Station 8: Jesus meets the women of Jerusalem

A great number of the people followed him, and among them were women who were beating their breasts and wailing for him. But Jesus turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the days are surely coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us’; and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do this when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”[Luke 23.27-31]

Jesus may be predicting the later fall of Jerusalem, but the comment about the tree is more enigmatic. In Ezekiel 17.24, God says, “I dry up the green tree and make the dry tree flourish”. This could mean that if the green tree tries to exalt itself it will lose its life, but God can make the dead tree alive again; for the opportunity to repent and seek forgiveness always remains a possibility. Will the present, triumphant, jeering crowd understand this when disaster befalls them?

Prayer:

There is much in this world Lord, that I weep over, when I feel powerless and can do nothing else. Lord Jesus, give me true strength, to live a life dedicated to you; that I may be more active in my discipleship, to your glory.

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