And following Him was a large multitude of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop crying for Me, but cry 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 nursed.’ 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 tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
Luke 23:27-31
Introduction
When we read passages like this, it can be very confusing when we forget the context of what occurred in Jerusalem over the course of the first century. In A.D. 70, the Roman armies surrounded Jerusalem and laid siege. According to the Jewish historian Josephus, the famine that swept the city was so great at least one woman resorted to eating her own child (“The Wars of the Jews” Book VI, sections 3-5). The majority of the city was killed, with captured children being sold into slavery.
This was one of the most terrible events in the history of Judea, culminating in the complete destruction of the Temple, rendering the Temple mount to little more than what we can see today.
A call back to the prophets
If you are reading this passage separately in a physical Bible, you might notice the words “Fall on us” and “Cover us” are in these strange small capital letters. This is an indication the phrase is either a direct quote or a very close paraphrase of Old Testament scripture. In this case, there is one clear reference to the prophet Hosea.
Hosea was called by God when Jeroboam was king of Israel, primarily to prophesy against this northern kingdom. Famously, God commands Hosea to “take a wife of harlotry,” and he marries Gomer. God uses her as an illustration to demonstrate Israel’s infidelity toward Him and His covenant He made with them as His people. It stands as a compelling visual that sticks to the mind for how much it goes against every instinct we have (similar to Ezekiel’s visual of eating food cooked over burning excrement).
And after several chapters of laying out the charges against Israel, God begins to issue His judgment. This judgment contains both the guilty verdict and the punishment. In chapter 10, He pronounces judgment against the capital city of Samaria, saying, “Samaria will be ruined with her king like a stick on the surface of the water. Also the high places of Aven, the sin of Israel, will be eradicated; thorn and thistle will grow on their altars; then they will say to the mountains, ‘Cover us!’ and to the hills, ‘Fall on us!’”
The great idolatry of Samaria resulted in such judgment that the people were to prefer being crushed by mountains over what ultimately happened to them. By invoking this judgment in Hosea, Jesus does a few things. First, He affirms the sorrow the women have over their city’s sin by recognizing it as a sin on the level, or even greater than, that of Samaria. But conversely He also tells them that their sorrow really ought to be for themselves because their judgment was sealed. The city would be destroyed, and the people eradicated in the same way Samaria was eradicated, leaving behind a race of people who were neither of Israel nor of the nations, but a mix of the two.
Keeping judgment in mind
The final line is one we should keep top of mind, “For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” When the God-Man Himself resided with the people, teaching them and healing them, they in turn killed Him. And while you and I are indwelt by the Holy Spirit of God, we still long for the return of Christ to set all things right. During this season we have work set out before us to live godly lives, love as God loves, and to bring His gospel to the world.
This is not an easy task, but it is one we are able to perform thanks to the renewal of our hearts and minds by the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5-6). But if we grow complacent and think that our fate is sealed, and so nothing else matters, we ought to be very wary. Judgment is coming, and it is coming for those whose lives are marked by disobedience to Christ. His sacrifice covers every sin, but a faith that is not lived is no real faith at all. Remember that when that day comes which we long for, the Lord will come in judgment. No mountain or hill can hide you from that judgment – only those who run to Him will be safe (Proverbs 18:10).
On that day, what will He say to you? Will He say, “Depart from Me, for I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23), or will He say, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (Matthew 25:23)?
May the Lord bless you and conform you into the image of His Son.
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