Jesus on the Way to Golgotha (2)
[Luke 23:26–32]
At last Wednesday’s prayer meeting, we meditated on the first event that took place on the way to Golgotha under the title, “Jesus on the Way to Golgotha (1).” That first event was when Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry Jesus’ cross. Today’s passage, Luke 23:26, says: “As they led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.” Simon had come up to Jerusalem and was forced by Roman soldiers to carry the cross.
The cross consisted of a vertical beam and a horizontal beam (wood), and there are two theories about this. One is that the vertical part was already set up at the place of execution, and the person carried only the horizontal beam, which weighed about 20 kg. Of course, the road to Golgotha was a steep and rough hill, but a man in his 30s could likely have carried the cross. Although Jesus, like the other criminals, was flogged severely, He also endured additional suffering—pouring out His soul in prayer at Gethsemane, being interrogated all night by Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, and also at Pilate’s court. Due to all these hardships, unlike the other prisoners, Jesus lacked the strength to carry the cross to Golgotha, which is why the Roman soldiers seized Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross in His place.
However, Jesus did not say a single word on the way to Golgotha—except for what He said to the people and especially to the women following Him, recorded in Luke 23:28–31. Even when He was nailed to the cross, He remained silent for three hours, enduring all the pain and the anguish of being forsaken by God the Father in the darkness. Did Jesus truly lack the strength to carry the cross from Pilate’s court to Golgotha? Some ask, “If someone carries the cross, even by force, will they come to believe and be saved along with their family?” Instead of forcing it, we should encourage people to do it with gratitude and joy through prayer. That is what pleases God. Therefore, we must not follow reluctantly but carry our own crosses with thanksgiving and gladness as we follow Christ.
Today, let us reflect on the second event on the way to Golgotha—the people who followed Jesus. Luke 23:27 says: “A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.” Jesus addressed this group of women, saying, “Daughters of Jerusalem” (v. 28). There were women who followed Jesus, as we read in Luke 8:1–3:
“After this, Jesus traveled about from one town and village to another, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom of God. The Twelve were with him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Chuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means.”
These women, mainly from Galilee, served Jesus with their own resources. However, the women in today’s passage (Luke 23:27) who were mourning and beating their chests on the way to Golgotha were not the same women from Luke 8. So, we must ask: Were the tears of these women a comfort to Jesus in His suffering? The answer is no. Their tears did not provide any comfort or help to Jesus because they did not understand why Jesus was carrying the cross. If they thought He was suffering because of His own sins, how could their tears be comforting?
Some scholars suggest that their mourning was part of Jewish funeral customs. In other words, they may have been crying out of habit. If so, then their tears were not comforting to Jesus at all.
Luke 23:28 says: “Jesus turned and said to them, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and for your children.’” This was Jesus’ message to the women who were beating their chests and weeping for Him. Why did Jesus tell them to weep for themselves and their children instead? Verse 29 gives the reason:
“For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women, the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!’”
This is a troubling statement because, in Jewish culture, infertility was seen as a curse—not a blessing. But Jesus said a day would come when childlessness would be considered a blessing. Why? Verse 30 explains:
“Then ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’”
This “time” refers to the day of disaster and judgment. In Luke 19:41–44, Jesus had already prophesied the fall of Jerusalem:
“As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, ‘If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace—but now it is hidden from your eyes... They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls. They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you.’”
So, Jesus declared in Luke 23:29 that childlessness would be a blessing because of the destruction described in Luke 19:41–44. When the Romans besieged Jerusalem around 70 A.D., it resulted in such devastation that having fewer family members—especially children—was a blessing. Jerusalem was a natural fortress surrounded by cliffs, double and triple-layered walls, and towers. Because of this, the Romans had to build embankments (earthen ramps or “siege mounds”) to break in. Once Jerusalem was encircled and cut off, food supplies ran out, and some even resorted to cannibalism.
Luke 23:30: “Then ‘they will say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”’” At that time, the Jews within Jerusalem could not take their own lives (because suicide was considered a ticket to hell), so they wished for the mountains to fall on them instead.
In verse 31, Jesus says: “For if people do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Here, the “green tree” symbolizes righteous Jesus, and the “dry tree” refers to the sinners among the Jews of Jerusalem. Even Pilate, the Roman governor who interrogated Jesus, knew He was innocent and tried to release Him, but eventually handed Him over to be crucified. If even the “green tree”—righteous Jesus—was treated this way, how much worse would it be for the “dry trees,” the sinful people?
That’s why Jesus said, “Do not weep for me; weep for yourselves and your children” (v. 28). Those who heard this message, repented, and prayed for themselves and their children were saved from the coming destruction. According to tradition and early church accounts, the Jerusalem church, guided by divine revelation, fled the city before the war and resettled in Pella, east of the Jordan. Then General Titus surrounded and destroyed Jerusalem. At that time, about 2.7 million people were inside the city. According to Josephus, 1.1 million Jews died, 97,000 were taken captive, and the rest—Jewish rebels at Masada—eventually perished.
So, what about our present lives? Today, we are also paralyzed by challenges like the Omicron virus and many other difficulties. If another virus emerges, the hardships may worsen. On top of that, disasters like heavy snow, earthquakes, and various calamities continue. In such times, what should we do?
We must reflect deeply on Jesus’ words: “Weep for yourselves and your children” (Luke 23:28). If we do not meditate on God’s Word day and night and pray, how can we stay faithful and follow Jesus to the end? What kind of world will our next generation face? Will it not become more difficult?
Therefore, we must begin a movement of weeping and praying for ourselves and for our children. Revelation tells us that tribulation will only increase. The days ahead will be harder to endure for us and our children. So we must remain awake, weep, and earnestly pray to God for ourselves and our descendants.
In this way, we will be saved by God and ready to meet the Lord amid all these trials.