The tears of Jesus

By DR. KNOX HERNDON
Pastor

In our church just below the pulpit is a beautifully lit, five foot by two foot, stained glass boxed in window of Jesus overlooking Jerusalem. He is sitting looking towards the ancient main gate with several disciples looking over his shoulder. There is a caption in English painted on the stained glass which reads, “He Beheld The City and He wept over it.”

As He is looking at the city, you can see a tear streaming down His face. In all of the Christian art I have seen anywhere in the world, either in person, or in Christian art books, I have never seen a picture of Him crying.

It is a powerful portrayal of His compassion over the lost, to say the least. Just imagine, Jesus of Nazareth crying over the fact that He came to save us and many would reject Him!

In Mel Gibson’s very moving portrayal of “The Passion of The Christ,” we see the gut-wrenching agony of the crucifixion and the depths of man’s depravity toward things of God. One could fire back that they didn’t know what they were doing, etc. Some of that might be true, but many had firsthand information that we don’t have today. Many had seen the miracles, and had personally heard Jesus teach and preach, feed and heal the masses which none of us have seen. I strongly believe that if we seriously could fathom the depths of His total selfless love for us, we would never want to sin again.

Right now, in the six weeks before Easter is the season which some churches call Lent. It is not a part of my Christian background, but I like the fact that it is a time of reflection before Easter when we all do some serious self-reflection and self-examination and “self-deny” anything that separates us from our relationship with our Heavenly Father. I hope six weeks is enough for many of us.

I love what Mel Gibson said at one of the many interviews he underwent over the making of “The Passion.” The commentator was trying to portray Mel as someone who was stirring up anti-Semitic sentiments among movie goers. Mel Gibson looked straight into the eyes of the commentator and said, “My sins were the reason for the crucifixion.” Imagine your sins and mine, crucifying Jesus of Nazareth! No wonder He is crying!

I am speaking to myself also here when I say, “Take time to reflect on who you are and the sins that crucified Jesus.

The stained glass window of Jesus weeping over Jerusalem can be seen at the altar of our church. We have documentation that states it is an 1820 piece. It started in London and is now in our church in the temporary “doublewide on 85.” It will soon be in our new 200-member sanctuary being built as we speak. To God be the Glory!

This Sunday, March 21, our church will be celebrating our seventh year since it was established. To celebrate this we are hosting a very special service which will involve special speakers, special music with Kim Stanley, and the Southern Gospel group Simply His. If you thought it couldn’t get any better, we will be having a catered BBQ. We would love to invite you to this celebration. Please call me at 770-719-2365 if you plan to attend so we can get an accurate head count for the BBQ.

(Dr. Knox Herndon is the pastor of His House Community Church (SBC.) Rev. Greg Mausz is Sr. Assoc. Dr. Lydia Herndon is the Sunday School superintendent, Bible study coordinator and teacher. The church is on Ga. Highway 85 South near Senoia, a mile south of Ga. Highway 16, on the right just past the fire station. Visitors welcome. Church office and prayer line 770-719-2365. E-mail address is KHERN23654@aol.com.)