Tears of Sorrow, but dried by Grace

Disappointment is how I would describe my first trip to Israel. I suppose you could also say I was naïve in my thinking of what I would experience while touring the Promised Land. I had such high hopes for a spiritual revival among our soldiers, but it didn’t happen. Most were laughing, smoking, and unaware of the scriptures which speak to Jerusalem’s rejection of Christ. Don’t get me wrong, there were certain aspects I absolutely enjoyed, such as our boat ride on the Sea of Galilee. When our boat stopped in the middle of the sea I was blessed to share four very powerful scriptures which occurred on the Sea of Galilee or nearby, to include Matthew 7:22-26. Perhaps like many American Christians I expected to feel something special, but I felt nothing but sadness as I realized just how dark and fallen our world is. I spent most of my time praying that God would have mercy on the Jews, Muslims, and false Christians which I encountered. Like the rest of the world, Israel is in desperate need of Jesus. This came into vivid focus when we arrived in Jerusalem our first night. They were celebrating the festival of Purim. However they have added significant more to the celebration since the original festival the book of Esther speaks of, to include alcohol. I was brokenhearted by the Orthodox Jews and the religious piety. They don’t know God since they have rejected the Messiah, Jesus. They think they are following the Ten Commandments, but Jesus is the only one who ever has or ever will do that. I respected their devotion, but was troubled by how the Devil has misled so many of God’s chosen people. They serve an impersonal God, much in the same way the Muslims do. During the Sabbath day, they weren’t smiling, but approached the Western Wall with mournful looks on their faces. I think of how happy I am to worship each week at my church and how they see worship as a ritual of the flesh and to be experienced by the law. There is nothing like seeing something first hand. Inside the Old City, the people were rude and bumping into one another without saying a word. There was no love, but I kept telling myself that the will of the Father is that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him will have eternal life. No one seemed to be looking for the Son, apart from some images of Jesus on some crosses and a hole which they think Christ was buried in.

My pastor, Pastor Mike wrote me an email and spoke about a story in Luke 19:41-46 where Jesus wept over Jerusalem. Luke wrote that “and when Jesus drew near and saw the city, he wept over it.” I absolutely felt the same way. A few verses later, Jesus entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold in it. Jesus wept over His coming rejection by the city of Jerusalem. I looked up the Greek meaning for “wept” and discovered it meant intense sobbing, not merely shedding tears. In the same way grief overwhelmed Jesus, grief and sadness overwhelmed me. I remembered the corruption of Jerusalem which caused Jesus to turn over tables and drive out those who were conducting dishonest business inside the outer courts of the temple. When Jesus finished “weeping” He drove the crooked merchants out of the temple. Jesus described these men as “thieves or robbers.” Which is still true today, there is more business inside the courtyards than prayer. In fact one of our soldiers was “robbed” through a credit card purchase by a retailer overcharging Him. The corruption, rejection, and sin continue to this day, which is most likely why I wept inside my heart. But when I saw the Mount of Olives in the distance my heart was filled with joy because my Savior will return as a mighty warrior and stand on top of that mount, judge the unrighteous, and take His throne on earth for 1,000 years.