Tonight, I'm going to be speaking
on this subject, overcoming evil with good. From Romans chapter
12, and we're going to observe the Lord's table together. Read with me once again, verse
41 of our text. And when he was come near, he
beheld the city, Jerusalem. The place where he would soon
be crucified and wept over it. I've entitled this message, The
Savior's Tears. The Savior's Tears. And I hope
you'll pray for me. This seems like a very overwhelming
message to try to bring, and I covet your prayers that I might
be enabled to preach this message as it ought to be preached. The
Savior's Tears. This is one of three times in
the New Testament we read of the Lord Jesus weeping. The others were when he was at
the tomb of Lazarus, And then when he was in the garden of
Gethsemane, shortly before his death, we read of him weeping. I feel there were many other
times the Lord wept. If you read the Psalms, you ought
to always remember the first application of the Psalms is,
this is Christ speaking. Yes, it's David speaking or Asaph,
but it's primarily Christ speaking. And how many times did the Psalmist
say, my tears have been my meat day and night. but these are the only three
times they're recorded in the scripture right here at the tomb
of Lazarus and in the garden of Gethsemane. Now, what do the
Savior's tears tell us? Remember, this is the God man.
What do the Savior's tears tell us? Turn with me to John chapter
11. Verse 30. Now Jesus was not yet come into
the town, but was in the place where Martha met him. The Jews
then, which were with her in the house and comforted her,
when they saw Mary, that she rose up hastily and went out,
followed her saying, she goeth under the grave to weep there.
Now when Mary was come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell
down at his feet saying unto him, Lord, If thou hadst been
here, my brother had not died. When Jesus therefore saw her
weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned
in the spirit and was troubled. My marginal reading says he troubled
himself and said, where have ye laid him? They said unto him,
Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. The God-man wept. Why did he weep? Well, he wept
because he loved Lazarus. When a loved one dies, what do
you do? You weep. You know, people nowadays call
funerals celebrations of life. I sure don't feel comfortable
with anything like that. A celebration of life? No, that's
trying to mask the fear you have. Jesus wept at the death of his
dear friend, Lazarus, whom he loved. He wept because of sympathy. He sympathized with these people
who loved their brother so much. He wept because of sin. You know, there's only one reason
for death. Sin. The wages of sin is death. And he saw the ravages of sin
at this time. And he wept. He wept because
of the unbelief of his disciples. Verse 32, then when Mary was
come where Jesus was and saw him, she fell down at his feet
saying unto him, Lord, if you'd been here, and what she meant
by that is I sent for you a long time ago. If you would have come
when I said you should come, this wouldn't have happened.
That's exactly what she's saying. And he hears the unbelief of
this one whom he loves And he weeps. Jesus wept. Turn with me to Luke 22. Verse 39. And he came out and went as he
was want to the Mount of Olives. And his disciples also followed
him. And when he was at the place, he said unto them, Pray that
you enter not into temptation. Now this should be a prayer that's
on our heart all the time. Pray that you enter not into
temptation. Lord, don't even let me be tempted.
I know what'll happen if I'm tempted, so just forbid. You
know, we're taught to pray that every day. And here our Lord
says, pray that you enter not into temptation. And he was withdrawn
from them about a stone's cast and kneeled down and prayed,
saying, Father, if thou be willing, remove this cup from me. And in Hebrews chapter 5 verse
7, we read who in the days of his flesh when he had offered
up prayers and supplications with strong cryings and tears. I have no doubt that this is
a reference to Gethsemane's garden. When he offered up prayers with
strong cryings and tears. Let's go on reading. remove this
cup from me nevertheless not my will but thine be done. And
there appeared an angel unto him from heaven strengthening
him and being in agony he prayed more earnestly. How could the
Son of God pray more earnestly? I don't know but he did. He was
in agony, these strong crimes and tears at this time, and his
sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the
ground. The strong crimes and tears of
the Savior in Gethsemane. When the Son of God faced the
prospect of being made sin and being forsaken by God and being
utterly and completely left to Himself, He was overwhelmed. From His human heart came strong cryings and tears. Now, none of us understand this,
but at some time, he who knew no sin was made to be sin. There's a time that that actually
occurred. He who knew no sin all of a sudden
bore our sins in His own body on the tree. And this began in
Gethsemane's garden and what this tells us about, the tears
of our Savior, tell us something about the reality of substitution. He became what I am and God had
to deal with him thusly. He took my sins and my sorrows
and he made them his very own. That's overwhelming. He, at this time, was bearing
the full equivalent of what I deserve. hell, separation from God, being
cut off, and how he cried. But not only does this tell us
of the reality of substitution when we see him sweating great
drops of blood, crying with strong crimes in tears. This shows us
the reality of substitution, but it also shows us the reality
of justification. Just as truly as he was made
sin in the place of his people, we're made the very righteousness
of God in him. That's so real. Now, in our text, he looks at
the city where he knew in just a few days would be crying out,
crucify him, crucify him. He looks at Jerusalem, that wicked
city, and he looks over Jerusalem and he weeps. Now, how can that
be? He's all powerful. He's God. He controls everything. Yet he
looks over this city that he knew would soon be calling for
his death. And he weeps. Let's look at Matthew's
account for a moment. Matthew chapter 23. Beginning in verse 37, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, that
killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee,
how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as
a hen gathereth her chicken under her wings, and you would not. He says, as clearly as can be
said to this large group of people who would be calling for his
death, how often would I have gathered you to myself? And you
would not. If a man is damned, And I want to say that with fear
and trembling. If a man is damned, it's not because of the unwillingness
of the Savior to save him. He said, I would. And you would
not. You can't ever say, I sought
mercy and he refused me. If a man is damned, It's all
his fault. If I go to hell, it won't be
because God didn't elect me or because Christ didn't die for
me or because of the Holy Spirit never gave me life. If I go to
hell, it will be because I would not come. I would. And you would not. Turn back
to Luke chapter 19 where the Lord weeps over their ignorance. Luke 19. Verse 41, And when he was come
near, he beheld the city, and wept over it. The same thing
as Matthew is saying, saying, If thou hadst known, even thou,
at least, in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy
peace, but now they are hid from thine eyes. Now he wept over
the city. What are the things that belong
to our peace? I want to know, don't you? What
is it that really belongs to my peace? Now, for me to have
peace, Christ had to agree to be my surety before time began
and take full responsibility for my salvation. Amen? You realize that this is what
belongs to your peace. For me to have peace, Christ
had to become a man and become flesh. And in the flesh, for
me to have peace, he had to keep God's holy law for me. For me to have peace, he had
to die for my sins and put them away and satisfy God's law against
the sinner. For me to have peace, he had
to be raised again from the dead as my justification. And for
me to have peace, he has to right now be interceding for me and
representing me. Now those are the things that
belong to my peace. I can't have any peace without
this. For me to have peace, he has to say, it is finished. For me to have peace, I have
to hear these words. In Him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead in a body and you are complete. Nothing lacking. Everything you need, you have. Now that's the only way I can
have peace. Peace by Jesus Christ. He is
our peace. The Lord said, if you knew the
things that belong to your peace, but now they're hid from your
eyes. And he was weeping over this.
Now they're hid from your eyes. Now, if I'm blind to the truth,
it's because I blinded myself. If I'm blinded from the truth,
It's because Satan has blinded my eyes, whom the God of this
world has blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest
the light of the glorious gospel of Christ should shine unto them.
If I'm blinded, it's because God has blinded me. If I'm blinded,
it's because I'm blinded myself. If I'm blinded, it's because
Satan has blinded me. If I'm blinded, it's because
God has blinded me. Remember when the Lord said,
I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
You've hid these things. You have hid these things from
the wise and prudent and revealed them unto babes. Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in Thy sight. I think of that passage
of Scripture in 2 Thessalonians 2 where it says, Wherefore God
shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie,
that they all might be damned who believe not the truth, but
had pleasure in unrighteousness. God would send them strong delusion.
Now, how can this be reconciled, Christ weeping, with the fact
that God is the one who hid these things from their eyes? How can
these two things be brought together? How can Christ weeping over the
lost be reconciled to the fact that God selected and elected
who would be saved before time began and they're the only ones
who will be saved? How can this be brought together,
Christ weeping over the lost when he only died for the elect
and accomplished their salvation? How can this be brought together
that Christ wept over the lost when these lost people cannot
be saved unless God the Holy Spirit gives them life? How can
these things be reconciled? How can they be brought together?
I'm going to try to answer that. Here's why I'm going to try to
answer that. First, I want to ask you, is election true? Did God really choose who would
be saved before time began? Is that what the Bible teaches?
I believe probably everybody in here knows the answer to that
question. If you don't, let me give you scripture. According
as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world.
The Lord said in John 15, 16, you've not chosen me, but I've
chosen you. There's no doubt that the Bible teaches this.
Does the Bible teach predestination? Well, of course it does. Whom
He did foreknow, then He also did predestinate, to be conformed
to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among
many brethren." Of course the Bible teaches predestination.
Does the Bible teach that Christ died only for the elect? Of course
it does. He said, I lay down my life for
the sheep. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church
and gave Himself for it, not for everybody, for the church.
Yes, the Bible teaches these things without any question.
The answer is yes and yes and yes, so they don't need to be
reconciled because they're not at odds. I am so thankful for
the tears of the Savior because of what they teach me and what
they teach you. Now please listen carefully. There are some things that me
and you don't need to know. We really don't need to know
these things. I don't need to know if I'm going
to be elect. I don't need to know if Jesus
Christ actually died for me. I don't need to know if I've
really been born again. But I do need to know who he
is. See, here's water. What doth
hinder me from being baptized? If you believe with all your
heart, you may. And he said, I believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Do you believe that? Do you believe
who he is? to him that worketh not, but
believeth on him that justifies the ungodly. Are you one of those
people? You see salvation by works is out of your grasp, and
your only hope is Him who justifies the ungodly. Whoso believeth
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Do you believe that Jesus
is the Christ? Now, you can believe in election
and limited atonement. The Pharisees believed that.
They believed they were the elect, and they believed the atonement
was only for Israel. They believed those things, and you can split
hell wide open. Do you believe that Jesus Christ is the eternal,
uncreated Son of God, and that salvation is only in Him. Sayers, what must I do to be
saved? Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved. Now, what do the saviors tears
actually teach us. The Savior's tears teach us that
the Son of God really is a man. There's one God and one mediator
between God and men, the man. The man, Christ Jesus. Right now, as I'm speaking in
glory, there is a man seated at the right hand of God, and
he has human emotions as a man. We know that he felt the fear
of his father when he was offered those strong prayers with crying
and tears. And the scripture says he was
heard in that he feared. When, as a man, he walked upon
this earth, the scripture says he was a man of sorrows. and acquainted with grief. We sing that song, Man of Sorrows. What a name for the son of God
who came. Not only did he have the human
emotion of sorrows and tears, he had the human emotion of joy
and happiness. And he got joy and happiness
from the things that he achieved, looking unto Jesus who for the
joy that was set before him. the joy of doing His Father's
will, the joy of saving poor sinners like me and you, who
for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising
the shame. Now, me and you are moved at
the sufferings of others, aren't we? You see someone suffering,
and you're moved by it. And do you get any particular
joy out of the thought of somebody going to hell? Do you think,
well, I hope they go to hell. I hope they suffer eternally
under the wrath of God. They got it coming. You don't
think that way, really, do you? You know, you got it coming,
and you don't think of something like that. Now, he wept over
Jerusalem. The people he knew would soon
be crucified. He wept, saying, I would, and
you would not. But these tears also show us
that he is God. Yes, they show us he's a man
with human emotions. They also show us he's God. As
God, he foresaw these people's future. Look what he says in
Luke chapter 19, verse 43. And he's talking about the ransacking
of Jerusalem in 70 AD. You can read about it in the
historian Josephus when Rome came in and completely destroyed
that city and everybody that was in it. And he foresaw this as God. And he looks at these people
and their unbelief, and he weeps, looking at their future and seeing
it and knowing it. His tears tell us of his real
sympathy. They tell us that he's man, the
man Christ Jesus with human emotion, they tell us that he is God,
and they tell us of his true and genuine sympathy and empathy. Turn with me to Hebrews chapter
4, verse 14. Seeing, then, that we have a
great high priest. There is no high priest like
this priest. What a great high priest he is. You know, I think it's interesting.
You look at Aaron, the first priest, and you look at his history,
and he was a very weak and sinful man, wasn't he? He'd always try
to cast the blame on other people. Now, he was a saint of the Lord.
Scripture says that. Called him a saint of the Lord. but what
a weak, fickle man he was. He was a high priest, but he
wasn't a high priest like this high priest. This is the true
great high priest. Now let's go on reading. Seeing
then that we have a great high priest that's passed into the
heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our profession,
for we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with
the feeling of our infirmities. but was in all points tempted
like as we are, yet without sin. You know, I used to have a struggle
with that verse of Scripture. If he never sinned, how can he
identify with me? If he never sinned, how can he
actually be touched by me feeling guilty? Have you ever felt the feelings
of your infirmities, the feelings of your weaknesses, the feelings
of your guilt, the feelings of your shame, the feeling of being
alone, isolated, estranged, abandoned, marginalized. Well, here's the
fact. He has felt those things much
more acutely than you and I ever have. Because when He was made
sin, He was made to feel everything there is about being a sinner
only much more acutely because of who He was. You see, I hate
saying this, but sin really doesn't bother us that much. And when
our hands get caught in the cookie jar and we get exposed, oh, it's
bothersome. If we think somebody knows about
it, oh, it's bothersome. But just as far as the way we
feel, we get over it quick enough. That's just the facts. but his
holy soul that cringed at the very... He knew no sin. He'd
never committed sin, for when he was made sin, he was made
to feel the horror of sin much more acutely than you and I ever
have. Look down in chapter 5 of Hebrews
1 and 2. For every high priest taken from
among men is ordained for men in things pertaining to God,
that he may offer both gifts and sacrifices for sins. And
here's what we need, who can have compassion on the ignorant
and on them that are out of the way, for that he himself also
is compassed with infirmity." You know, Aaron, Aaron was encompassed
with infirmity and he could have compassion on somebody that was
ignorant because he had some understanding of his own ignorance.
He could have compassion on someone who was out of the way and straying
off because he saw that he himself was encompassed, surrounded,
enclosed with infirmity. But Christ felt that much more.
Much more than Aaron. When he was made sin, he was
encompassed with infirmity. And now he can have compassion. This is our great high priest.
He can have compassion on them that are ignorant. Is that good
news to you? Them that are out of the way. Truly, we have a high priest
that can be touched. moved to sympathy with the feeling
of our infirmities, our weaknesses, our strengthlessness. Now what
do the Savior's tears tell us? The Savior's tears tell us of
the reality and the sincerity of His promises. When He says,
All that the Father giveth me shall come to me, and him that
cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. You can be sure of
this. If you come, He will not cast
you out for any reason whatsoever. The tears of the Savior tells
us that these are no empty promises. Come unto me, all ye that labor,
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon
you and learn of Me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, and
you'll find rest for your souls." When the Lord says that, you
can bet He means it. You come to Him for mercy, you'll
be received. You call on His name, He will
hear. He delights in mercy. Don't anybody here say, He won't
have mercy on me. He will if you ask. You can be
sure of that. Oh, the Savior's tears tell us
of the sincerity of his calls. He says, woman, believe me. And when he says to you, believe
me, you know what you're going to do? You're going to believe
him. You know, some people cry at
the drop of a hat, and I'm sure the man Christ Jesus was not
like that. I'm just sure of that. But oh, his tears, weeping over
Jerusalem, tell us of the reality, the sincerity of his calls to
come to him. His tears testify that if you
come to him, you will have rest. And you know, his tears tell
us how we should present the gospel. Andrew Bonar, a Scottish preacher,
said that Robert Murray McShane, another Scottish preacher, met
with him during the week and said, what did you preach on
Sunday? And he said, I preached on hell.
He said, did you do it with a tear in your eye? I can't stand to hear a preacher
talk about hell as if almost he likes talking about it. I
think it's interesting that in the writings of the Apostle Paul,
you won't even find the word hell mentioned, almost like he
thought it was too terrible to even say. But I know this. If the Savior
was weeping over people, me and you ought to be too. And that's
the way the gospel ought to be presented. Not in a harsh way,
but with a tear in my eye, and most especially with a tear in
my heart. What do the tears of the Savior
say? The tears of the Savior say,
if a man's lost, it's all his fault. If me or you go to hell,
we'll know the reason there, the reason we're there, is not
because God didn't do something for us. It's because we would
not come. The Lord said, you will not come
to me. that you might have life. You
see, the only way you're going to have life is coming to Him.
And if you don't have life, it's because you will not come. Now, turn with me to Luke chapter
24. Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem. thou that stonest the prophets,
and killest them that are sent to thee. How often would I have
gathered thy children together, as a hen gathers a brood under
arms, and you would not. Now look in chapter 24. This
is after his resurrection. Verse 44. And he said unto them, These are the words which I spake
unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be
fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the
prophets, and in the Psalms concerning me, then opened he their understanding. that they might understand the
scriptures. And said unto them, thus it's
written, and thus it behooved, or it was necessary for Christ
to suffer and to rise from the third day. Now, it was necessary
for Christ to suffer because it was purpose before time began.
It was necessary for Christ to suffer for it was God's will.
It was necessary for him on the third day to rise again because
he accomplished salvation for everybody he died for. Verse 47, and that repentance
and remission of sins. I love the way those two words
are always brought together. Repentance and remission of sins. Because let me say this to you.
Repentance at its very essence is a change of mind regarding
the forgiveness of sins. You see, when you repent, You
change your mind to thinking there's something I need to do
to get the forgiveness of sins. You change your mind and you
see that forgiveness of sins has given you holy for Christ's
sake and no other reason. You change your mind. But look
what he says next. He says that repentance and remission of sins
should be preached in his name among all nations beginning at
Jerusalem. The same Jerusalem of whom He
said, O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, beginning at Jerusalem, this
same crowd that put me to death, to the very ones who were crying
out, crucify Him, crucify Him, the very ones. He said, beginning
right there, I want these people to hear the gospel. John Bunyan
once wrote a message entitled, The Jerusalem Sinner Saved. You see, the Jerusalem sinner
is the worst kind of sinner. But that's where Christ says,
here's where I want the gospel preached. Now, I cannot intellectually
bring together Christ crying over people that he knew he wouldn't
save. But I sure am thankful that's
recorded in the scriptures, aren't you? I'm thankful it's revealed
and it makes the Lord more glorious to me than I can express. What a wonderful Savior He is. So yes, my beloved friends, all
the truth of God's sovereignty and salvation. It's just true. And I love it. I'm not apologizing
for it. I love it. I love God's elective
mercy. I love Christ's death for his
elect. I love the effectual call of the Holy Spirit. And I believe
just as strongly, if you come, he'll save you. And if you don't
come, it's all your fault. You call upon the name of the
Lord and you will be saved. Let's pray together. Lord, how amazed we are at the
glory of the person of your son. And Lord, he said, I would. Lord, give us the grace to come
to him and believe on him and call upon him and look to him
and rest in him and cling to him. And Lord, we thank you for his
tears. We thank you for him. In his
blessed and holy and glorious name we pray, asking that you
would take these words and cause everybody in here, according
to your will, to come to him. Lord, how thankful we are for
our great high priest. In his name we pray. Amen. We
got Dwayne.