Scripture: And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Luke 23:27-31 ESV
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Observation: Recapping yesterday’s Daily Focus, when Pilate learns that Jesus fell under the jurisdiction of the tetrarch Herod Antipas, he schemes to delegate responsibility to Herod to interrogate and sentence Jesus. The plan initially works out well because Herod is eager to meet Jesus and see him perform a miraculous sign. So he questions Jesus for some length, but Jesus remains silent, to Herod’s disappointment. So, enough of this tedious matter. Aided by his soldiers, Herod entertains himself by toying with Jesus, dressing him with fine linens, and mocking him. Once the taunting is over, Herod sends Jesus back to Pilate, and, ironically, this incident spurs reconciliation between the two, who set aside their grievances.
Skipping the segment covering Pilate’s second interaction with the chief priests and his accommodation of their demand to crucify Jesus (covered in our review of Matthew), in the above passage, we learn that many followed Jesus as he trudged weakened, battered, and bleeding to Golgotha, while Simon of Cyrene carried his cross. Among the crowd that followed him were the faithful women who had served him for the past three years, and many, being deeply sorrowful, wailed over him. Yet, in his weakened state, Jesus manages to turn and address them and warn them of Jerusalem’s looming fate.
Alluding to his earlier prediction (21:20-24), Jesus foretells a day of reckoning, where women will wish they had not borne children to see and experience such horrendous persecution. They will desire to end the suffering, beckoning the mountains that otherwise symbolize protection to fall on them. His final warning, a cryptic metaphor, points to how worse life will be when Jerusalem faces the consequences of crucifying their Messiah (the living Word that is green wood) and suppressing God’s word (which becomes highly combustible dry wood in their hearts).
Takeaway: Indeed, sparked by a failed uprising in 66 CE, the next four years would issue unimaginable and unmitigated suffering, culminating with Roman garrisons successfully breaching Jerusalem’s walls and torching the city to rubble. It is the first shock wave of the Day of Judgment foretold by Hosea, where the suffering will be so intense that people will long to die and have the mountains and hills bury them (Hosea 10:8). But Jesus’ words reach far beyond our now-but-not-yet age to the tribulation before his return when godless people will take refuge in caves and crevices, only then to cry out to these temporal safeguards of nature to entomb them and hide them from the Lamb who comes with wrathful righteousness to invoke final judgment (Revelation 6:15-17).
Now, consider that he directed this doom and gloom prophecy to women who love him and served him faithfully these past three years. Some may live long enough to see and suffer through the four-year war, culminating in the razing of Jerusalem and its temple. But imagine how they must have felt. Hopeless? Perhaps. Regardless, their outlook will dramatically change in three days from despair to joy when they behold the resurrection power of their risen Lord. Moreover, in fifty more days, they will witness the Holy Spirit descend like tongues of fire on Jesus’ disciples, empowering them to risk life and limb to grow God’s kingdom and glorify the Father and Son.
Our takeaway? All who come to faith in Christ experience the razing of our willful ways that lead to utter despair if left unchecked. That said, like the women who followed Jesus, we will see the restoration of heavy hearts when we surrender to him and submit to the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit. When we do, he covers us with inexplicable joy that is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10) and the otherworldly peace of Christ (John 14:27) that passes our understanding (Philippians 4:7).
Our part? We stop running from ourselves and God and be still before him (Psalm 46:10) as the Holy Spirit reveals our self-reliant and failing coping mechanisms. The Holy Spirit then provokes a hunger in us to please the One who died for us. It’s transformative, for the fear of suffering that once consumed us is overwhelmed by Divine Love that bears the fruit of joy and peace and empowers us to press into the fray to grow Christ’s kingdom and glorify his name.
Prayer: Father God, we thank you for your Son, who faced suffering and anguish that we will never know, all for our sake. And we thank you that though suffering is inevitable, we have redemption through the fellowship and the resurrection power of your Son (Philippians 3:9-11). With that in mind, please help us surrender to your Son and submit to the lead of your Holy Spirit, who transforms our suffering from fear and sorrow into supernatural joy and peace that empowers us to grow your kingdom and glorify your name. Amen.
Rev. Gordon Green, M.Div., M.A. Counseling
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