Jesus raised His hand,--that had so often blessed the sick and suffering,--and waving it toward the doomed city, in broken utterances of grief exclaimed: "If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace!--" Here the Saviour paused, and left unsaid what might have been the condition of Jerusalem 577 had she accepted the help that God desired to give her,--the gift of His beloved Son. If Jerusalem had known what it was her privilege to know, and had heeded the light which Heaven had sent her, she might have stood forth in the pride of prosperity, the queen of kingdoms, free in the strength of her God-given power. There would have been no armed soldiers standing at her gates, no Roman banners waving from her walls. The glorious destiny that might have blessed Jerusalem had she accepted her Redeemer rose before the Son of God. He saw that she might through Him have been healed of her grievous malady, liberated from bondage, and established as the mighty metropolis of the earth. From her walls the dove of peace would have gone forth to all nations. She would have been the world's diadem of glory.

Jesus hævede sin hånd, denne hånd, der så ofte havde velsignet de syge og lidende, og medens han rakte den frem mod den dømte by, udbrød han, undertiden afbrudt af sin sorg: "Vidste blot også du på denne dag, hvad der tjener til din fred! Her standsede Frelseren og lod det forblive usagt, hvordan Jerusalems tilstand kunne have været, hvis den havde modtaget den hjælp, som Gud ønskede at give den, den gave, som var hans elskede Søn. Hvis Jerusalem havde vidst, hvad den var udvalgt til at vide, og havde givet agt på det lys, som Himmelen havde sendt den, så kunne den være trådt frem i den stolteste lykke, som dronning over rigerne, fri ved sin gudgivne magts kraft. Der ville ikke have stået bevæbnede soldater ved dens porte, ikke have vajet romerske bannere fra dens mure. Den lykkelige skæbne, der kunne være blevet Jerusalem til del, hvis den havde taget mod sin Frelser, viste sig for Guds Søns øjne. Han så, at den ved hjælp af ham kunne have fået lægedom for sin frygtelige sygdom, være blevet befriet for sin trældom og blevet gjort til verdens mægtige hovedstad. Fra dens mure ville fredsduen være fløjet ud til alle folkeslag. Den ville være blevet en ærens krone for hele verden.