41 And when he came nigh, having seen the city, he wept over it, 42 saying—'If thou didst know, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things for thy peace; but now they were hid from thine eyes. 43 'Because days shall come upon thee, and thine enemies shall cast around thee a rampart, and compass thee round, and press thee on every side, 44 and lay thee low, and thy children within thee, and they shall not leave in thee a stone upon a stone, because thou didst not know the time of thy inspection.'
45 And having entered into the temple, he began to cast forth those selling in it, and those buying, 46 saying to them, 'It hath been written, My house is a house of prayer—but ye made it a den of robbers.' 47 And he was teaching daily in the temple, but the chief priests and the scribes were seeking to destroy him—also the chiefs of the people— 48 and they were not finding what they shall do, for all the people were hanging on him, hearing him.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Luke 19:41-48
Commentary on Luke 19:41-48
(Read Luke 19:41-48)
Who can behold the holy Jesus, looking forward to the miseries that awaited his murderers, weeping over the city where his precious blood was about to be shed, without seeing that the likeness of God in the believer, consists much in good-will and compassion? Surely those cannot be right who take up any doctrines of truth, so as to be hardened towards their fellow-sinners. But let every one remember, that though Jesus wept over Jerusalem, he executed awful vengeance upon it. Though he delights not in the death of a sinner, yet he will surely bring to pass his awful threatenings on those who neglect his salvation. The Son of God did not weep vain and causeless tears, nor for a light matter, nor for himself. He knows the value of souls, the weight of guilt, and how low it will press and sink mankind. May he then come and cleanse our hearts by his Spirit, from all that defiles. May sinners, on every side, become attentive to the words of truth and salvation.