About a week before his crucifixion Jesus was approaching Jerusalem and started weeping. He gave his reasons in Luke 19:42, "If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you". It was a prophecy about the future, a prophecy that would be fulfilled within the lifetime of many who were listening. A few days later he spoke again about Jerusalem, recorded in Luke 21:20, "When you see Jerusalem being surrounded by armies, you will know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those in the city get out, and let those in the country not enter the city".

What's going to happen, why was it going to happen? Jesus answers in the very next sentence, "For this is the time of punishment in fulfillment of all that has been written". More punishment, can't they get anything right? Well the fact is that the situation was a complex one, but the crux of it was that, for various reasons, the majority of Jews, particularly the leadership, failed to recognized Jesus as the promised Messiah. This was the major sin and one to have very serious repercussions. But back to history …

Pilate was recalled to Rome in 36 AD, the same year that Herod Antipas suffered a heavy defeat in battle, followed by a falling out with the Romans. Next in line for control was Herod Agrippa, made King of Galilee and Judaea by the crazy emperor Caligula in Rome. Meanwhile, in 40 AD, there was trouble a-brewing in western Judaea. Some Gentiles had erected an altar in the emperor's honour, which was torn down by God-fearing Jews. Caligula retaliated by insisting that his statue should be erected in the Temple itself, in Jerusalem - shades of Antiochus Epiphanes! Thanks to an urgent intervention by Agrippa, Caligula relented and was assassinated shortly afterwards by the Roman authorities who couldn't find a constitutional way of getting rid of such a maniac. But the whole episode made Jews, particularly the growing band who put their faith in the resurrected Jesus of Nazareth, very nervous indeed. Herod Agrippa was no friend of these people, beginning to persecute them. He put James th e brother of Jesus to death and threw Simon Peter into prison. We read of these things in Acts 12. Herod came to a grisly end though - being eaten by worms (verse 23), after proclaiming himself a god (he'd obviously spent far too much time in Rome).

The King is dead, long live the procurator - yes we were now back to direct rule from Rome. The first was Fadus, who was succeeded in 46 AD by Alexander, a Jew who had abandoned the faith of his fathers. This was the time of a severe famine in the land, which we read of in Acts 11:27-30, with Paul and Barnabas organizing relief efforts. In the next few years the Jews were becoming less and less pleased with the Roman occupying army, who cared little of the religious sensibilities of the natives. A growing band of Jewish rebels, springing from the zealot movement in Jesus' day, was now roaming the countryside, not averse to an occasional assassination of pro-Roman Jews. The high priesthood was a mess, now the property of a few Sadducee families and the actions of one of these, Ananias, can be read in Acts 23:1-5, at the trial of Paul before the Sanhedrin.

The Jewish revolt against the Romans began in 66AD in an aggressive backlash against the latest procurator, the greedy Florus, who raided the Temple treasures. This provoked a Roman response, which included random crucifixion. The final act prior to all out war was the refusal of a priest, Eleazar, to make the daily sacrifice for the emperor's welfare. The Zealots now took the opportunity to march to Jerusalem, forcing the Roman forces to surrender. Rome was stung, but retaliated with massive force, with Titus, the son of the emperor attacking the city in 70 AD. On August 29th, on the anniversary of the destruction of the First Temple by the Babylonians, the city was in Roman hands and destroyed. Jews were slaughtered or enslaved and 700 of them were dragged back to Rome as part of the triumphal procession, which included the Temple treasures.

So, sadly and inevitably, the two prophecies that Jesus made over Jerusalem were now fulfilled, some 40 years later. The only saving grace was that some did listen to his words. Jewish Christians, mindful of his warning in Luke 21:20, left Jerusalem when they saw the Roman armies approaching, fleeing to Pella on the east side of the River Jordan. The land of Israel was again purged of most of its Jewish population and this exile was to prove far longer than the exile under the Babylonians. Meanwhile the faith that grew from the teachings, death and resurrection of Jesus of Nazareth spread throughout the Roman Empire, challenging the dominant Greek culture. European history for the next few centuries was to be molded by this faith, while the Jews were to languish in the miseries of exile for 19 centuries.