"You did not know the time of your visitation"

Scripture: Luke 19:41-44
Why does Jesus weep and lament for this city? It's inhabitants had rejected the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord because of their pride and unbelief. Now they refuse to listen to Jesus who comes as their Messiah – whom God has anointed to be their Savior and Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus' entrance into Jerusalem was a gracious visitation of God's anointed King to his holy city. Jerusalem's lack of faith and rejection of the Messiah, however, leads to its devastation and destruction. Jesus' lamentation and prophecy echoes the lamentation of Jeremiah who prophesied the first destruction of Jerusalem and its temple. Jeremiah's lamentation offered hope of deliverance and restoration: "But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies are new every morning ...For the Lord will not cast off for ever, but, though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love for he does not willingly afflict or grieve the sons of men" (Lamentations 3:21-22, 31-32). Jesus is the hope of the world because he is the only one who can truly reconcile us with God and with one another. Through his death and resurrection Jesus breaks down the walls of hostility and division by reconciling us with God. He gives us his Holy Spirit both to purify us and restore us as a holy people of God. Through Christ we become living temples of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19). God has visited his people in the past and he continues to visit us through the gift and working of his Holy Spirit.