Tears of Heaven
Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it Luke 19:41
Wept – There are two Greek words for “wept” in the New Testament. If you don’t know which one you’re reading, you will miss the whole point. In this verse, the word is klaio. It means to lament, wail, weep with deep emotion. These are tears shed from a ruptured heart, in agony over unrequited grief. The other word is found in John 11:35 (a great favorite for memorization), “Jesus wept.” That word is dakruo. It should be translated “shed a tear,” not “wept,” because weeping in first century Israel was an expression of intense grief whereas dakruo shows only the slightest sadness. Jesus never cried over death. He simply shed a tear. But He wept with agony over the lost.
We serve the broken-hearted God, a God Who, at great expense, attempts to redeem His children from certain, eternal torment. No wonder He staggers with agonizing shudders of sorrow when He confronts the self-destructive choices of His children. The tears of heaven drove Jesus to the cross. Every teardrop mixed blood and water. If you really want to see what it means for God to cry, look at His Son hanging on the tree.
So, I ask you, “Do you weep over the lost?” Are you so in tune with the heart of the Father that you stagger and stammer under the burden for these suicidal children? It’s not popular in a culture of “tolerance” to agonize over the inevitable fate of non-believers. It’s much easier to think (falsely) that somehow God will work it all out without my involvement. After all, most people are pretty good, so why should I press them about faith in Jesus? The combination of tolerance and privacy in religion will leave the world wide open to the mouth of the pit.
When was the last time (if ever) you were so gripped by the fate of those who still reject Him that you fell to your knees in wailing lament? When did you last find yourself so tortured by the fate of your friend, your relative or your child that the tears just wouldn’t stop as you raised their pitiful condition before the King of glory? When have you echoed Paul, wishing you could be extinguished from living if it would only rescue this other one?
We are much more likely to celebrate half of the God of heaven. We want the half of power, joy, peace and blessing. But when we look deeply into the heart of God, we find a disquieting unrest, a frightening torment over the ones who have not experienced His sacrifice. If you want a God of blessing, you must also have a God with a broken heart. And if you are to be conformed to the image of His Son, you will have to know the difference between klaio and dakruo.
Topical Index: wept, klaio, dakruo, John 11:35, Luke 19:41, death, lost
A “thot” Lamentation acknowledges that God is present and He is listening. Our weeping is not to be voiceless nor is it to be pointless. It is to be a witness of our faith. No matter what happens or how long it takes, we need to keep hanging on to the cords that bind us in our hope.
If we let ourselves weep for the lost, our grief sets the stage for His bringing of relief. He will infuse life into our sorrow and despair. We are to weep knowing that there is life in Him. We are to let Him press in, to open our hearts, so we are enabled to share His love.