“Now as He drew near, He saw the city and wept over it, saying, ‘If you had known, even you, especially in this your day, the things that make for your peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes.’”
— Luke 19:41–42 (NKJV)
There are moments in Scripture that feel like hinges upon which history turns, and Luke’s account of our Lord’s approach to Jerusalem is surely one of them. The scene appears triumphant. The crowds are rejoicing, garments are laid upon the road, and the disciples proclaim, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38; cf. Psalm 118:26). Yet as Jesus draws near and sees the city, He weeps. His lament is not merely personal sorrow; it carries judicial weight. “If you had known, even you, especially in this your day… But now they are hidden from your eyes.”
Two expressions demand attention: “this your day” and “now… hidden.” The language does not merely describe a long-standing condition. It marks a moment.
Israel had known spiritual resistance before. The Lord had spoken through the prophet, “Keep on hearing, but do not understand; Keep on seeing, but do not perceive.” (Isaiah 6:9–10). That passage is later cited in the Gospels to explain the people’s response to Christ (see Matthew 13:14–15). There had been hardness and covenant unfaithfulness across generations. Yet Scripture distinguishes between ongoing resistance and judicial confirmation.
Pharaoh, we are told, “Pharaoh’s heart grew hard.” (Exodus 8:15), and later, “the Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh.” (Exodus 9:12). Human refusal reaches a point at which divine judgment seals what has already been chosen. In Luke nineteen, as the Messiah enters the city that bears the name of peace, we appear to witness such a sealing. Jesus does not say merely that Jerusalem has been blind; He says that on “this your day” something has shifted. The opportunity has matured. The visitation has arrived. And now peace is hidden.
He continues, “because you did not know the time of your visitation.” (Luke 19:44). The word visitation echoes the language of divine intervention and oversight, as in Psalm 106:4: “Oh, visit me with Your salvation.” This was not another prophet among many; this was the King Himself, long promised in Zechariah 9:9: “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!… Behold, your King is coming to you; He is just and having salvation, lowly and riding on a donkey.” The prophecy was unfolding before their eyes.
If ever there were a climactic hour of covenant responsibility, this was it. Daniel had spoken of the coming of “Messiah the Prince.” (Daniel 9:25–26). The psalms had prepared the language of welcome. Yet the city did not recognise the moment. “This your day” implies divine appointment. When such a day is refused, history does not simply drift onward unchanged.
The consequences are immediately foretold: “For days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment around you… and level you, and your children within you, to the ground; and they will not leave in you one stone upon another.” (Luke 19:43–44). Within a generation, in AD 70, those words were fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem. The rejection of the Prince of Peace did not secure peace; it led to devastation. Jerusalem, whose name speaks of peace, did not know “the things that make for your peace.”
It is vital, however, to understand the nature of this blinding. It is national and covenantal, not the instantaneous condemnation of every individual Jew. The apostles were Jews. The early believers in Jerusalem were Jews (Acts 2:5, 41). Luke records that “a great many of the priests were obedient to the faith.” (Acts 6:7). Throughout Scripture, national judgment coexists with a faithful remnant. Elijah once believed himself alone, yet the Lord said, “Yet I have reserved seven thousand in Israel, all whose knees have not bowed to Baal.” (1 Kings 19:18; cf. Romans 11:4).
The blinding pronounced in Luke nineteen falls upon Jerusalem as representative of the nation. It is corporate. It concerns covenant administration. A remnant called into salvation does not negate national accountability.
Here we must also maintain the distinction Scripture itself maintains. Israel is Israel — a covenant nation rooted in promises given to Abraham (Genesis 12:1–3; 15:18) and confirmed to David (2 Samuel 7:12–16). The Church, by contrast, is described as “His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.” (Ephesians 1:22–23) and as “the bride, the Lamb’s wife.” (Revelation 21:9). Paul speaks of the Church as a mystery “which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men.” (Ephesians 3:5–6). When Jewish believers entered the Church, they were not perpetuating Israel’s national covenant; they were incorporated into a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
The judicial blinding of Luke nineteen therefore concerns Israel as covenant nation. Those called into the Church — whether Jew or Gentile — stand in a different sphere of promise and identity.
Yet Scripture does not present Israel’s hardening as final. Romans 11:7–8 declares, “Israel has not obtained what it seeks; but the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded.” Paul then writes, “God has given them a spirit of stupor, eyes that they should not see and ears that they should not hear.” But he immediately qualifies the scope and duration: “Blindness in part has happened to Israel until the fullness of the Gentiles has come in.” (Romans 11:25). The hardening is partial and temporary. He concludes with the promise, “And so all Israel will be saved.” (Romans 11:26).
The prophets likewise anticipate a future unveiling. Zechariah declares, “They will look on Me whom they pierced; Yes, they will mourn for Him.” (Zechariah 12:10). What was hidden will be seen. What was rejected will be recognised.
Seen in that light, there is a solemn symmetry between two entrances into Jerusalem. The first, recorded in Luke nineteen, is marked by humility, tears, and rejection. The second is described in Revelation 19:11–16, and earlier we are told, “Behold, He is coming with clouds, and every eye will see Him.” (Revelation 1:7). On the first entry, peace was hidden. On the second, concealment will give way to revelation.
One final detail must remain central: Jesus wept. Judicial blinding is not a cold abstraction. It is grief-filled judgment. The Lord does not delight in sealing blindness; He laments it. The King who pronounces concealment is the King whose heart breaks over the city.
Luke nineteen therefore stands as more than an episode within the Passion narrative. It marks a covenantal turning point. “This your day” signals opportunity brought to fulfilment. “Now… hidden” signals a decisive shift in national history. From that moment, the path toward destruction and dispersion unfolds, even as God’s purposes move forward in gathering the Church from every tribe and nation, including a remnant from Israel itself.
Between two triumphal entries stretches the present age. The first brought judicial blinding upon the nation. The second will bring unveiling. And the Lord who wept as He approached Jerusalem remains faithful to every promise He has spoken.
Thank you Saltwood for this beautifully written piece -packed with v impt scripture references.
In the midst of this profoundly sad story, I note with great pleasure that you are careful to record that a significant number of Jews, including priests, Levites and rabbis, did put their trust in Yeshua.
It has, therefore, become my belief that much greater emphasis needs to be placed by biblical expositors upon this believing remnant of Israel, especially in the context of today’s rising Jew hatred.
Jesus said to a Gentile woman, ” I was sent ONLY to the lost sheep of the House of Israel.” A reasonable question that might arise from this passage is, “Was the work of Christ among his own people, at his first coming, a success or a failure?”
I believe it is important to note, in this regard, that the first 9 chapters of the book of Acts make almost NO reference to Gentiles! They are almost exclusively concerned with the emergence of the believing remnant of Israel!
These were the first “living stones” to be placed on the “Chief Cornerstone, chosen and precious,” which itself was laid “in Zion,” and not among the Gentiles.
Only AFTER, these first Jewish living stones were placed on the Chief Cornerstone, did the work of building the worldwide Church commence!
Therefore, it could be fairly said that Christ BEGAN the renewal of Israel at his First Coming, and he will COMPLETE that renewal at his Second Coming!
His initial renewal of Israel led to the worldwide Gospel
The completion of Israel’s renewal will usher in the worldwide Kingdom of God, as Christ reigns from Jerusalem, amidst a now fully holy people, never again to leave them.
God bless you
Chris