Luke 19:41 - 44
41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Questions:
ReplyDelete1. Was Jesus saying that the Jewish people would be punished for their ignorance? Was it avoidable? If they knew the time of their visitation, would it have made a difference?
2. How were these things hidden from them?
3. When is the fulfillment of their enemies hemming them in?
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/19-41.htm says:
ReplyDeleteFor, when Titus attacked the city, the Jews defended themselves so obstinately, that he found there was no way to gain his purpose but to compass the city round with a trench and mound. By this means, he kept the besieged in on every side, cut off from them all hope of safety by flight, and consumed them by famine. The work which he undertook was indeed a matter of extreme difficulty, for the wall measured thirty-nine furlongs, or almost five miles, and the towers were thirteen in number, every one of them ten furlongs in compass. Nevertheless, the whole was finished in three days; for, to use the expression of Josephus, the soldiers in performing this work were animated by a divine impetus.
https://biblehub.com/commentaries/luke/19-44.htm says:
and thy children within thee] The siege began at the Passover, and hence it is said that nearly 3,000,000 Jews,were crowded into the city.
https://www.preceptaustin.org/luke-19-commentary says:
ReplyDeleteJesus' prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70 when the Roman army under Titus destroyed the temple completely. The destruction of the city and dispersion of its people was completed in AD 135.
---
"The time of thy visitation" is a frequent OT phrase. In all its occurrences in the Prophets it is a day of calamity or a day of judgment (Isa 10:3; Jer 8:12; 10:15; 11:23; 23:12; 46:21; 48:44; 50:27; 51:18; Hos 9:7; Micah 7:4).
---
MacArthur adds that visitation was "a common phrase in the OT (Isa 10:3; Jer 27:22) warning of God's "visitation," His drawing near to people or nations in either judgment or blessing.
---
Brian Bill - There is a very clear principle here in these words that are dripping with the tears of Jesus. If you and I do not recognize God’s coming in the form of the Lord Jesus and put our faith in Him, we will be exposed to judgment. If you reject Christ, you will pay the consequences. It’s possible to miss the time of God’s visitation today as well.
---
Josephus in the 'Jewish War': Titus then gave the command that no matter what happened, the temple should be spared, because it would always be a great tribute to the empire. Titus then went into Antonia, intending the next morning to attack and overwhelm the temple with his entire force. But on that day, the tenth of Lous [August 30, 70 AD], the same day on which Solomon’s temple had been destroyed by the king of Babylon, the structure was doomed. The rebels again attacked the Romans after Titus retreated, and a battle took place between the temple guards and the Roman troops who were trying to put out the flames in the inner court. The Romans scattered the Jews and pursued them into the sanctuary. At the same time, a soldier recklessly grabbed a torch . . . He hurled the firestick through the doors made of gold on the north side which allowed entry to chambers around the sanctuary. Immediately, Titus ran to the temple to put out the flames. But because of the battle that raged on, the soldiers either could not or would not hear his commands. The wrath of his troops could not be stopped, and at the doorway many soldiers were trampled by their own forces. There among the burning ruins they fell, sharing the same fate as their enemies. Pretending not to hear the commands of their general, and filled with hatred, the soldiers rushed on, hurling their torches into the temple. The helpless rebels made no attempt at defense. Fleeing for their lives, with bloodshed all around, many civilians were caught in the battle. Even the steps of the altar were stained with the blood of the dead. When Caesar could not hold back his troops, he and his generals entered the temple and viewed for the last time the Most Holy Place. Since the fire had not yet reached the inside, but was still feeding the outside chambers, Titus made one last effort to save the structure. Ordering a centurion to club anyone if they disobeyed his commands, he rushed forward and pleaded with his soldiers to put out the flames. But because of their hatred of the Jews and their desire for riches, the soldiers disregarded the orders of their general. Seeing that all the surroundings were made of gold, they assumed that inside there would be great treasures. Caesar and his generals fled for safety, and thus, against his wishes, the sanctuary was burned.
Questions and findings:
ReplyDelete1. Was Jesus saying that the Jewish people would be punished for their ignorance? Was it avoidable? If they knew the time of their visitation, would it have made a difference?
We are all sinful and willfully ignorant (it's human nature) and will be punished for it. It's theoretically avoidable, but not practically. If Jesus would have come back in any point in time (as a meek human), He would have been killed and rejected by any generation and any people - so let's not blame the Jewish people at that time, anymore than blame ourselves for being just like them. (I have a hypothesis that this was the only place and time in history where Jesus could have made it as long as three years before getting killed).
God knew them beforehand, and set up a plan where Jesus would be crucified. Nothing else was going to play out. Not only was the crucifixion God's plan, but also the destruction of Jerusalem later. God used a terrible unavoidable event to bring the Gentiles into the fold and form the church. If Jerusalem was not destroyed, Christians (both Jewish and Gentile) would always be looking to return to the old ways and be lost in their sin. Jerusalem's destruction was necessary to remove a huge obstacle to Christ followers. There was no returning to the old covenant.
2. How were these things hidden from them?
God doesn't reveal everything to everyone. This is to accomplish His plan too. There's a lot of reasons for God to not reveal everything/something. In this case it was so that Jesus would be rejected and crucified, and save the world. There's other possible reasons in other times. For example, it might be more merciful to not present the truth when people aren't ready for it, because they will reject it at the time.
3. When is the fulfillment of their enemies hemming them in?
It looks like every scholar will point to the events of 70 AD. - the destruction of the temple and Jerusalem.