Luke 19:39 says, And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. When the disciples and those around Jesus began praising God, some of the Pharisees came to Jesus and told Him to rebuke His disciples. The Pharisees, some of the most religious of the people of Israel, were always attempting to discredit Jesus and His disciples. Some professed Christians today do the same thing, putting rituals and self-righteousness above a real relationship with Jesus Christ. Verse forty adds, And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stones would immediately cry out. Jesus told the Pharisees that if His disciples held their peace that the stones would immediately cry out to witness for Him. We need to realize that God does not need us to get His word out, but He allows us to be a part of sharing the gospel. Verse forty-one states, And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it, When Jesus got near Jerusalem, He looked at and wept over it. He was not weeping because of what awaited Him there, but was weeping for the spiritual state of the people of God's Holy City. I believe He is probably weeping for the religious state of America today, since we call ourselves a Christian nation, but don't live as though we are. Verse forty-two adds, 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. Jesus said that if they knew even in that day the things that brought them peace, and that was faith in and obedience to the heavenly Father and the coming Messiah, that they would have been at peace, but that those things were hidden from them. These things, the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ to bring us salvation are not hidden to us today, but too many people still refuse to see them. Verse forty-three declares, For the days shall come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a trench about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side, Jesus said the day was coming when the people of Jerusalem would be utterly defeated, and if we do not accept Jesus Christ as our personal Savior and Lord there is coming a day when we will be forever destroyed spiritually. Verse forty-four adds, And shall lay thee even with the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation. Jesus said Jerusalem would be laid even with the ground, and that they did not know the time that this would happen. When Judgment Day comes, everything in this world will be laid bare, and we cannot know when this will happen, so we need to be dedicated to living by faith in Jesus Christ every day. Verse forty-five says, And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; Jesus went to the temple and began to cleanse it of all the things that were being done for material reasons and not for spiritual. He might have to cleanse some churches of some of the things that go on today while people proclaim that they are being done to worship Him. Verse forty-six adds, Saying unto them, It is written, My house is the house of prayer: but ye have made it a den of thieves. Jesus said God's word called the Temple a house of prayer, but they had turned it into a den of thieves. I believe we need to still make sure that God's house is a place of prayer and worshipping Him and that we do not allow it to become something less. Verse forty-seven states, And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, After cleansing the Temple, Jesus taught there daily. As God's people today, we need to daily teach others about God. The chief priests and scribes were not happy with what Jesus had done and sought a way to destroy Him. Many, many people today are still attempting to destroy Jesus, even some who profess to be His followers. Verse forty-eight adds, And could not find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear him. The scribes and chief priests didn't know what to do, because the people were listening to Jesus attentively. As long as we listen attentively to Jesus and follow Him by faith, the people of the world will always be at a loss as to how to destroy our relationship with Him.
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