If this day you only knew what makes for peace…you would have recognized the time of your visitation. We look back at the events that happened in Jerusalem (the destruction of the city by the Romans in the year 70 AD) and, with a shake of our heads, join Jesus in lamenting the fate that befell it. For just as Jesus had predicted, Jerusalem got reduced to rubbles when the Romans overran it. Even Jerusalem’s prize possession, the temple, was not spared. Could this have been avoided? Could Jerusalem have been spared the fate that befell it? We might be inclined to say that the disaster that visited Jerusalem could have been avoided. But as Jesus bemoaned, Jerusalem was yet to know what makes for peace. Unfortunately for her, her ignorance (or was it her stubborn refusal?) proved calamitous. When it was all said and done, no stone was left standing upon another stone.
Jesus is the prince of peace, the embodiment of non-violence. As a member of the Jewish nation, he clearly understood the situation in which his people had found themselves and felt the pain his community was undergoing. But he also knew that violence was not the answer. He was pushed from every side to lead a revolution that was believed would wrestle his people from Roman rule, but he resisted. He wanted a peaceful resolution, and he had brought it. But his people rejected a peaceful means. They rejected him and everything that he stood for.
As much as Jesus would have wanted his people to embrace him, he was not going to force them for doing so would have gone against what he was about. The people were free to make their choice and to chart their future. But Jesus also made sure they knew that choices have consequences. Jerusalem rejected Jesus and in doing so, sealed their fate. Since Jerusalem did not know what makes for peace (or rather they rejected it), she missed out on her day of visitation (salvation).