Mt 14:22-33
41As he drew near [to Jerusalem], [Jesus] saw the city and wept over it, 42saying, “If this day you only knew what makes for peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes. 43For the days are coming upon you when your enemies will raise a palisade against you; they will encircle you and hem you in on all sides. 44They will smash you to the ground and your children within you, and they will not leave one stone upon another within you because you did not recognize the time of your visitation.”
JESUS WEPT OVER JERUSALEM: The gospels mention Jesus weeping twice. Aside from today’s Gospel reading, Jesus also weeps at the death of his friend Lazarus (Jn 11:35). These occasions witness to the fact that Jesus is truly human, experiencing the gamut of human emotions.
Jesus weeps because he laments the blindness of Jerusalem to his mission as the awaited Son of David. In this way, he aligns his mission to that of the prophet Jeremiah (born around 650 BC). Jeremiah supported the reforms of King Josiah. After the king died, Israel fell back to idolatry. The prophet Jeremiah lamented this show of obstinacy by Jerusalem and by all of Israel (Jer 8:18-23). As consequence, Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians. For his prophetic boldness, Jeremiah was arrested, imprisoned, publicly disgraced, and forced into exile in Egypt. There is even an old tradition that says that the prophet was murdered by his own countrymen.
Similarly, Jesus is on his way to Jerusalem where he will be arrested, imprisoned, disgraced, and crucified by his own people. He weeps not for himself but for the tragedy that will befall the city. On the way to Calvary, he will tell the women of Jerusalem who mourn and lament him: “Do not weep for me; weep instead for yourselves and for your children” (Lk 23:28).