man and God and that rupture
led to alienation between people as Adam blamed Eve, Cain killed Abel and
Isaac and Ishmael still war to this day. What Israel needed what we all need
is not Rome out, but sin out. Thomas Merton said, We cannot be at peace
with others because we are not at peace with ourselves, and we cannot be at
peace with ourselves because we are not at peace with God. Thats what
Jesus came to give forgiveness and cleansing resulting in peace with God.
Israel missed that because they missed Jesus. Lets not join their fate.
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III.

Doomed to Gods Punishment

This is why Jesus weeps. These people do not see the result of their rejection.
For them, after Jesus is killed, life will go as usual for a time. They dont see
the end. But Jesus does; He always knows the end from the beginning. It is
always good to know the end from the beginning. Jesus knows the end; here
is what He sees: 43 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 44 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. They wanted the Romans out; instead they
are going to get the full force of the Romans because they rejected Jesus
Christ. Consequences eventually attach to rejecting Jesus, Beloved.
Everything that Jesus predicted here came to pass in exacting detail forty years
later. Their continued resistance to Roman rule grew to the point that by AD
70, the Roman General Titus was sent with orders to destroy the city which he
did exactly as Jesus described. First, a barricade . Originally meant a
stake, but came to mean timber used in fortifying a camp. Here is speaks of a
siege works comprised of a wooden palisade atop a bank encircling the city to
provide protection for the army. They had enough timber for the Jews to burn
them at one point, but the Romans replaced them with a stone wall.
Second, they would be surrounded and hemmed in, which they were by siege.
The siege went on for months thru various failed negotiations and failed
military maneuvers by both sides. Food became non-existent and Josephus
reports unspeakable suffering. He says, In every house the merest hint of
food sparked violence, and close relatives fell to blows, snatching from one
another the pitiful supports of life. He reports, Need drove the starving to
gnaw at anything. Refuse which even the animals would reject was collected
and turned into food. In the end they were eating belts and shoes, and the
leather stripped off their shields. Cannabalism was a final resort.
Third, they would be torn to the ground young and old alike. When the
Romans finally broke thru in a surprise attack in September of AD 70, they
were merciless. Josephus reports that over 1,000,000 Jews were killed no
doubt an exaggeration, but giving some idea of the scope of the tragedy.
Pregnant women were not exempted, just as Jesus predicted. Josephus reports,
While the sanctuary was burning neither pity for age nor respect for
rank was shown. On the contrary, children and old people, laity and priests
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alike were massacred. All of this Jesus saw as He sat weeping over the city
that stretched out before Him. No wonder He cried.
But there was one more thing. Jesus predicted there would not be one stone
atop another. Titus had specifically instructed that the temple be left intact. He
wanted to turn that magnificent building into a shrine to Caesar. But one of the
soldiers, acting on impulse, threw a torch through the archway of the Temple
and some tapestries caught fire. The whole building burned and Bible scholar
Randall Christ comments, The decorative gold on the walls melted and ran
into the seams between the stones. Afterward, in a frenzied attempt to
recover the gold, the Roman soldiers tore apart the stones of the Temple
walls, resulting in a complete desolation of the Temple.
Thats the future Jesus saw as He looked into the future that day a city
doomed to Gods judgment for rejecting His Son. Today on the remaining 1st
century streets of Jerusalem you can see the indentations where the huge
stones were thrown down by the Romans, and piles of the stones remain as
well. In Rome, you can walk under the victory archway of Titus and see the
artwork depicting the destruction of Jerusalem exactly as Jesus prophesied.
But what we must all understand is, as bad as that judgment was, it is a mere
preview of what awaits every person who rejects Gods Son. God makes the
line of demarcation crystal clear in Jn 3:36: Whoever believes in the Son has
eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of
God remains on him. Heb 10:31 reminds us: It is a fearful thing to fall into
the hands of the living God. Rejecting Jesus is a serious, serious business
with eternal consequences. All who do will find themselves Deprived of Gods
Purposes, Devoid of Gods Peace and Doomed to Gods Punishment.
Conc Let me close with this. As we sit here this morning eternity seems a
long way off. It seems like things will just go on forever like they always
have. But the stakes are way too high to be apathetic, Beloved. Judgment fell
on these because [they] did not know the time of [their] visitation. Well the
time of our visitation is right now. Today. We dare not be like the guy who
was pulled over for speeding. As the patrolman returned his drivers license,
hoping for leniency he said, Officer, did you notice that yesterday was my
birthday? The officer replied, As a matter of fact, I did because thats
when your license expired! Well, the truth is we all have an expiration date.
And after that, its too late to decide for Christ. Neglect is the same as
rejection, and today is the only day you have to get it right. Dont follow 1st
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century Jerusalem to destruction. Jesus is inviting you today to follow Him to

eternal life. This is your day to discover the forgiveness that makes for peace
with God. Dont reject the greatest offer youll ever have. Lets pray.