John Calvin Commentary Luke 19:41

"And when he drew nigh, he saw the city and wept over it," — Luke 19:41 (ASV)

And wept over it. As there was nothing that Christ more ardently desired than to carry out the office that the Father had entrusted to him, and as he knew that the purpose of his calling was to gather the lost sheep of the house of Israel (Matthew 15:24), he wished that his coming would bring salvation to all. This was the reason why he was moved with compassion and wept over the approaching destruction of the city of Jerusalem.

For while he reflected that this was the sacred dwelling place God had chosen, in which the covenant of eternal salvation was to dwell — the sanctuary from which salvation would go out to the whole world, it was impossible for him not to deeply deplore its ruin.

And when he saw the people, who had been adopted to the hope of eternal life, perishing miserably through their ingratitude and wickedness, it is no wonder that he could not refrain from tears.

As to those who think it strange that Christ should lament an evil that he had the power to remedy, this difficulty is quickly removed. For as he came down from heaven, so that, clothed in human flesh, he might be the witness and minister of the salvation that comes from God, he actually took on human feelings, as far as the office he had undertaken allowed.

We must always give due consideration to the role he fulfills when he speaks or when he is engaged in accomplishing the salvation of humanity. As in this passage, so that he might faithfully carry out his Father’s commission, he must necessarily desire that the fruit of redemption would come to the whole body of the elect people.

Since, therefore, he was given to this people as a minister for salvation, it is consistent with the nature of his office for him to deplore its destruction.

He was God, I acknowledge; but on all occasions when it was necessary for him to perform the office of teacher, his divinity rested and was, in a way, concealed, so that it would not hinder what pertained to him as Mediator.

By this weeping he proved not only that he loved, like a brother, those for whom he became man, but also that God caused the Spirit of fatherly love to flow into human nature.