The Weeping King

Luke 19:37, 38, 41

As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives— the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, saying, "Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!" 

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it...

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What are things that make me weep?

Exhaustion, weariness, frustrated plans, shame over my own sin, sympathy for a friend who is painfully sick or mourning the loss of family. These are all fitting things to weep over.  But, how frequently do I weep for the spiritual condition of my city? For the blindness that causes people to curse God or simply ignore his kindness in their lives.

Why does a king weep?

In Luke 19, Jesus enters Jerusalem with a throng of supporters declaring his coming kingship. Luke describes this crowd by citing their eager expectation of an immediate political regime change (19:11). We then see the symbols of the donkey and the palm branches, traditional elements of coronation ceremonies in that culture. And the Pharisees demand that Jesus put a stop to what they see as treason and blasphemy and insurrection! But Jesus accepts the adoration, for it is perfectly fitting - a foretaste of his eventual exaltation.

Eventual.

In the meantime, he must face the cross and death and the penalty of mankind's sin - all for a wicked, ungrateful, and blind generation. That's enough to make a king weep, which is exactly what he proceeds to do.

He weeps for one reason: their judgment is coming, and they are too blind to see that he himself is the way of escape. The time of his visitation is arrived, but they bicker and quarrel. The Creator himself has come down and revealed the beauty and power of heaven! And they sell animals in the temple for a quick profit. The pathway to peace is among them, but they choose strife, pride, envy, greed, and violent abuse of enemy and friend alike. 

Jesus weeps for them, even as they stand rightly condemned before his holiness and authority. The king has come down from his throne to die like a lamb for those who barely pay attention or notice.

Do I weep for those not worthy of tears? If not, then do I really know the heart of God?

Three Beggars

Mark 5:19

And he did not permit him but said to him, "Go home to your friends and tell them how much the Lord has done for you, and how he has had mercy on you." And he went away and began to proclaim in the Decapolis how much Jesus had done for him, and everyone marveled.

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I'd like to point out three instances of begging within the story of the demon-possessed man. Then, I'd like to think about how this man's response to Jesus is relevant for me today.

1. The Demons Beg. An ostracized maniac was living naked in the caves outside of the city. A whole battalion of demons were oppressing him, demons who even gave themselves a name - "Legion." And, while the townspeople kept their distance, Jesus approached him in his spiritually destitute state and threatened these demons with banishment. So, they begged. They begged Jesus to not send them away. They begged Jesus to send them into a herd of pigs nearby. "So he gave them permission" (5:13). Think about that little sentence for a moment. It says a lot about Christ's power and the impotency of the demonic world.

2. The Townspeople Beg. When the pig herdsmen saw that Jesus had sent these 100's of demons into their precious herd, they went into the town to tell what had happened. In turn, the townspeople proceeded to come and see for themselves. Amazingly, when they saw that Jesus had shown compassion and set the maniac free from his oppression, they begged Jesus to leave. They begged! When confronted by powerful compassion, their whole way of life was threatened: their personal peace, their comfortable segregation from this maniac, and probably their financial interest in the pigs!

3. The Demoniac Begs. In a very different way, the former demoniac does his own begging of Jesus, but he is begging Jesus for permission to "be with him." Sounds like a good request right? But, Jesus does not permit it! Instead, it was more imperative that this man tell his friends what the Lord has done and about the mercy he has received. Now, this was probably the very thing that the townspeople did NOT want to hear about, for the sake of their comfortable way of life. But, Jesus makes this the priority: Make it known that there is a man who has power over demons, who transformed your life completely, and is worth our allegiance and trust.

This is our message too. We were oppressed by our sinful desires, enslaved to our love for the world and its empty promises. But, Jesus pursued us and demonstrated his love for us right when we had the least to offer, with nothing to commend ourselves (see Rom. 5:8). When we were naked, alone, and ashamed, our Savior came to us and clothed us in the precious jewels of his love and freedom and righteousness (see Ezekiel 16). Jesus has given his almighty "permission" to free our souls from sin and oppression and we too have a message to spread. Will we tell our friends about what the Lord has done and what mercy he has shown? Will our friends beg us to leave too? Or, like verse 20 suggests, might our friends marvel at this message of transformation and begin to investigate it for themselves?

We'll only find out if we go and share the mercy that has forever changed who we are.