Jesus wept.  It’s the shortest verse in the Bible.  The thing is, Jesus wept more than once.

The first time Christ cried was at the death of his friend Lazarus.

“Jesus wept.  Then the Jews said, ‘See how he loved him.'” (Jn. 11.35-36)

Jesus weeps over people.  Those who have lost loved ones and the loved one that he had to call out of the presence of God and back to life here on earth.  The second incidence occurred at his triumphal entry.

“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it.” (Lk. 19.41)

Jesus loves and weeps over people AND cities.  God loves every human AND the concrete jungles they find themselves in.  Ray Bakke observes that the Bible refers to cities over 1250 times and that the Bible begins in a garden but ends in a city.  Additionally, Jesus sees churches and cities as one in the same (Rev. 2-3).  As a matter of fact, when Jesus evaluates the seven churches of Revelation he does so in light of the city in which they are located.

God’s people weep over people.  God’s people weep over their cities.  When Nehemiah heard about the trouble his people were in and the condition of the city in which they lived he wrote, “When I heard these things, I sat down and wept.” (Neh. 1.4)

When it comes to the plight of people AND the condition of your city, what breaks your heart?