Luke 23:31

For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

See Matthew 27:31; Mark 15:21. In accordance with the decision of Pilate, Jesus was led away from the Praetorium, out to a spot without the walls, where the malefactors were crucified. On the way, the cross of Jesus, which He was obliged to bear as a condemned criminal, became too heavy for Him. The great nervous strain of the last few days, the agony of the evening before, the vigil of the night, the indignities that He had been obliged to endure, all these combined to bring upon Him a weakness of the body which could not sustain the weight of the cross. The soldiers, therefore, laid hold upon, drafted into service, one Simon of Cyrene, a city on the northern coast of Africa. He was a Jew of the so-called diaspora, and had come to Jerusalem for the feast. He probably was later, and may have been at that time, a disciple of Jesus, Romans 16:13. And so this man had the honor of bearing the cross of Christ for Him, to partake of some of the sufferings intended for the Savior. While the soldiers, with Christ and the two malefactors, were slowly making their way out through the narrow streets towards the open space before the walls, there was a great number of people and also of women that followed after. Some of these people may have been present at the governor's palace, others may have joined the procession from curiosity, but the women were interested out of sincere compassion according to the sympathy of men. Their feeling would probably have been the same in the case of any other person. They beat their breasts and lamented Him; they showed every indication of deep grief. These actions prompted Jesus to turn to them and address an appealing admonition to them. He calls them daughters of Jerusalem; they represented the city, probably many of them had grown up in the very shadow of the great Temple; they should be familiar with the words of the prophets. Not over Him and on His account should they weep and lament, but for themselves and for their children. He hinted with some definiteness at the fate of the city which they loved, and whose final destruction was but a matter of a few years, in accordance with prophecy. In times of great tribulation and punishment it is the mothers that suffer most heavily. The time will come when the sterile and childless women will be happy and fortunate above the others, Luke 21:23. For so horrible will the affliction of those days be that people will not know where to stay for the greatness of the terror upon them. They will call upon the mountains and hills to fall upon them and cover them from the wrath of the almighty God, Hosea 10:8; Isaiah 2:19. For if even the just and holy Son of God must suffer so terribly under the weight of God's judgment, what will happen to such as are all as all unclean thing and all their righteousnesses as filthy rags? Note: The Lord here indicates that His suffering is the result of sin, which He, the Holy One of God, has taken upon Him, 2 Corinthians 5:21. Also: The words of Jesus show wherein true sympathy with the suffering of Christ consists, namely, not in mere external emotion, in tears and wringing of hands, but in true repentance. "Such admonition we should accept as addressed to us. For we must all confess that we, on account of sins, are like an unfruitful, dry tree, in which there is nothing good, nor can any good come out there from. What will it, then, behoove us to do? Nothing but to weep and to cry to God for forgiveness, and to resist the evil, sinful nature earnestly, and not to give it free rein. For there the sentence stands: Since the fruitful tree is thus treated and God permits such severe sufferings to come upon His dear Son, we should certainly not feel secure, but acknowledge our sin, fear the wrath of God, and pray for forgiveness."