True Peace

⁴¹ As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it ⁴² and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. ⁴³ The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. ⁴⁴ They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.”

⁴⁵ When Jesus entered the temple courts, he began to drive out those who were selling. ⁴⁶ “It is written,” he said to them, “‘My house will be a house of prayer’; but you have made it ‘a den of robbers.’”

⁴⁷ Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. ⁴⁸ Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words. (Luke 19:41-48 NIV)

This summer, the best golfer in the world surprised everyone with what he said about winning. Scottie Scheffler is the world’s #1 golfer, and before the big British Open, he was asked how great it is to win so many tournaments. Did you hear his answer? He said, “This is not a fulfilling life…. It’s not fulfilling from a sense of the deepest places of your heart.” That surprised everybody. “You mean that winning championships isn’t fulfilling?” He said, “I wrestle with that on a daily basis…. If I win, it’s going to be awesome for two minutes…. What’s the point?”

What was he really saying? True peace, in the deepest places of your heart, is hard to find, isn’t it? Even if you’re the very best in the world at what you do. I bet there are times in your life when you have everything you need: Food. Clothes. House. Cars. Everything. And yet, you don’t feel peace. Am I right? I bet there are times in your life when you are surrounded by the people you love: Vacation. Thanksgiving. Christmas. And yet, you don’t feel peace. Does that happen to you? Isn’t that surprising? Confusing? True peace in your heart is hard to find. Do you agree? Jesus wants you to find it. He wants you to find true peace for the deepest places of your heart.

You wouldn’t know it from the verses I just read, but our lesson happened on a very famous day. Can you guess what day? Palm Sunday! Most of you have heard of Palm Sunday, right? It was the day that Jesus entered Jerusalem at the beginning of Holy Week. Palm Sunday was a joyful day! Remember what the people did? As Jesus rode on a donkey, the people put palm branches on the road in front of him, like he was a king. They said, “Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” (Luke 19:38). What a joyful day!

Except, as they got close to Jerusalem, Jesus started crying. Did you know that? To get to Jerusalem, Jesus had to ride down the Mount of Olives. As he rode down that mountain, Jesus could see the whole city of Jerusalem spread out before him. And what did he do? “He wept over it.” Jesus started crying. There’s only one other time that we hear about Jesus weeping in the Bible. It was when his good friend Lazarus died. With the same grief that you have at the loss of a friend, Jesus wept over the people of Jerusalem and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.” They had no peace.

Why? Because those people were looking for it in all the wrong places. This chapter starts with the story of Zacchaeus. Remember him? The wee little man who climbed up in a sycamore tree? Zacchaeus was a tax collector. Where do you think he searched for peace? In money. Zacchaeus was very wealthy. But did he find true peace in all his wealth? Well, do people who are at peace climb sycamore trees? No! Despite his wealth, Zacchaeus had no peace. He was a desperate man.

Next, we hear that the people who were following Jesus “thought that the kingdom of God was going to appear at once” (Luke 19:11). Know what they were searching for peace in? Politics. In Jesus’ day, people hoped that the promised Savior would drive the Romans out of Palestine and make Israel a free nation again. Then they were going to have peace. When the Romans were gone, there would be peace! Did that ever happen? No. Did politics bring them peace? No way!

Finally, at the end of our lesson, we hear where the Jewish leaders were looking for peace. Did you catch it? In killing Jesus. If they could just get rid of Jesus, then they would have peace. If they could end this painful relationship and change the people around them, then they would have peace. Or so they thought. Of course, they eventually did kill Jesus. Did that bring them peace? No! This broke Jesus’ heart! He looked at his people and wept: “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”

Now imagine if Jesus today were to climb up Turkey Mountain and look down over the city of Tulsa. What do you think he would do? Weep. Not in anger. In compassion. Don’t you think he could and would say the same thing about our city? About our world? “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes.”

Don’t we search for peace in all the same, wrong places those people long ago did? Like Zacchaeus, we think, “If I just had a lot of money, I’d have peace.” Don’t you think that? The lottery is at what, like $1.8 billion? “If I could just win the lottery, I’d have peace.” Is that true? No. Or, like the people of Jesus day, we put our hope in politics. “If we could just get ____________ in office, then everything will be good.” Does that work? No. Never! Or, like those religious leaders, we think what we need is a relationship change. “If I could just find someone to marry, I would have peace.” Ironically, there are also people thinking, “If I could just get divorced, then I would have peace.” Is that true? No. We’re looking in all the wrong places.

Here’s how Jesus put it: “You did not recognize the time of God’s coming to you.” True peace was right before their eyes. Where? Jesus! God himself had come to them! Jesus had taught them about sin and grace and repentance and forgiveness. Jesus had healed the sick and made the lame walk and even raised the dead. Jesus had walked on water and fed thousands of people at a time. Jesus had promised them that whoever believes in him has eternal life. God himself had come to save them! But they didn’t see him. Well, they did see him, but they didn’t believe in him.

What would be the result? Did you hear what Jesus said? “The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and your children within your walls.” That sounds awful! Do you know what Jesus was talking about? The destruction of Jerusalem. Forty years later, in 70 A.D., the Romans marched to Jerusalem and laid a siege around the city. When the people starved to death, they destroyed the whole city. When you look for peace in the wrong places, it doesn’t just leave you with an anxious heart. It leads to judgment and destruction.

So where can we find true peace? “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace…” What was Jesus talking about? Himself! We said this was Palm Sunday. What did Jesus come on Palm Sunday to do? Die on the cross to save us from our sins. Rise from the dead to give us eternal life. Show us the great love of God for you and me. This is what made Jesus weep: “I’m right here! I’m right here for you! True peace comes from me.” Jesus’ heart is filled with compassion for us, and he offers us true peace through his forgiveness and grace.

Last week, someone from our church sent me a text that was wonderful for me as a pastor to read. They said, “I’m going through a hard time. Do you know any Bible verses I could use right now?” What a great request! I responded, “Nope. No idea. Sorry!” No, I didn’t! Here’s what I sent: “Do not fear; for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9). “Praise be to the LORD, to God our Savior, who daily bears our burdens” (Psalm 68:19). “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28). This is where true peace is found: In Jesus and his Word!

Even if you are not rich in money, Jesus has made you rich with his forgiveness and grace. All your sins were forgiven at the cross. Know what that gives you? Peace! Even if the world—or our country—is like a mess, Jesus is with us always, to the very end of the age. Know what that gives you? Peace! Even if your relationships today are rocky, even if other people seem to be cutting you off, Jesus will never leave you or forsake you. Know what that gives you? Peace! Jesus doesn’t want anyone to go through life without peace. True peace comes from Jesus!

But… this rather surprising lesson from God’s Word goes on. After weeping over Jerusalem, the next day, Jesus went to the temple. Now, based on all that we just talked about, what would you expect to find at the temple—at their church? Peace, right? The peace of God! But what did Jesus find? People selling stuff. All the out-of-town travelers needed to buy animals for their sacrifices, so businessmen had moved right onto the temple grounds. God’s house had become a den of robbers. There was no peace, because greed and sin had made their way even into church.

We need to hear this. It’s not just going to church that brings true peace. It’s really easy to go through the motions. It’s really easy to sin, even when you go to church. I talked with a man recently who asked, “How come the people I know who go to church are all mean and say curse words and don’t care about other people?” May God forgive us for when that describes us!

How can our church be a place where true peace is found? One word: Repentance. Do you know what repentance is? Repentance is to turn away from sin and turn to Jesus for salvation. That’s what Christianity is all about. It’s every Sunday, every day, in humility, going to Jesus and saying, “I’m a sinner. But you’re my Savior. Forgive me!” And what does Jesus say? “I have!” Jesus wants to give you true peace. In fact, when we live without peace, it makes Jesus weep. He loves you so much! Jesus wants to give you true peace for the deepest places of your heart.

Our last song today goes like this: “My soul finds rest in God alone, my rock and my salvation; a fortress strong against my foes, and I will not be shaken. Though lips may bless and hearts may curse, and lies like arrows pierce me, I’ll fix my heart on righteousness, I’ll look to him who hears me.” My soul finds rest in God alone. Can you say that? It’s hard, isn’t it? There are so many other things we look for rest in. But true peace comes from finding rest in God alone. “If you, even you, had only known…what would bring you peace.” You know! It’s Jesus.

After that famous golfer said all that stuff about winning not being fulfilling, something ironic happened. That weekend, he won the British Open! People wondered if he would take back what he had said earlier. “Winning really does satisfy, doesn’t it?” But he said, “At the end of the day, having success in life, whether it be in golf, work, whatever it is, that’s not what fulfills the deepest desires of your heart.” So, where should we look, Scottie? He said, “I would say my greatest priorities are my faith and my family.” He’s right! True peace comes from Jesus.

(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)