Jesus Wept: Empathy and Missed Peace on Palm Sunday

This road to Jerusalem, it doesn't end with a military victory and the Romans being ousted from the country. It doesn't end with a throne. It leads to a table, to a garden, to a cross. And Jesus knows all of it. He knows that the cheers that first Palm Sunday morning, they won't last. He knows how quickly celebration can turn into disappointment. He knows that this city that welcomes him will also reject him, and still he comes. [00:43:16] (46 seconds)  #RoadToTheCross

Not with anger. Not with anger. Not with I told you so, but with tears. Because when Jesus looks at Jerusalem, he doesn't just see what is. He sees what could have been. He sees people longing for peace but missing it. He sees hearts searching for God but not recognizing him standing right there in front of him, and it breaks his heart. [00:44:03] (36 seconds)  #TearsForJerusalem

And so just when you might expect him to raise his hands in triumph, just when you might expect him to to stand up and give a victory speech, Jesus does something completely unexpected. He stops. He looks at the city, and he weeps because this isn't just any moment. This is the beginning of a week that will change everything. And as this week moves forward, that same crowd that shouts hosanna today will grow quieter and quieter, and some will even turn away before the week is over. [00:42:19] (58 seconds)  #WeepingBeforeTriumph

And so everybody else saw a parade. But Jesus, in the midst of this, Jesus saw a problem. Everyone else saw this as a moment of victory. Jesus saw differently. He saw a future of devastation. And so he says this, which is really our key verse this morning. He says, if you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace, but now it is hidden from your eyes [00:47:39] (34 seconds)  #SeesBeyondParade

And then finally, empathy moves towards a broken world. Here's what's striking. Jesus weeps. He weeps, but he doesn't walk away. He keeps going right into the city toward the cross. As I said, he knew what was for him. But as we begin this week on this Palm Sunday, let us be reminded that you can be in the middle of celebration and still miss what matters most. [01:00:29] (44 seconds)  #EmpathyIntoTheCity

Listen to this. He honors it. He honors it. That is a kind of grief. Sometimes we, just in our humanness, try to just sort of push that down and move on. But there is an honoring to this kind of grief. He says, if only you had seen the kind of peace standing right in front of you. Jesus honors that grief. [00:59:56] (32 seconds)  #HonorTheGrief

Or we see somebody who can put on a a good smile in public, and we say, well, they seem fine. They got it all together. But empathy empathy sees different. It says, what's beneath that smile? What is beneath the surface? What's beneath that that anger that comes up in them every once in a while? What pain isn't being named? Empathy sees what other people overlook. [00:56:57] (29 seconds)  #LookBeneathTheSmile

Because here's here's the truth. The world doesn't just need more answers. It needs more people to care like Jesus. And so on Palm Sunday, the crowd shouted, Hosanna, save us, and Jesus did. Jesus did save the world, but not in the way that they expected. He didn't conquer the city. is the very definition of empathy. That's love, and that's the invitation that we have before us today. Today. [01:02:02] (50 seconds)  #CareLikeJesus