Jesus, facing the main city, exclaimed, “Oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones the messengers of God. How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen protects her chicks under her wings, but you would not let me.”

Jerusalem housed bustling markets, crowded streets, inns for pilgrims, and clusters of modest houses, as well as larger residences for some of the city’s most prominent residents. But above all, it contained the fabulous temple of Solomon.

Anyone who arrived in the city touched the heart of Palestine. That’s why God sent many prophets to attract His people and embrace them with love. However, Jerusalem killed the messengers one by one and chose to quietly distance itself from the Creator.

To ease their conscience, they turned the city into a center of religious pilgrimage; they traded their intimate relationship with God for a set of endless rituals. In essence, they chose to separate from the Creator, giving the appearance of being close to Him.

Doesn’t Jerusalem resemble our modern cities? Don’t its inhabitants resemble us today? They ended up killing the Savior; we are gradually excluding Him from our lives.