As we enter the final week of our reading/prayer program, we will turn our attention to the prayers of Jesus which were made at the end of his life. We know from the Gospel’s that Jesus was frequently praying and many of his prayers were recorded. The ones that are associated with the last stage of his life are particularly noteworthy.
Day #36: Jesus Laments Over Jerusalem (MK)
The Scripture that we read below occurs during the final week of his life, when Jesus was in Jerusalem. After his triumphal entry, Jesus shook things up in the temple. He kicked out the money changers and disrupted the vital center of religious and economic activity. As you can imagine this really got the attention of the religious leaders! The chief priests, the Sadducees, the Pharisees and the “elders of the people” all took turns trying to challenge him in public arguments, but with no success. Jesus responds with a host of denunciations for them, and then this lament.
Matthew 23:37-39 “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! See, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’”
Now, I have to admit that it is not absolutely clear that this is a prayer. It is not certain that Jesus was saying this to God. However, it has a great deal in common with Old Testament prayers of lament. In fact, most Bibles title this section, “Lament Over Jerusalem.” Earlier in our series we discussed many of the types of prayers that are found in the Bible, especially in the Psalms. We discussed prayers of praise, thanksgiving, confession, petition, and even imprecation. Another type of prayer that we did not discuss is the lament. Many of the Psalms are described as Psalms of Lament. In fact, an entire book of the Bible, reflecting on the fall of Jerusalem is called, Lamentations.
For modern people, this is one of our least common forms of prayer. Perhaps this is because we are good at shielding ourselves from pain, or at least good at creating the illusions of control. A prayer of lament expresses our sorrow to God and puts it in his presence. Often, we may move on to ask God to do something about the problem. Again, as modern people we tend to skip ahead to this part and just start asking for help. But lament is a significant part of our human experience and an important part of our connection to God. If the main point of prayer, is about deepening our relational connection to God, then lament is an important part of that process.
In lament, we connect our pain to God. We acknowledge our disappointment and sorrow and we place these things before our Heavenly Father. We do this knowing that he can work right now to fix our problems. We do this knowing that he will one day fix our whole broken world and renew our broken lives. But we also do this knowing that we have a high priest who can sympathize with our weakness (Heb 4.) Jesus knows what it is like to face disappointment and frustration. In this prayer he acknowledges that he “longed to gather” his people into his care, like a mother hen with her chickens. And yet he knows, that this desire will be left unanswered. He has been shown the path and he knows that it will lead to his rejection and crucifixion and that one day judgment will once again fall on Jerusalem.
I have two thoughts about this.
First, I am struck by the sorrow that Jesus shows for his enemies. The people who have rejected him and the work of God’s Messiah are the very people that Jesus laments. We might have expected him to lash out in anger. Instead, he expresses sorrow for their woeful choice. Are there ways in which it would be helpful for us to lament the enemies of God that we find threatening to the church?
Second, I am considering the alternatives that we use in place of lamenting. In other words, what do you do when you fail to lament something that is sorrowful. Do you burry it in a mountain of distractions? Do you lash out in anger? Do you retreat in silent despair? Do you grasp after some way to get even or settle the score of strike back at your enemies? In the shadow of the cross, facing the rejection of his own people, Jesus chose to lament and express sorrow over their disastrous choices.
What are the things in your life that you need to bring before God in lament?