The Time of Our Visitation

And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation” (Luke 19:41-44).

Within the walls of Jerusalem was the temple and dwelling place of God. The people in this city were Christ’s own family and household. Next to heaven, Jerusalem was the holiest place created. God and his angels dwelled there. All the service and worship of God was to be done in this city. Many of the patriarchs lived and were buried within the city limits of Jerusalem. It is also where Christ the Son of God had often come and walked in the flesh. Soon He would die and be buried here, and the miracle of His resurrection would forever set this city apart as holy unto God. The Church would soon be born here when the gift of the Holy Spirit would come upon His waiting disciples. Jesus will confirm the sanctity of Jerusalem with His return to the Mount of Olives at God’s appointed time. Yet Jesus prophesied the very near destruction of Jerusalem because its citizens, despite all of the previous witness of the prophets and now of Jesus Christ Himself, did not know the time of our visitation.

Like Jerusalem, we are often unresponsive to the presence of Christ. When we are born again, the Spirit of Christ takes up residence in our heart… “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’” (Galatians 4:6). He promised He will never leave us… “Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). As we mature in the faith our awareness and responsiveness to Christ’s presence empowers us to live Godly lives in an ungodly world.

Like Jerusalem, we are often unmindful of the peace of Christ. Because of the special place Jerusalem holds in God’s heart, there can never be any lasting peace for its citizens until Christ claims it as His own… “At that time Jerusalem shall be called the throne of the LORD, and all nations shall gather to it, to the presence of the LORD in Jerusalem, and they shall no more stubbornly follow their own evil heart” (Jeremiah 3:17). Just as there will be no peace for the city of Jerusalem until Christ conquers it, there will never be any lasting peace in the human heart until Christ conquers it… “And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful” (Colossians 3:15). After we have surrendered and seated Christ on the throne of our heart, we learn to keep our focus on Him through the trials of this earthly life… “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3). Christ promises to guard and protect our heart in His matchless peace… “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). Maturing disciples rest in and reflect the perfect peace of Christ to a troubled world.

Like Jerusalem, we are often unaware of the pugnacity of Christ’s enemies. Jesus wept over Jerusalem because there was so much senseless suffering. He was about to defeat every spiritual enemy through the victory of the cross… “He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him” (Colossians 2:15). But the benefits of His victory are available only to those who believe in Him… “Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?” (1 John 5:5). Evidence that we are born of God is growing sensitivity to the work of our enemy and increasing faith in Jesus Christ the victorious Son of God!... “For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith” (1 John 5:4). Let the relentless pugnacity of the devil lead you to increasing faith and victory through Jesus Christ!

As we grow up into Christ, we increasingly reflect the inner presence of Christ as we enjoy more of…

The Time of Our Visitation.