Jesus on the road to Golgotha (2)
[Luke 23:26-32]
During the Wednesday prayer meeting last week, under the heading “Jesus on the road to Golgotha (1),” we meditated on the first thing that happened on the way to Golgotha, Simon of Cyrene, who was forced to carry the cross for Jesus. Look at Luke 23:26 – “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.” When Simon of Cyrene came up to Jerusalem, a Roman soldier was conscripted, captured, and forced to carry the cross. This cross is a horizontal stick and a vertical stick (wood), and there are two theories. A vertical cross was erected on the execution ground, and a horizontal stick (cross) was carried, which is said to weigh about 20 kg. Of course, it was a steep hill to Golgotha, but a young man in his 30s would have been able to carry the cross. d
Although Jesus received many scourgings as one who was crucified like other criminals, besides that, Jesus went into the Garden of Gethsemane and prayed exhaustingly. Unlike the other prisoners, He went through a lot of hardships during His interrogation and trial in court, such as by Annas, Caiaphas, and the Sanhedrin, and Pilate. So it seemed that He would not be able to go to Golgotha due to His lack of strength. So, the Roman soldiers captured Simon of Cyrene and forced him to carry the cross instead of Jesus and follow him. However, as Jesus went to Golgotha, He didn't say a word except for what He said in Luke 23:28-31 to the people who followed and especially to the women. He endured all the pain and endured all the pain of being abandoned by Heavenly Father in darkness for three hours. Didn’t Jesus have the strength to carry the cross from Pilate's court where he was interrogated to Golgotha? Many people ask if they will believe if they are forced to carry the cross and their families will be saved. However, rather than forcibly telling them to do it, they should exhort them to do it with a grateful heart while praying. When we do that, God will be more pleased. Therefore, we must take up our own cross and follow the Lord with a joyful heart and thanksgiving, not under compulsion.
Today, I would like to think about the second thing that happened on the way to Golgotha, the people who followed Jesus. Look at today text Luke 23:27 – “And following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him.” To this large crowd of women, Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem” (v. 28). There were women who followed Jesus. Look at Luke 8:1-3: “Soon afterwards, He began going around from one city and village to another, proclaiming and preaching the kingdom of God. The twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been healed of evil spirits and sicknesses: Mary who was called Magdalene, from whom seven demons had gone out, and Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod's steward, and Susanna, and many others who were contributing to their support out of their private means.” These women, like the disciples (mainly from Galilee), followed Jesus and served the Lord with their own possessions. However, the women weeping and beating their breasts for Jesus on the way to Golgotha in Luke 23:27 were other women than the women in Luke 8:1-3. Then, we ask whether the tears of the women in Luke 23:27 who followed Jesus, beating their breasts and weeping, comforted the suffering Jesus. The answer to that question is that those women’s tears did not comfort or help Jesus. The reason is because the women did not know why Jesus was carrying the cross. If Jesus bore the cross for us like this, what comfort would it be if we misunderstood that Jesus bore the cross for His own sins? It didn’t help Him at all. A pastor says this was a Jewish burial custom. In other words, these women must have shed tears habitually. If this were true, the women's tears would not have comforted Jesus.
Look at Luke 23:28 – “But Jesus turning to them said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children.” This is what Jesus said to the weeping women who followed Him and beat their breasts. Jesus told them to “weep for yourselves and for your children.” Why did Jesus say that? Look at verse 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.’” There is something wrong with saying that it is a blessing for a woman not to conceive. Don't you think that women who are barren are not blessed but cursed? However, Jesus said that a woman who could not conceive, the wombs that never bore birth because she could not conceive, and breasts that never nursed were blessed. Is it really a blessing? But that day will come, Jesus said. Look at verse 30: “Then they will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’” Here, “Then” is “the time” of verse 29. Look at Luke 19:41-44: “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. The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 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.’” Why does Jesus say in Luke 23:29 that the barren, the wombs that never gave birth, and the breasts that never nursed are blessed? The reason is because the disaster/destruction of Luke 19:41-44 comes, so it is said that at such times it is more blessed not to have children or to have fewer family members. When Jesus entered Jerusalem, He wept because He saw the city of Jerusalem and foresaw the destruction of Jerusalem. The reason is because they are evil and have done much evil. About 40 years after Jesus said this, the words of Luke 19:43-44 were fulfilled: “The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side. 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.” Here, “your enemies” refers to the Roman army, and “embankment” is a natural fortress standing on high cliffs surrounding Jerusalem on all sides. In this fortress, high towers and citadels surrounded by strong stone walls stand tall in every corner of the double-triple overlapping walls, and the Jerusalem Temple was also surrounded by double walls (Internet), so Roman soldiers could not come in, so they built “an embankment.” That is, they built a small hill. And they imprisoned Jerusalem on amnesty. As a result, people in Jerusalem ran out of food. That is, they starved to death and even ate their children. How miserable is this. Look at Luke 23:30 – “Then they will say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’” At that time, the people in Jerusalem, that is, the Jews, could not commit suicide no matter how painful it was (because if they committed suicide, they would go to hell). So, they would rather have the mountain fall and cover them and crush them to death. Look at verse 31: “For if men do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Here, the green tree symbolizes the righteous Jesus, and the dry tree means that the Jews in Jerusalem, like those who followed Jesus, are wicked. Pilate, the Roman governor who interrogated and judged Jesus, knew that Jesus was innocent. So, Pilate tried to let Jesus go that way, but in the end he gave Him up on the cross. In this way, the righteous Jesus, who is the green tree, also carries the cross, but in the eyes of the Romans, the Jews, who were like an evil dry tree, won’t they suffer something? (v. 31) That was why Jesus said in Luke 23:28, “do not weep for Me, but weep for you and for your children.” Those who heard this word of Jesus and followed the apostles' guidance and wept for themselves and their children and for Jerusalem were saved from this destruction. The Jerusalem church wept and prayed for themselves and their children. According to a revelation to their leader, they left Jerusalem before the war broke out and fled to Berea, called Pella in the eastern Jordan, and settled in a city there (Internet). Then, the Roman general Titus laid siege to Jerusalem and captured it. At that time, it is said that about 2.7 million people lived in the city of Jerusalem. According to Josephus, 1.1 million Jews died in that war and 97,000 were taken prisoner. And the rest of the Jewish resistance fighters ended up in Masada, where they all died.
How are our lives now? Right now, we are stuck due to a virus called Omicron and are experiencing many difficulties. If another virus comes, we will have no choice but to suffer even more. In addition, there are many people who are suffering from various things such as heavy snowfall, earthquakes, and disasters. What should we do at a time like this? We must receive and ponder the words of Jesus, ‘Weep for yourselves and for your children’ (Lk. 23:28). We must follow the Lord to the end without betraying the Lord while keeping the Word of God. How can this be possible if we do not pray like this and meditate on the Word of God day and night? What do you think our future generations will be like? Wouldn't it be more difficult? Therefore, we must have a movement of weeping and praying for ourselves and our children. If we look at the Book of Revelation, the Bible says that the tribulation will get worse and worse. It will become more difficult for us or our children to handle. So, we must wake up and weep for ourselves and for our children and ask God. Therefore, we must all be saved by God from all these difficulties and welcome the Lord.