Psalms 8:1 and 16:2
My Shepherd met me in His green pastures and laid me down in Luke 23. The Mind of the Spirit greeted the spirit of my mind in verse 28:
Luke 23:28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.
Not every Jew consented to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ (Luke 23:50-51). Not every Jew called for the curse of innocent blood upon themselves and their children (Matthew 27:25). In the large crowd that followed Him to Calvary, many women bewailed (beat their breast in grief over) Him (Luke 23:27). It does not seem likely these women consented to His crucifixion. Yet, Jesus discerned they did not understand the situation rightly. He turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.”
He warned them of what was coming upon them and their children for the crime occurring before them (Luke 23:29-30). He thought of the sorrow that was coming into their lives and encouraged them to “weep for yourselves,” not for Him.
Then He said, “If they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” (Luke 23:31).
Along the still waters, I thought about how many view the Cross sentimentally. We recoil at the horrors inflicted upon Jesus, and perhaps sometimes feel sorry for Him. Jesus dismisses this sentimental response to the Cross when it is absent the understanding that the crime perpetrated by the wicked on that day brings dire consequences upon many innocent of that crime. These “Daughters of Jerusalem” did not understand that the injustice inflicted upon the son of David opened the door to much evil that would afflict even those who were opposed to the deed. That’s what sin does: it opens the door to evil and brings misery into the world, touching the lives even of those who did not participate in the sin.
What impressed my heart in this story is that Jesus did not comfort the Daughters and say, “Don’t be concerned for Me; what I’m doing is to provide salvation for you and your children.” That would be true! However, they were not repenting of their sin, or grieving over the hideous behavior of those who cried “Crucify Him,” and who turned Jesus over to the torture of the Cross. Some say they were professional mourners. Maybe! Certainly, they were sentimentally affected by the spectacle and pitied Him. Jesus redirected them to the consequences of such evil occurring in the world. If these people would do this in a “green tree,” at a time when the tree was full of leaves and promise of fruit, what will they do in the time past harvest, when the tree is dry?
He was not talking about what GOD would do! He was talking about what “they” will do. Consider that this is how they treat a perfectly good and innocent person when God is blessing them, favoring them, giving to them His only begotten Son that they might be saved. What do you expect they will do when they are past the time of fruitbearing, “in the dry” season? He is warning them to think about what “they” are bringing upon themselves and upon the “Daughters of Jerusalem.” They rejected the Son of God and killed the Son of David in the day He could be accepted, in the “green tree.” But when the tree can bear no fruit of righteousness, when it is dry, and dead, and they recognize Jesus as the LAMB of Him that “sitteth upon the throne”:
Revelation 6:15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
Revelation 6:16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
Revelation 6:17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
They saw Him as a man mistreated, and failed to receive the Baptist’s message and recognize Him as the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29). See Him as the Lamb of God now, in the “green tree” when you can be saved.
In the valley, shadowed by His Cross, I contemplated the significance of what Jesus said to the Daughters of Jerusalem. See His suffering as God’s sacrificial Lamb to cover our sins and be saved. For even if we are moved with sentimental sympathy at the mistreatment of the “man Christ Jesus,” if we do not acknowledge that He is the only mediator between GOD and man for salvation from our sin (1 Timothy 2:5), His suffering will not relieve us of our guilt; rather, it will remain, and the LAMB will lay the fullness of the judgment of God upon us for all our guilt.
Jesus said, “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me” (Luke 9:23). Follow Him to Calvary, and join Him there (Galatians 2:20). And from there, follow His steps (1 Peter 2:21).
At the table, He anointed my head with His oil and filled my cup with His grace. Goodness and mercy came up behind as we entered into the harvest.
Praying for revival! 🙏
Going live asap:
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