As Jesus
approached Jerusalem for the last time, He wept. He thought about the people
within its walls and said, "If you had only known on this day what would
bring you peace.” He knew within hours He’d be crucified by the very people for
whom He wept. Would Jesus still look over the city and weep 2,000 years later?
Most believe He would. Jerusalem is a city where stress runs high, and the strain of so many people practicing so many religions in such a small area makes the tension palpable. They seek a blessing or a healing or some connection with God through well-meaning, but mistaken, devotion.
Bitter division resides just below the surface. Christians, Jews, Muslims—no faction would be disappointed if the other two groups would exit the city walls and disappear into the barren countryside. Many who want peace see it as something to be politically brokered.
“We work toward peace, we work toward bridgi
ng the gap between cultures and
between the differences in people, but really it’s God’s grace and only God’s
grace that will ever appear,” says an IMB worker. “The situation in Jerusalem will decide what will be the situation in the rest of the world,” says a local messianic pastor. When Jesus comes, “there will be peace in Jerusalem and there will be peace in the rest of the world.”
Pray that the people of Jerusalem will begin to recognize the things that bring true peace.
Originally posted on imb.org