“Analysis of Luke, Chapter 19:41-48,” by Andrew J. Schatkin
“Analysis of Luke, Chapter 19:41-48,” by Andrew J. Schatkin
My dear Christians and you of all faith and thoughts and all views and opinions, I bid and ask you to join with me in another voyage of intellectual discovery where those who may wish to engage in critical thinking and to not engage in and accept media lies falsehoods and political code words and hype can join in the effort to gain truth and facts amid the barrage of corruption and virtual darkness we are confronted with and befuddled and made effective fools of. I welcome you in this quest and task of attaining and coming to know intellectual honesty and honest discernment. Join with me in this voyage of discovery to get at what is valid and authentic in this world of confusion and to come with me in tearing apart the curtain of lies and darkness that hides from us what is truth and facts.
Today I will seek to interpret and explain and seek to grasp and understand another gospel passage, this time from the gospel of Luke chapter 19 verses 41-48. I do so with humility and hesitation knowing that I approach this awesome and daunting task of understanding the words and message of the eternal god in his words in holy scripture the words of the savior and redeemer of mankind with great hesitation.
This passage is as follows: “And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it saying would you even you had known on this day he 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 on 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. And he entered the temple and began to drive out those who sold saying to them. It is written my house shall be a house of prayer, but you have made it a den of robbers.
And he was teaching daily in the temple. The chief priests and the scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him but they did not find anything they could do for all the people were hanging on his words.”
This gospel passage contains many strands and elements of Jesus’s thoughts. In these verses, Jesus weeps over Jerusalem. When he approaches the temple, he pauses. Verses 41-44 dwell on the theme of Jesus rejection by the religious leaders or, better put, the city whose name means peace does not recognize the visitation of Jesus as god the agent of peace. Jesus speaks of and predicts the fall of Jerusalem and he says the religious leaders are repeating their forebearers mistakes. Jesus draws on quite possibly actual historical events when he speaks of the fall of the city but the meaning is deeper Jesus seems to be saying he fall of Jerusalem will be brought about and repeated by the religious leaders of the day. Jesus says in sum that he as god's agent for peace is hidden and he as that agent is rejected by the religious leaders He then goes on to state that the enemies of him and the gospel will attack him and his followers and set up a barricade and surround him and his followers of the new message and gospel and hem them and him in and tear this agent of peace and the followers of the new gospel and their children and will not leave one stone on another because they failed to recognize the visit of the true god and his followers and disciples as the agent of peace.
Jesus then enters the temple, a place for the true worship of god, for instruction on the meaning and instruction on god's will and the place where god is and was present and so the money changers and sellers are cast out from the house of god which Jesus makes clear is not to be made into a place of commercial exchange.
Finally, there is the momentous and profound last verse where we are told that his threat as the eternal god had the result that because he was gaining a following among the people and teaching daily with authority in the temple the chief priests and scribes and the principal men of the people were seeking to destroy him but they could not find anything they could do for all the people were hanging on his words. What we see here is that Jesus and his gospel message and teaching were gaining him a following with the people and the resentment and jealously was great by the scribes and others, and the religious leaders sought to destroy this leader of the people but had no basis to do so due to the people hanging on his words.
Dear Friends Christians and peoples of all faith and views and opinions, I do pray that I have provided some understanding and enlightenment of these words of the son of god and pray that what I have stated as explanation and interpretation has provided some truth and value to those who may read what I have said here and I urge you all to go back to the biblical text. My puny thoughts are no substitute for reading and rereading the biblical text the words of the savior and redeemer of the world the words and mind and thoughts of the king and ruler of all creation.