Michael Youssef - It's Palm Sunday... Then Why Is Jesus Weeping?
It was the first Palm Sunday and Jesus is weeping. Today is Palm Sunday and Jesus is weeping. You say, "How can that be, we all have known Palm Sunday to be a day of Jesus triumphantly entering into Jerusalem". We know it as a day when the crowd rejoiced and celebrated. We know it as the day when the King, riding on a donkey, entering into Jerusalem. We know it as the day of pomp and circumstance. In fact, we know it as the day when they all shouted, "Hosanna," which means save now. But then there's another side to Palm Sunday. Another side that we don't often think about. That other side of Palm Sunday is more relevant today on this Palm Sunday today than any other Palm Sunday in my lifetime or in your lifetime. This other side of Palm Sunday is about tears. It's about weeping.
Our Beloved Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who created us, he created the universe, and he knows the importance of weeping, whether it would be loud or in silence. For the Bible tells us that the Lord Jesus Christ had done both. He wept silently, and he sobbed loudly, both of them. And in fact, both within a matter of days of each other. I'm gonna explain this. Another Bible only tells us, records at least in the records twice that Jesus wept. But we don't know whether he had wept other times or not, we just know these are the two times recorded. But the two times that I want to talk to you about happen within days of each other. Once he was choked up, and being choked up he had tears streaming down his cheeks and wept silently. And he did this when he saw his friends, Mary and Martha, and the Jews who came with her to the tomb of Lazarus, their brother, when they were grieving and mourning over his death.
The second time was Palm Sunday, a few days later. These two different times, we have two different Greek words for the weeping, the different kinds of weeping. One meant, as I said, Jesus just being choked up, and then weeping in tears. The other indicates that he was sobbing, possibly uncontrollably on Palm Sunday. He most likely sobbed over sin and the consequences of sin and the blindness to sin. In John chapter 11 verse 33, 34, and 35, where the record of him going to Lazarus's tomb and raising him from the dead, it says, "Therefore, when Jesus saw her," talking about Mary, "Weeping, and the Jews who came with her weeping, he groaned in the spirit," then it says, "Jesus wept".
When our Lord was deeply moved by Mary's sobbing, he first groaned in his spirit. No doubt he was indignant over sin. He was indignant over what the causes of sin which is death, and sorrow, and pain, and suffering. My beloved friends, I want to tell you, don't ever forget that our Lord Jesus Christ came from a place called heaven where there is no sin, there is no sorrow, there is no pain, there is no suffering, there is no hurt, there is no heartache. But it is sin, your sin, and my sin, that brought him from that great place called heaven, so that he may redeem us from our sin, so that he may deliver us from the punishment of sin, so that he may take our punishment on his sinless, holy body on the cross. And that is why when he saw his friends totally broken over their loss, he was deeply moved. It is Palm Sunday, and Jesus is weeping. It's Palm Sunday, but Jesus is weeping.
Hear me out, please. Don't ever think that Jesus is not affected by what affects his beloved children. Don't ever think that Jesus is not moved by your pain, by your sorrow, and by your suffering. Don't ever think that Jesus is not involved in your pain, whatever pain you may be experiencing right now. Don't ever think that Jesus is only walking with you and is not weeping with you, he is. As the psalmist said in 56:8, Psalm 56 verse 8, he said God stores the tears of his beloved children, he stores them in a bottle. Not one of your tears falls to the ground that he had not taken notice of and stored it in a bottle. Hear me right. There is not one tear that he missed or has forgotten that ever came down your face. It's Palm Sunday, and Jesus is weeping. As parents and grandparents, we know experientially what that means. We know how deeply we're moved when our children or grandchildren cry and weep about something. It's Palm Sunday, and Jesus is weeping.
In Luke chapter 19 it says verse 41, "Now he drew near," he drew near to the city, talking about Jerusalem, of course, and there he sobbed. That's really what the word means. I know I mentioned that was only a few days from the time he wept outside of Lazarus's tomb. He weeps this time uncontrollably, sobbing. It is Palm Sunday, and Jesus is weeping. Oh yeah, he's a King alright, he's a King alright, but his kingdom is not of this world. He's a King. He's a King of the hearts of his children. He's the King of repentant sinners. He's a King over all those who have surrendered their life to him as their only Lord and Savior. He is the King of everyone who trusted in him alone for their salvation. He is the King over everyone who looks at that cross and says, "Thank you for dying for me. Thank you for taking my punishment on you holy body. Thank you for redeeming me from my sin and guilt. Thank you for setting me free from sin and Satan. Thank you for being my only Savior and Lord in my life".
It's Palm Sunday, and Jesus is weeping. At Lazarus's tomb he was weeping silently. His tears were streaming down his cheeks, but not on Palm Sunday. Not on Palm Sunday. As I said, the Greek words, two different words here, but the Greek word that is used on the occasion of Palm Sunday is not the same word used at Lazarus's tomb. The word of crying on Palm Sunday is "klaio". Klaio means deep sobs, uncontrollable sobs. I think most of you know what I'm talking about. It means loud, possibly wailing and groaning. It's the same word, by the way, that's used of Peter after denying the Lord and he walked out, and he wept bitterly, same word. But this was Palm Sunday. People were cheering. Children were singing. The crowd was celebrating.
The city was in a carnival-like atmosphere. There were waving of palm branches, but Jesus was weeping, why? Over the blindness to their sin, over their failing to recognize their Savior Messiah, of whom the whole Bible, their Bible, their Old Testament prophesied, over their wanting a Messiah, a Savior that suits them, over them rejecting of God's only plan for salvation. Here's what he said in Luke 13:34, talking to inhabitants of Jerusalem, because that's the epicenter. "How often I wanted to gather your children, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, but you would not".
My beloved friends, we do not weep over our sin anymore. In the 21st century church, we do not weep over sin. It's Palm Sunday, but Jesus is weeping. Jesus was deeply grieving over the gravity of our sin and our blindness to sin. Jesus sobbed over their blindness to their sin and the desperate need that they were not aware of of the Savior. And so, he sobbed. But there's another reason why Jesus sobbed. He sobbed over their disastrous future, their disastrous future. They were living for the moment. They couldn't think of the future. They were the consummate me generation. They're not thinking about the future, what the future's bringing. But being God of very God who became man of very man, the Lord Jesus Christ knows the future, and make no mistake about it, only God knows the future. And because he knew the future, he predicted the future of Jerusalem, what's gonna happen to it, and that is because he's aware of what's gonna happen, what is gonna take place, and therefore he wept over their future. And his prophesy was fulfilled merely less than 40 years later with meticulous details.
In Luke 19:44, it says, not one stone is going to be staying on top of the other. And sure enough, 70 A.D. the Romans came and razed the city of Jerusalem to the ground. Destroyed it completely. Think about this. Jesus is sobbing, knowing that probably 37, 38 years from now, that city is gonna be totally destroyed, and he was sobbing over their future. I wonder, is Jesus not sobbing over our lack of understanding of the times and the future judgement that is coming? No doubt his tears today would be over the blindness to sin, over the blindness of the future of those who have rejected his salvation, over those who have modified or changed his gospel, over those who watered down the message of salvation, over those who doubt the claims of Jesus, over those who take him along with many other gods in the journey of life, over those who made him equal to all these so-called founders of other religions.
It's Palm Sunday, and Jesus is weeping. Jesus in words that express deep, deep, deep disappointment, he said to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and is saying to us, "Had you recognize the time you lived in, you would have repented and turned to me as your only Savior, Lord, and Messiah, King". Question, what causes Jesus to sob like that? It's over the people who missed the opportunity, over the people who were so blinded that they could not see the desperation, over a people who could not heed his warning. Beloved, today we stand at a crossroads in every way, trust me. In every way, we stand at a crossroad. Will we wake up in time and change our priorities? May it be so, please Lord. May it be so, please Lord. May you wake us up in time, Lord. He's also weeping over his children's sorrow.
Those who love Jesus, whatever you're going through, whatever pain you're experiencing, whatever fear you're going through, whatever situation you're in, he's weeping in sympathy with you. He's weeping over the believer's broken hearts. Over those who have experienced physical, emotional, or psychological pain. Oh yes, he's there with you, and he is saying, "Had you known the times, had you discerned the seriousness of your visitation, had you realized the shortness of time," even today, even today. It was Palm Sunday, and Jesus is weeping.
I want to conclude by good news. The bad news is, judgement is coming. Sooner or later, judgement is coming. The bad news is that we who love Jesus, the children of the Living God, suffer with the rest of the world. But here's the good news for the believers. Here's the good news for the believers. The very last time in the Bible the word "tears" is mentioned, is found in Revelation chapter 21 verse 4. The very last time you hear the word "tears" mentioned. This scene in heaven as described by John the Revelator, it's an amazing scene. It's an exciting scene. And every time I read it, I can't wait to be part of it. Imagine the scenario in heaven that John saw with his own eyes, saw the future. And here's what he said in verse 4 of chapter 21 of the Book of Revelation. "God shall wipe away all of their tears".
On this Palm Sunday, of all those who have placed their hope and trust totally, completely, fully, wholly upon the death and the resurrection of Jesus Christ, they can rejoice. They can rejoice, for he personally is gonna wipe every one of our tears, every one of those tears that have been bottled in heaven, he's gonna wipe away all of our sorrow, all of our pain, all of our suffering, all of our heartache. Beloved, that is truly the greatest hope that is worthy of the name on this Palm Sunday. He shall wipe away all our tears. In your days of darkness and sorrow, in your days of disappointment and suffering, in your days of grief, and even mourning, all of your tears are bottled up in heaven, why? So that one day, he will wipe them all away. He'll wipe them all away. David said it best in Psalm 30 verse 5, "Weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning".
Don't ever forget. Don't ever forget that all of Jesus's tears, all of his agony, all of his suffering, all of his agonizing days on earth gave way to Resurrection Sunday, Resurrection Sunday. Oh yes, it might be Good Friday, but Sunday's coming, Sunday's coming. I cannot conclude this message without speaking to that person who is maybe curious about the Christian faith. Maybe curious about Jesus. May have read something about Jesus and admires Jesus. That person who had been resisting the loving invitation and the loving call of Jesus to come to him. Those who know deep down that God has been calling them, has been using people in their lives to call them to come to him to confess their sins, repent of their sins, receive his eternal forgiveness as a gift from his hand. That person who's reluctant to surrender his or her life to the Lord Jesus Christ, I want to tell you, I want to tell you this on the authority of God himself and his Word.
And I can tell you on the authority of the testimony of millions of believers that you will never know a more loving person than Jesus. You will never experience more kindness than will come from Jesus. You will never receive true and lasting forgiveness, everlasting forgiveness as you will receive from Jesus. And ultimately, whatever days we have on this earth, you'll never know perfect peace, deep peace, peace that doesn't make sense to the world, as you would receive when you come to Jesus. Come, confess, confess to him. He already knows. Confess to him, repent. Come to him now, before it's too late. There is such a thing as too late. When Jesus returns to the earth, it'll be too late. The Word of God said today, today is the day of salvation, therefore harden not your heart.