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As [Jesus] approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, \u201cIf you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace\u2014but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God\u2019s coming to you\u201d (Luke 19:41-44).

Our reading of Jesus\u2019 Triumphant entry into Jerusalem rarely gets this far into the story. After all, who wants to end the procession of palm waving and hosanna shouting children with weeping. But that is where Luke brings the story, and it is worth our time to linger here.

Jesus has been ushered into the city with the crowds proclaiming a double refrain: he is King; he comes in the name of the Lord. These folks are expecting Jesus to save Israel while exacting vengeance on her enemies, currently the Romans. For this city, peace means death to the occupiers.

Cresting the last hill, Jesus sees the city spread out before him. He breaks down in tears. And not just a few, these tears express a gut-wrenching sorrow. Why? Jesus did come to save Israel, but not with the kind of salvation she wanted. Hence, in a few days Jesus would be stretched out on the cross.

Israel has lived by the ancient concept of justice: an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth. This principle produces an unending cycle of violence and vengeance. There is no end to the bloodshed. We still see it in the world today. We humans seem to enjoy holding onto our grudges, even passing them on to the next generation.

Jesus came to bring an end to this pattern. He came to bring forgiveness with a call to \u2018love your enemies\u2019 (Matthew 5:44) and to \u2018not be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good\u2019 (Romans 12:21). He came to reconcile us to God (Ephesians 2:16). But Jerusalem would not have it. They wanted vengeance and bloodshed, so that is what they would get. It would be Israel\u2019s blood that would flow. They would miss God\u2019s redemption. Jesus wept.

Notice Jesus\u2019 tears. Even though Israel would so thoroughly reject him, that she would have him executed on a cross, he still shed tears for her. It shows us that God\u2019s judgement never proceeds from a stern and cold justice but always from a heart of love. Over and over, God delays judgement in the hope that people will turn from their sinful and selfish lives. There is never divine rejoicing over judgement.

Further, it is important to understand that God\u2019s judgement is not impulsive. It does not come in a fit of anger or frustration. No, Moses already warned Israel what would happen if she turned away from God. Even though they refused to recognize that God was among them in Jesus, even though they would have him crucified, this impending judgement was still held back a generation, in the hopes that God\u2019s people would recognize him.

Not many of us spend time considering God\u2019s judgement. But increasingly, we are tempted to enact our own judgement on people and seek vengeance on those who hurt us. Even in Christian communities, it is no longer normative to live with an eye to reconciliation. We form camps and define ourselves over against people in the other camp. We don\u2019t talk with each other.

In various ways, Christianity has become a matter of having certain moral, political and ethical leanings rather than following the King on the colt. Jesus came to bring salvation which begins in the human heart. His death on the cross redeems the human heart from bitterness, anger, and vengeance. He turns our desire to lynch people into tears for what they are missing.

It is crucial that Christians grapple with Jesus and his purposes. Is this the kind of salvation we want? Do we want our hearts freed from anger and vindictiveness? Are we willing to lay down the weapons of cyber warfare? Do we really want the Saviour God sent us?