Greetings from InterVarsity Press,
With Lent starting in a little over a week, I thought it seemed appropriate to send along some ideas for Lenten resources/devotionals and also share an excerpt from The Retelling Series by Russ Ramsey. This short section is from The Passion of the King of Glory…
As Jesus crested the rim of the Kidron Valley, there stood Jerusalem glistening in the sun. In his ears echoed the words of the people pleading with him to bring them peace. He thought about the travail of his kindred, of their constant struggle to receive the love of their Maker, of God’s strong hand of discipline in their lives, of the way their hearts broke when Babylon and Assyria carried them off into exile, and how hardened they had become to the idea of hope.
Jesus stopped the colt and began to weep. “If only you had known the things that make for peace, dear city. But now they are hidden from you. The day is coming when not one stone will be left upon another in you because you didn’t know the time of your visitation.”
This was the hour of Jerusalem’s visitation. Jesus loved this city. He wept because what the people wanted and what they needed were so far from one another. He knew the full extent of the salvation these people required, and he also knew what it would cost. He knew salvation was unfolding before them in that very moment. The punishment that would bring them peace was about to be laid upon him. He knew that the religious leaders would play a role in bringing this punishment to him because they feared Rome more than they feared God. He knew they would be willing to kill one of their own if it meant preserving the privilege of worship that Caesar had granted.
With tears in his eyes he rode on into the city and made his way to the temple while the people parted like a holy curtain, crying, “Please save us.”
Have a good day!
Krista Clayton
Senior Publicist
InterVarsity Press
Broadcast & Online Publicity
@kristakclayton
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