Text: Luke 23:27-31 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
Introduction:
So far we have studied:
I. The arrest of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane and Peter’s subsequent denial.
II. The rejection of the Jewish people of their Messiah, and finding in Him nothing of value.
Now, we find the Lord:
o Already thrice beaten, and weary from a long night and turbulent morning as He enters the beginnings of His sufferings.
o His back has already been laid bare (the half-death), and the smiters have driven deep furrows there. His precious blood was already spilling to the ground.
o Exhaustion is surely setting in.
o As He walked the path to Golgotha, the hardened Roman soldiers, in fear that the beaten, swollen, bloody Son of Man would expire ere ever He reached the place of His blessed mediatorship: His altar of burnt offering, hanging between Heaven and earth, that they conscript one Simon the Cyrene to carry His cross the rest of the distance.
What excitement this must have aroused in the bloody city of Jerusalem! A great company now follows the Spotless Lamb to the place of His execution.
Whom think ye do we find in that crowd?
o No doubt the scoffers are there. They will have there say before the day is through. “Physician, heal thyself,” will they render as due payment for their scorn of all things holy and pure.
o We also can trace in that crowd the bloodthirsty, who seek nothing less than to be entertained by the sufferings of others. Oh, fallen nature of man! Is this not enough? Is your depravity and blood lust not yet fully spent? But no, there awaits more than forty million followers of this very Lamb that will fall into your hands before His full return to exact final justice and hold thee responsible, when He comes into the physical inheritance of His kingly throne.
o Perhaps even good men are there, though they be scarce, and have come to see that justice is had. But however good such an one may be, are there not black stains of sins as yet unrepented that soil their garments? They have not come to mock the Son of Man. He has done them no injury. But their tragedy is that this Son of Man means nothing to them! He, who knew no sin, is numbered with the transgressors for the sins of the people. But, alas, good men also perish, and in their end, what preparations were made for eternity? For goodness alone can never purchase pardon, and by upright and refined character no man has ever purchased passage into that Celestial City. Will ye cling to your goodness as merit for forgiveness? Oh, foolish hearts! In this will ye trust and eternally taste of unspeakable horrors! Every breach of integrity is as the sounding of the gavel announcing thy guilt. Will ye resist your conscience? “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
o Daughters of Jerusalem: But to none other does the Lord direct His attention than to the daughters of Jerusalem, these that pity the Lord of Glory. These grieving daughters see in His Royal Person His innocence. They weep for Him as a mother would over a son. They weep to see such injustice befall one of their own. These are true tears. The streams that flow from these eyes spring from the fountain of sincerity.
Jesus’ Reply: And yet with such a display of sorrow, what words do we hear uttered forth from the Saviour in response to the mourning women? “Weep not for me.” How so could He who is in such a desperate plight bring forth words such as these? That is what we want to look at this morning.
I. Jesus Rejects Their Pity “Weep not for me…” (v.28a)
A. He rejects their grief as mistaken, and judges their tears as useless and unprofitable.
B. He reproves all those who devotion to the cross or to Jesus personally is driven by pity because of tragic end to someone so righteous and undeserving of suffering as He.
C. He is not another unfortunate fellow caught in the cross hairs of circumstance.
i. “Weep not for me; I take upon these sufferings voluntarily to redeem sinful men.” He chose this course of suffering because of the value thus placed upon it by God to be the Sacrificial Lamb.
ii. “Weep not for me; I am pleasing my Father today.” He is fulfilling God’s will however difficult and painful it appears to the sincere among the crowd. “Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again.”
D. The Savior suffering for so righteous a cause is not to be pitied, but rather adored!
Are tears not welcome on such a solemn occasion?
Transition: If we are not to weep for the Blessed Saviour of the world as He plods on toward the desolate hill of Golgotha to consummate His Passion, then for what or for whom are we to weep?
II. Jesus Tells Them What Should Be the Object of Their Tears “Weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.” (v.28b)
A. Judge Your Own Heart: Weep for yourself because of where you stand in relation to Christ’s claims as Son of God and Savior of the world:
i. Can you find yourself in the garden or among the crowd?
1. Judas the Betrayer
2. Caiaphas the Religious Hypocrite
3. Pilate the Worldly-minded
4. Hard-hearted Roman soldier
5. Good men yet unconcerned
6. Daughters of Jerusalem – sincere and even touched but unconverted
B. Judge the Natural Cause of His Sufferings:
i. His Innocence: under examination, no fault is found in the Savior
ii. They Release the Guilty (Barabbas) to condemn the Innocent: Justice is not sought
iii. They Desire His death: His sufferings are a picture of the base depravity of man.
1. Every mocking word
2. Every blow
3. Every lie (concocted to incriminate Him)
4. Every stripe (laid on His back)
These are manifestations of the corrupt heart of man when faced with the opportunity of receiving or rejecting Jesus.
C. Jesus alludes to the curse the Jews take upon themselves at his trial: “His blood on us, and on our children.” “Weep not for me, but for yourselves, and for your children.”
III. Jesus Reveals Future Despair “For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.” (v.29)
A. Blessings turned to curses: “That which was previously mourned over in Israel as a great misfortune and an equally great disgrace—the being barren and childless—will then be commended as an enviable privilege.” (F.W. Krummacher)
i. Remember Jacob and Rachel “Give me children or else I die.”
ii. The blessing of Abraham “I will surely do thee good, and make thy seed as the sand of the sea, which cannot be numbered for multitude.”
B. Jesus is not referring to a change in culture: As in our day, when children are viewed as burdens. “Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward.”
C. Because of the evil days that are coming, so that mothers will not have the vulnerability of seeing their children suffer.
IV. Jesus Pronounces Coming Judgment “Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.” (v.30)
A. These words of Jesus extend beyond the destruction of Jerusalem in AD70
B. Even beyond the Jewish people as the recipients of divine judgment
C. Extends to the whole race of Adam: Book of Revelation speaks of divine judgments coming upon the earth.
i. Rev. 6:12-17 “And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood; And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind. And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places. 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; 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: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”
D. Consider who it is that is speaking:
i. He who is the Judge of quick and dead
ii. He who fulfilled over 300 prophecies from the OT at His first coming.
iii. He who searches the hearts of men.
E. Should not this give weight to his own prophecy here?
V. Jesus’ Conclusion “For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?” (v.31)
A. Jewish Proverb: By saying this, Jesus is referring to the sufferings He has received and will receive in the crucifixion as receiving the just punishment for the sins of mankind, whereby He became the recipient of the wrath of God.
B. The meaning (in context) then is: “If I, the green tree, One by nature not fit for suffering, innocent and full of grace and truth, as a tree in its youth is not normally cut down and cast on the fire, have received the magnitude of sufferings at the hand of the Father for the sins of others, (God not being angry with me personally, but rather pleased in my obedience), how horrible it will be for those who are worthy of sufferings and laden with guilt from their misdeeds, whom will become the recipient of the dreadful wrath of God.”
C. In the chronological order of events in the Tribulation, men will call on the hills to fall upon them and the rocks to cover them, preferring annihilation to a continuance of existence, during the time of the sixth seal judgment.
i. This marks a time of war, famine, and death (25% of the world population will die), and a tremendous cosmic cataclysm.
ii. Many judgments are still to come:
1. Trumpet judgments:
a. First: Hail & fire upon earth = 1/3 trees burned
b. Second:
i. 1/3 of sea becomes blood
ii. 1/3 of ocean life destroyed
iii. 1/3 of ships destroyed
c. Third: 1/3 of fresh water is corrupted
d. Fourth: darkness pervades earth
i. 1/3 part of sun is blackened
ii. 1/3 part of moon is blackened
iii. 1/3 part of stars are smitten
E. Fifth: men are tormented for five months by creatures that rise up out of the bottomless pit that have the sting of a scorpion
F. Sixth: Four fallen angels rise up out of Euphrates River and kill 1/3 of remaining population.
G. YET FOR ALL THIS, MEN STILL DO NOT REPENT!!!
i. Above all this comes the eternal punishment in the lake of fire!
H. Hear the Savior’s words again: “Weep not for me, but for yourselves and for your children.” Unspeakable horrors await those who turn away from salvation. He wants to keep men from following their sure course to destruction.
I. Partake in the hope of eternal life:
i. What is our hope? The Green Tree gave Himself up to the flames which were prepared for the dry (us).”
ii. Jesus has taken our punishment, so that now we can partake of His life.
iii. Colossians 2:13-14 “And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh (as a dry tree ripe for the burning), hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross.
1. Tetéleskai = “It is finished”, written across the prisoner’s document of offenses, called out by Jesus on the cross.
