Expositor's Bible Commentary Commentary Luke 19:43

"For the days shall come upon thee, when thine enemies shall cast up a bank about thee, and compass thee round, and keep thee in on every side," — Luke 19:43 (ASV)

Jesus is still outside the city of Jerusalem as he utters this lament. Once more Luke focuses on Jesus’ concern for the city (cf. 13:34) and adds his prediction of its destruction, a prediction not given in 13:34. The day of peace has finally arrived, but the city, whose very name means “peace,” has failed to recognize it. For a further description of Jerusalem’s fate, see 21:20–24. “God’s coming” has here the sense of a “visitation” that brings good or ill—in this case, either salvation or judgment.

The term “Christ” is, of course, used here, not as a proper name, but as a title, “the Messiah” (see comment on Mk 8:29–30). The Messiah was commonly understood by the Jewish people to be a Son. If this is so, the question is why David calls his messianic descendant his “Lord” in Ps 110:1. Although the rabbis of the first Christian centuries did not interpret “to my Lord” as referring to the Messiah, that is the only meaning that makes sense here.