It is on God's Spirit in whom we rely and in whom we find our life. and our ability to understand God's word, not only quickening us of our sin, but also showing us the path to righteousness and understanding. And without God's spirit, we would not be able to understand God's word. So therefore, I would ask that you would join me here soon as we pray to the Lord and to his spirit that he would give us understanding. We are in the Book of Luke this morning chapter 23. We'll be looking at verses 26 through 31 Luke chapter 23 verses 26 through 31 Ask that you would join me in prayer as we pray and ask for God's Spirit to illumine us that we may understand Gracious spirit, the sovereign spirit of the one true God, we praise you this day. We are reminded that as Christ left this earth, that he gave to us your presence, you indwelling us, you leading us into truth and convicting us of sin and granting us the ability to understand your word. And we would plead with you this morning that you would help us to be a people of understanding for on our own we are without that understanding and we need you. We would ask that you would be glorified along with the father and the son today as the word of God is presented and that you would help us to be a people of action. We ask again that you would be glorified the one true God in all that is said and all that is done. In this in Christ's name we pray, amen. Beginning in verse 26, and as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene who was coming in from the country and laid on him the cross to carry behind Jesus. And there followed him a great multitude of people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them, Jesus said, Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, Bless for the barren and the wombs that have never bore and the breasts that have never nursed. And then they will begin to say to the mountains, fall on us and to the hills, cover us. For if they do these things, when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry? Now, previously in our last section, in the last part of Jesus's trial, Luke tells us that Pilate had delivered or surrendered or turned Jesus over to their will, that is, the will of the people. And we need to be reminded, again, that Jesus was not found guilty by Pilate, nor was Jesus put to death by Pilate. As the text tells us, he was put to death by the people. Instead, we see that Jesus was handed over to the will of the people. The singular will of the Jewish people and of the Jewish leadership had converged and come together, and their will was that Christ would be put to death. This man who had lifted himself up before them, they saw in him the characteristics of a king that they wanted, but their understanding was one of a political king who would come in and overthrow Rome. And all of a sudden, this man is not doing what they expected. So therefore, their punishment for him is that they want him to be crucified. We need to understand also that it is this will of God's own people, the Israelites or the Jews, who is coming to fruition, but this plan is also under the authority of God himself. We'll see that intertwined throughout the text today as we look at that. The text begins to show us that today Jesus is taken away from the presence of Pilate, and he's led by Roman soldiers to be crucified, or the will of the people to be put upon him. And in this chronology of events, Luke leaves out something that Mark puts in his gospel, that is, the scourging of Jesus. Luke didn't put that in. Mark did put that in. And one of the things that we need to do is ask ourselves, why is that the case? Why is that the fact that Luke doesn't do this? As we read through Luke, we don't see any of the gruesome details that many of us envision because of movies that we've seen, because of pictures that we've seen throughout church history. Luke doesn't do anything about that. He doesn't address the idea of the crucifixion in its blow-by-blow events of how it would take place. And does he not do this because he doesn't think that the crucifixion is important? And the answer to the question is, we know that Luke believes that the crucifixion is important. It's the linchpin. The cross is the linchpin of Christianity. Why does Luke not hone in on this? This is really, a lot of the sermons that we've heard over the past 100 to 150 years have really honed in on the gruesomeness of the cross, and Luke doesn't even share any of that. We have to ask ourselves, why is this the way Luke is presenting it? Well, we've been seeing, as we've been working through the Gospel of Luke, that one of the things that Luke is doing is he's highlighting the culpability of the Jewish people. He's placing the responsibility for the death of Jesus at the feet of the Jewish people, and at the same time, he is trying to show that Jesus is a prophet in the line of the Old Testament prophets who has come to fulfill what they had spoken before. Luke is the only writer, as we are looking at this passage, that includes what he does in verses 27 through 31. It's a prophetic oracle that is spoken against the people of Jerusalem. None of the other gospel writers include this prophecy. And this again highlights the fact that Luke is putting Jesus in the spotlight of one who is a prophet. Now more than any of the other gospel writers, Luke spends his time, whether in space or time that you're reading, highlighting the fact that Jesus is this Messiah and that he has this prophetic edge about him as he goes through his teaching ministry. Luke really brings this to the forefront and he shows that the judgment that Jesus is pronouncing is against a wicked people. a people who have turned their backs upon God's Messiah, and a people who have decided that they wanted to take a road not of peace that Christ would bring, but a road of their own doing. And in their own doing that they were going to put to death the Son of God. Now after being scourged by the Roman soldiers, who we know are nothing more than servants of the people, because that's the way that they were released from Pilate as those soldiers left. They were to do the will of the people. We are told in verse 26 that the soldiers led Jesus down a path. And we know as we look at other gospel writers that this path was a path that was going to go outside the city. If you're looking at some of the other gospels, going towards the place of the skull. But this path was going to lead Jesus outside the city. But what we began to see, there's a growing number of people that are coming kind of in tow as Jesus is being taken down this path, led by the Roman soldiers. And we see that these people also continue to hurl abuses at him. They continue to line the streets. And we are told in the text that something begins to happen in this regard. The soldiers realize that Jesus is unable to carry his cross. And you've probably known now by looking and hearing numerous sermons that this probably was not the full crossbar, the long bar with the crossbar where Jesus' arms would have been stretched out and his hands would have been nailed to it. It was only the crossbar that would have been put up on his back and he would have had to carry. Seemingly, the reason why Jesus is unable to carry this is because of that scourging that was not mentioned by Luke, but it did happen, that it had taken a lot of the physical energy out of Jesus, and he was unable to carry that crossbar. We know this idea of carrying the crossbar for one who was condemned or a criminal was the normal way that it happened because the first-century Greek historian Plutarch tells us in his own words that every criminal who goes to execution must carry his own crossbar on his back. So we have a secular historian telling us also what would take place during this time. Therefore, we know what's going on in a little more detail. Now it's seemingly due to Jesus's lack of stamina that he's not able to carry the crossbar. And in that case, the Roman soldiers have the ability to secure someone else. from the surrounding area around them to do what needs to be done to accomplish what takes place and we are shown a person, a man who has commandeered to help take this crossbar and what he does is help to complete the death march that Jesus was on. Luke tells us that this man's name was Simon of Cyrene. Simon of Cyrene. Now, we know from scripture a little bit about Simon's family. Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus, and they are mentioned in Mark chapter 15, verse 21. But Simon's family is also mentioned by the apostle Paul in the book of Romans chapter 16 verse 13. Paul specifically mentioned Rufus and Rufus is one of the sons and he mentions him and calls him one who is chosen in the Lord. And in that same verse, Rufus's mother, so we would assume at that point Simon's wife, is mentioned. And Rufus's mother, according to the Apostle Paul, is one who has been a mother to me as well. So we know that Simon is a Jew. We know that he's from Syrene. That is the northern coast of Africa today. Modern day Libya would be where he would be from. And perhaps we see that he's in town for the celebration or maybe Simon had taken, brought his family and re-migrated into this area, region of Palestine. So we know a little about Simon. We know a little about his family. We know that at least by the time of Paul, after the life of Jesus, that his family is helping in the ministry and someone to be greeted when Paul writes the book of Romans. But that's really about all we know about Simon himself. We know that he's commandeered. We know that he does what's asked of him. We know that he takes the cross and he follows behind Jesus. Now, that does bring us to this point. The point is, Luke could have said that Simon simply carried the crossbar, or he carried the cross, but I want you to look at the text and see what Luke says instead. Simon was chosen by the guards to carry the crossbeam. That crossbeam was placed upon his back, and then he carried it behind Jesus. Now I want to ask you to think for a moment, and maybe Luke's doing this for us too, causing us to think for a moment. Is there a symbolic meaning here of carrying this cross behind Jesus? We know that discipleship demands more than an emotional reaction. We know that the call to Jesus since chapter nine has been that we are to take up our cross and to follow Christ and to carry that cross and even to bear the abuse and the insults that Christ himself would receive because we are followers of Christ. This is what Jesus has been saying since 923 when he said that if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. In this text also, Luke is going to draw a contrast between Simon, who is walking behind Jesus, and the crowd, and specifically the women who are lamenting what is happening to Jesus. And we see this in verse 27. And there followed him, that is Jesus, a great multitude of people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. We need to ask the question, were these maybe parts of the crowd or were these women lamenting? Were they having sympathy for Jesus or were they doing something else? Were these the same people that just a few hours ago screamed, crucify, crucify him? And now what we see is them lamenting and weeping. I mean, are the people really that fickle? that within a few hours time span that they went from mad hatred of death, now they find themselves weeping almost in a style of grief, sympathy, repentance. These are the same people that have been tossed about by public opinion and now we find them weeping and lamenting Is it truly possible that they were sympathizing with Jesus and his estate? The position that he was in right now? The text seems to be presenting them in this light. In a light of being very sympathetic. But is it really presenting them that way? It's a question. Is it really presenting them that way? Now, we do know during this period of Judaism that there was the mourning of the dead, those who would mourn for those who were dying. And this idea of mourning for the dead was an act of religious merit. You gained a better standing in the religion of Judaism when you would put yourself in this position of mourning for those who were dying. Although the women seem to be lamenting Jesus, I think there's a case to be made for the fact that we see these women here who are just sincere religious people doing whatever it takes to secure their salvation. And if they have to mourn and lament the loss of even someone who is a criminal, they're willing to do that so that they will make sure that they I guess we would say they crossed their T's and dot their I's in trying to remain faithful to the law that they were under. But Jesus is different in this case from them. Jesus is not looking for their sympathy. He is looking for them to be the people that God had called them to be, and he's looking to present himself as the person who he really is, and in doing so, We see that he answers them in verses 28 through 30 jesus responds to them in verses 28 through 30 by saying But turning to them jesus said daughters of jerusalem do not weep for me But weep for yourselves and for your children 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 nurse Then they will begin to say to the mountains, fall on us and to the hills cover us. Now this is Jesus' last prophetic utterance against Jerusalem and that way corporately against the people of Israel. This is the last time that he's going to make a prophetic announcement before he fulfills his passion to die on the cross. And Jesus addresses it to those to whom the coming tribulation, the coming hurt and persecution would affect the most. And that is the women. And specifically, he calls them daughters of Jerusalem. The Daughters of Jerusalem is an Old Testament reference, mentioned quite a number of times in the Song of Songs, in chapters 2 and 5 and 8 in the Song of Songs, but also a reference in Isaiah 37. And there the reference is to the daughters of Zion. who are being addressed. So we can tell by looking at the Old Testament references, Jesus using this title of daughters of Jerusalem, that the daughters of Jerusalem really do represent all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They represent all the people who refuse to receive the Messiah and those who will fall under and face the danger of God's severe judgment. But we need to remember for Jesus, as painful as his death and his scourging would be, that he knew for him that there was coming his vindication. In just hours, there would be his death, and then hours after that, he would be resurrected. And so he knows that his earthly ministry is drawing to a close. So what Jesus does is he redirects their attention where they were trying to say they were mourning for him, and he redirects their attention to something that's more important, especially for the people around him. And he redirects their attention to a more serious issue. He tells them to stop lamenting or stop crying for me. And he turns it around and says, you need to be crying for yourselves. You need to be crying for your children. And why is this the case? Well, because he tells us, because the days are coming, this is why, this is actually a judgment. Christ is making a pronouncement, and he's making a pronouncement of doom. This is not a positive thing that he's doing. He's still fulfilling the role as a prophet, even as he's taking these steps to his own death, he's still fulfilling the plan that the Lord God has given to him. Now, we know that this has been the case with Jesus. He has made prophetic announcements multiple times as we've looked and worked our way through the book of Luke, specifically in chapter 11, chapter 13, chapter 19, and 21. All of these times, Jesus gives a prophetic announcement, and the purpose of that prophetic announcement was for the people to repent. that they would stop going in the wrong direction, that they would turn around, they would embrace God's design for them, and they would repent. So we've seen that in every case up until now, but in this last prophecy, we don't see the idea of Jesus presenting this as the idea of calling the people to repentance. We see this as a pronouncement of doom. A pronouncement that God is going to make sure that what is going to happen happens. We know that this is what's going to happen in 70 A.D. because we look back through history. This was going to be a few years after that for them. We've got Jesus probably between 30 and 33 A.D. But Jesus is making a pronouncement here on what's going to happen in 70 A.D. during these people's lifetimes. And he's doing that not with the call to repent, but with making a pronouncement and making a judgment on the people. And Luke does this in a way to show a reversal in the story. Luke is a great author at doing this. We've seen him playing off of ideas and showing us reversals with each different event that's taking place in Christ's life. And here we see another reversal. Jesus is the one that has been judged by the people. Jesus is the one who's under their condemnation. And that's the way they're viewing the story. But when Jesus pronounces this prophetic word, what we see is a reversal. He is the judge, and he is the one judging the people, not the people being the one that are judging him. It seems that this judgment that he's talking about is quite bad. Look in verse 29. Blessed are the barren and the wombs that have never borne, the breasts that have never nursed. Now, this may sound strange to us. Why is it that he would say that? A little bit of background, if you'll remember that in the Jewish culture, childlessness is something of great shame. As you think back in the Old Testament, all of the wives that are mentioned who could not bear children always see themselves in a kind of a secondary class. They realize they're not able to do what seems to have been commanded from the beginning to be fruitful in the multiply and to carry on the name of that family. And so to be a barren woman in Jewish culture is one of the greatest shames that could ever exist. With the idea that a fruitful womb is a good thing, and it is a good thing, but with the idea of bringing forth children being a good thing, Jesus is also showing a little bit of a reversal here too. That is, it would be better for these people in the day of judgment had they not born children, had they not raised children suckling on the breast, it would be better that that not be the case. In essence, it would be better for you to embrace the shame of being a barren woman than you being a woman who has born children and then having to go through this horrible attack that's going to happen, this horrible judgment. And so Jesus is saying here that it is better, it would be better for those not to have been born, not to have had children, You see, that is the reality of warfare, especially in the ancient world. The enemy showed no mercy. The enemy killed men, women, and children equally. It wasn't the idea that if you're a woman or you're a child, kind of the way we have a view today, if you're on a boat of some sort, as you look back and seen movies about the Titanic, where it always said women and children first. a status that deserves to be treated greatly. That's not the case here. When the enemy came in to do destruction, they leveled everything. And all people were equal in the enemy, regardless of your age, regardless of your gender. And therefore, we know that Rome, doing the same thing as it went out across the empire and enlarged its boundaries, they didn't show mercy. And as we look back to 70 AD, we know that Rome did not show mercy during those attacks upon the people as God's judgment came upon them. You see, it's under this type of pain and loss that according to verse 30, that these who are being attacked will say to the mountains, fall on us and to the hills, cover us. This is a reference to Hosea chapter 10, verse eight. Let me read that for you so you can kind of get a feel for the background of this statement about the mountains falling and the hills covering. Hosea 10, eight says, in the high places of Avon, the sin of Israel shall be destroyed, the thorn and the thistle shall grow up on their altars, and they shall say to the mountains, cover us, and to the hills, fall on us. You see, this is a cry to be spared in one way, but knowing that you can't be spared, knowing that there's an imminent death that's approaching, It's an appeal to be put out of one's misery. It's an appeal that even the creation itself, the mountains and the hill would fall upon you so that your death would be quick and that you would not have to suffer under the hands of torment and torture. And we would know if you've ever seen the landslide of snow or an earthquake that hit a mountain, that if you were to be under those large and heavy falling rocks, that there would be no way that you could escape. You see this same desire for being put out of one's misery is also found in Revelation 6-15 and following. Listen again, and this is over in the New Testament. So we see a connection here between what's going on in the Old and what's going on in the New. in the New, 615 and following. And then the kings of the earth, and the great ones, and the generals, and the rich, and the powerful, hid themselves in caves, and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, fall on us and hide from us the face of Him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb. For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand it? The author of Hebrews also reminds us that it's a terrible thing to fall into the hands of a living God, that the judgment of the Lord is something that is real. It's something that's terrifying. It's not something that's played with. Jesus closes out, and this section is closed out in verse 31 with a riddle-like statement that Jesus says in verse 31. For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry? Now we know that the picture painted here involves the fact that dry wood burns a lot easier than live wood or green wood. If you've got a fireplace and you've ever kind of cut down your own wood, you know you need to leave it outside for a while, kind of let it dry out so that when you put it in the fireplace, it'll burn cleanly and not crackle and put stuff and sap out in your fireplace. So we know what's being talked about here concerning dry wood and green wood. We know it's a picture of God's judgment. We know that the green wood represents Christ, alive, and we know that the dead wood represents Israel under judgment, but there's someone else we need to identify in this statement, in verse 31. It says, for if they do these things, who is the they? Who's the they that are doing these things concerning the green wood, or the alive wood, and the dead wood? Well, there are three options that have been presented. One option are the Romans. The second option deal with the Jews themselves. And the third option is God. So I'd like to plug those. three in to our little statement, and then let's see if we can see contextually who this is in regards to. First, the Romans. If the Romans are the they of this little riddle that Jesus is giving, what does that look like? If the Romans are the ones who are doing this to Christ, who is an innocent man, what will they do to you, Jerusalem, in 70 AD when you receive the punishment for your rebellion. That's one option, with the Romans being the they. The second option is the Jews. If the Jews are the they, then what it means is, if it's the Jews who are doing this to me, their Messiah, the one that God has sent to them, who's designed to save them, what will God do to them for killing his son? That's the second option. And the third option is God as the they. Now that may sound strange, but this is not the first time we've seen this. The they there is in the third person plural. And we know that the they in the third person plural can stand for God. We've seen this before in chapters 6, 12, and 16, where the they referred to the actions of God, referred to God himself. And if it's God who is the they in this position, then the pronouncement that is being made is, if God has not spared his own innocent son from this tribulation of the crucifixion of his death, if God's not spared his own son, but instead has permitted him to die, how much worse will it be for the sinful nation when God releases his righteous wrath upon them by using the Romans to bring forth the judgment that he promised. As we look at those three options, this third option seems to be the one that best fits the context. So therefore, I would present to you that the day is in reference to God. You see, it's in this riddle-like judgment that God's judgment on the people of Jerusalem has been shared. And it's at this moment that Jesus quietly stops talking and he gets back to the agony of taking step by step towards his divine purpose to die on the cross. Isn't this what Jesus has been talking about since 922, that he would be turned over to the wicked people and actually he would be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribe and he would be killed and on the third day that he would rise again? There is an interesting note. Jesus, before coming into the city, enters weeping. And upon exiting the city now, there's weeping. In chapter 19, verse 41, Jesus wept over the city as he looked at it. Now, in this case, he's leaving the city and the people are weeping. But we also need to remember in both of those cases, there is a judgment that is pronounced back in chapter 19 as he's weeping. And there's a judgment that is pronounced here in chapter 23 as he's exiting the city under the weeping of the people. You see, again, Luke has this strong emphasis on God judging the people who reject his Messiah. It's the sins of the Jewish leadership who have irrevocably condemn Jerusalem to this divine judgment like rotting wood that is so easily burned. So Jerusalem itself now is ripe for that type of destruction. We need to know that Jerusalem's destruction was a divine judgment. It was a divine judgment. And the same judgment awaits all those who reject Christ. It wasn't just for this generation only. Those who choose to take Christ and to push him aside and do their own thing, they too fall under the judgment of God. You see, it's the cross of judgment that has secured the fate of those who reject Christ. And it's that same cross of judgment that has secured the faith of those who receive Christ. Therefore, the cross becomes this pivotal instrument of an eternal salvation. or a destruction, depending on what you do with Christ. Luke always thrusts this to the reader's attention, to us, to his original readers, to Theopolis. Who is Christ and what will you do with him? That's what this story is unwinding, that's what's unfolding here. You see, there's a symbolism in the text that we can't skirt or get away from, and it can't be missed. And that symbolism is what it means to be a disciple. Being a disciple means taking up the cross and following Jesus. And Simon of Cyrene is the first person, so to speak, who takes up a cross and follows behind Jesus. We see a visual picture with Luke telling us what it looks like to be a disciple of Jesus. For us, these concepts of discipleship, of cross-bearing, of following Jesus, and this reality that there is a judgment that exists, it reminds us and it provokes us and it pushes us And it warns us and even exhorts us to be faithful followers of Christ, to persevere. It's a must. It's a must that you take up your cross daily and follow Christ. It's not just a Sunday event. It's the other days of the week too. It's daily that you take up your cross and follow Christ. So what then is the call of this cross if it's such a linchpin of what Christianity is about? Well, the call of the cross is simply to trust Christ and what he has done and the benefits that he has secured as he has taken his people's place on the cross. This is not a call for you to earn your way. This is not a call for you to do something that would merit favor of God. Christ is the one who did that on the cross in your behalf. Whether this is the first time for you to hear those types of words, that as a needy sinner, you need to have Christ, or you are in the position of personally knowing Christ and what He's done on the cross for you, regardless of which of these two people you fit, the underlying message is this, Jesus paid it all. He didn't leave anything for you to do that would make up for something that He didn't do. Jesus paid it all. You see, it's the cross of judgment that is at the heart of God's gracious offer of forgiveness to those who repent of their sin and who embrace God's forgiveness that's found in Christ. To embrace Christ's cross means that you renounce all of your good works and looking at those good works as the basis of your salvation and why you should be accepted before God. You see, our relationship with God comes through trusting in Jesus and His finished work. We're reminded that it is our sin, not in part, but in whole, that was nailed to the cross and you bear it no more. That is the great reminder of the great grace of God, that your sin was nailed to the cross and you bear it no more. You see, it is our sin that has been wiped away because of the goodness of God and because of what Christ has done on our behalf with the cross. You see, this cross of judgment And this cross of condemnation is one that gives to us a newness of life, an opportunity to stand before God completely clean, no longer bearing the guilt of our sin. You see, this offer comes by God's grace alone, with nothing for us to earn. Dear Christian, this This is your hope. It's because of the cross of judgment that if we receive God's grace because of what he's done, then our well-being rests solidly and securely and eternally in the hands of our caring Heavenly Father. Not on your shoulders, because if you could have lost your salvation, you'd have done it by now, I promise. Think about it. The security that comes in Christianity is not about us. The security that comes in Christianity in relationship with God is about Christ. And it's that cross of condemnation and cross of judgment that secures for us an eternal hope. Would you join me in prayer? Gracious Father, we thank you again that you are Lord and King, and that you would pay a price so dear for us, and in doing so, that you would make us your own. Father, if there are any here who have not heard the gracious call of being able to come to you because of Christ and not self, Father and Spirit, would you open up their heart? Would you make yourself so beautiful to them that they would see their righteousness that they have been looking at and counting on as filthy rags? And Lord, would you help us to be reminded and encouraged as your people today that we don't earn anything before you? Christ has done that, and the cross is that answer. And Lord, would you help us as your children to remember that there is a cross for everyone, and there especially is a cross for me. Amen.