Wednesday Morning Devotion
Luke 23:27-31
27 And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. 28 But turning to them Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 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!’ 30 Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ 31 For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Reflection
A crowd forms as Jesus makes his way to Golgotha, among which are a group of distraught women. Throughout his ministry, Jesus respected and honored women in a manner often beyond the norm of his time. Now is no different, as he addresses them tenderly, “Daughters of Jerusalem.”
However, his point is not to console, but to redirect and warn. Lamentation should not be directed at him, but at the startling reality that Jerusalem kills her savior. And one should not wail because God allows judgment to fall upon his innocent Son (“the green wood,” v. 31). Rather, one should be warned that if this be the case today, then how much worse will that judgment be that falls upon the rebellious and impenitent nations in the future (“the dry wood,” v. 31)?
The lesson is twofold: First, Jesus, even on his way to death, thinks of others—worried we humans may still not see things as they really are. Second, either the judgment of the Righteous God falls on Jesus instead of us, or, if we reject the Son, there is a far worse judgment to come.
Prayer
O Righteous God, judge of all mankind, we acknowledge your right to uphold the scales of justice. We pray that the judgment for our sins, wrongdoings, and evil, would be poured out on Christ and His cross, so that in the judgment to come, we might find shelter under your wings of mercy.
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Artwork: Christ Bearing the Cross engraving by Martin Schöngauer, Station of the Cross in Saint Symphorian Church of Pfettisheim, Bas-Rhin, France, and Jesus Meets the Women of Jerusalem stone relief in Church of Our Lady, Belgium