Daughters of Jerusalem (Luke 23:26-33, Zechariah 9:9, Romans 2:28-29)

Luke 23:26
And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.

Luke 23:27
And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.

Luke 23:28
But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

Luke 23:29
For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

Luke 23:30
Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

Luke 23:31
For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

Luke 23:32
And there were also two other, malefactors, led with him to be put to death.

Luke 23:33
And when they were come to the place, which is called Calvary, there they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the right hand, and the other on the left.

Have you ever wondered what the meaning is of verse 31?

“For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?”

These words have troubled me for a long time. The entire section of verse 28-31 is one package. These four verses belong together, because they are connected by the words “For” and “Then” and “For”. And thus our goal today is to find the meaning of the bottom line, which is verse 31.

When we consider verses 28-31, we know that this passage must be related to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the context demands it.

Who is the Lord addressing in this passage?

Is He literally speaking to women and bemoaning their children?

Is He calling the women blessed if they have not borne any children?

But that is a very unbiblical idea.

And, if you insist on the literal interpretation, how are you going to relate this unbiblical idea to calling the mountains and the hills to fall on us, and how are you going to relate this to the green tree and the dry tree, and how are you going to relate all this to the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ?

And so, we understand now that this is not a passage that can be interpreted literally, for the Lord speaks here in allegorical language. And so, the first question that comes up is this:

Who is the Lord Jesus addressing here? Who do these daughters of Jerusalem represent?

Except in the Song of Solomon, which is a highly allegorical prophecy, all other references to the “Daughters of Jerusalem” indicate that these are the same people who are called “The daughter of Zion”. For example, God says in Zechariah 9:9, “Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion; shout, O daughter of Jerusalem: behold, thy King cometh unto thee: he is just, and having salvation; lowly, and riding upon an ass, and upon a colt the foal of an ass.”

The Lord Jesus came riding into Jerusalem as the King of the Jews; not the King of the Old Testament Jews, but the King of the New Testament Jews who are defined in Romans 2:28-29. And thus, the Lord Jesus is addressing the church, the invisible eternal church, whose members are the remnant chosen by grace out of all nations and kindreds and peoples and tongues, throughout both the Old Testament and the New Testament time. This agrees very well with other passages of Scripture, for wherever in the Bible a woman is interpreted spiritually, she always represents a religious organization, or she represents the church. And notice that the Lord Jesus in Luke 23:28-29 is addressing multiple women, so that we cannot say that He is addressing the eternal church as one woman, like in Galatians 4:26. There were many women following Him to the place of execution, and thus the Lord is speaking about many churches.

Weep For Your Children (Luke 23:28, 21:23, Matthew 24:19,21,24)

Luke 23:28
But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

If the women represent churches, who do the children represent?

The children represent those who are being fed by these churches. The children represent the people in those churches who are being fed false doctrines, because the churches have gone apostate. They adhere more to the words of men than to the Word of God. And this applies both to the Old Testament church as well as to the many New Testament churches that have been stamped out of the ground.

For example, did you notice that the Lord Jesus cleansed the temple twice during His ministry, once in the beginning and the second time at the end of His ministry?

It is pointing to the fact that the Old Testament church at the beginning of His ministry was thoroughly apostate, and the New Testament church at the end of the New Testament period of time will also be thoroughly apostate. The Bible is full of evidences of that fact. In Luke 21:23 the Lord Jesus is speaking the same language as in Luke 23:28-31, parabolic language. We read in Luke 21:23,

Luke 21:23
But woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck, in those days! for there shall be great distress in the land, and wrath upon this people.

Is He speaking about literal children and about literal babies?

No! The great distress in the land near the end of time is the great apostacy, which is the cause of God’s wrath upon this people. Perhaps you may remember that we read about the same subject matter in Matthew 24, which is speaking about the conditions of the world near the end of time. Here again the Lord is not speaking about literal women and children, for that would give us the unbiblical idea that women are blessed when they did not bear any children. The women represent churches, and the children represent people in those churches who are fed false doctrines by the preachers and teachers in those churches. We read in Matthew 24:19,

Matthew 24:19
And woe unto them that are with child, and to them that give suck in those days!

And then notice that the Lord followed this up with declaring in Matthew 24:21 that there will be great tribulation that will be worse than any other tribulation the world has ever known. Then the Lord explains what that tribulation will be like in Matthew 24:24, where He says,

Matthew 24:24
For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall shew great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.

You see, this is the great tribulation that churches will proclaim false gospels that are O-so-close to the true Gospel that even the elect might be deceived, if that were possible. But by the grace of God the elect cannot be deceived. But the majority in the churches will fall for it, and they will end up worshipping Satan instead of Christ. That is why the wrath of God rests upon them. Please return now to Luke 23:29,

Blessed Are the Barren (Luke 23:28-29, John 14:6, Revelation 13:7-8, Galatians 4:25, Psalm 8:2)

When the Lord Jesus speaks about “Blessed are the barren” He is always combining this thought with “The days are coming”.

Luke 23:29
For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

Which days are coming?

First of all the Lord is addressing the apostate Old Testament church, the church that denies the Lord Jesus as their Messiah, the church that claims that they are saved by being sons of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the church that claims that they are saved because they are obeying the Law of Moses. Those doctrines were never true, for they ignored the grace of God, and they ignored that God only saves through the mercy of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the Lord Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

The meaning of this is very plain: “No man cometh unto the Father, but by me,” and that means absolutely “No Man”, either in the New Testament time or in the Old Testament time. People in the Old Testament, like David, were saved by looking forward to their Messiah, and by putting their trust in Messiah to take care of their sins, not by putting their trust in the work of obeying the law. That is why those women should be weeping for their children, for they are being raised to be children under the wrath of God. The women represent synagogues who are teaching their people a false way to salvation. Those days started immediately after the Lord Jesus died on the cross, for this was the moment in time when the Old Testament economy turned to the New Testament economy of the Gospel. There is only one Gospel of salvation. Salvation is all by grace, for all the glory of salvation must always go to God, through the saving work of the Lord Jesus Christ. And thus, the Old Testament church that continues to proclaim the false gospel of works, and makes proselytes, is under a curse. Blessed is the Old Testament church that does not make proselytes under this false gospel.

Secondly, the Lord is addressing the church toward the end of the New Testament dispensation. When churches go apostate and preach works gospels that cannot save, fewer and fewer people are being saved, and then it is time for the Lord to return and judge the people of the world for their ungodliness. There are many references to the apostacy of the end time, but the clearest statement comes from Revelation 13:7-8, “And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome them: and power was given him over all kindreds, and tongues, and nations. And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”

In other words, except for a remnant chosen by grace, the great majority of the world shall worship Satan. Satanic doctrines will be preached in most churches, especially in mega-churches that seem to flourish all over the world. And the multitudes of converts that are joining those churches are trained to be children under the wrath of God. That is why the Lord is addressing those churches with the words, “Daughters of Jerusalem”, for they are descendants of the Jerusalem that is, and are in bondage with her children (Galatians 4:25). That is why the Lord says in Luke 23:28, “weep for yourselves and for your children.” Blessed are those churches that do not make converts under these false gospels.

And so, what does the Lord Jesus mean when He is speaking about “the paps which never gave suck”?

Who are:

Those Who Suck the Breasts? (Luke 23:29, Isaiah 66:10-12, 60:16, Galatians 4:25-26)

Luke 23:29
For, behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paps which never gave suck.

The Bible speaks many times about those who suck the breasts. For example, let’s turn to the Prophecy of Isaiah, Isa 66:10. We find in the Prophecy of Isaiah many statements that definitely need spiritual interpretations, for it is impossible to attach a literal meaning to those verses. Let us turn to two examples where the Lord speaks of those who suck the breasts. We read in Isaiah 66:10-12,

Isaiah 66:10
Rejoice ye with Jerusalem, and be glad with her, all ye that love her: rejoice for joy with her, all ye that mourn for her:

Isaiah 66:11
That ye may suck, and be satisfied with the breasts of her consolations; that ye may milk out, and be delighted with the abundance of her glory.

Isaiah 66:12
For thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the Gentiles like a flowing stream: then shall ye suck, ye shall be borne upon her sides, and be dandled upon her knees.

Is this speaking of a literal woman nursing a literal child?

Is this the literal city of Jerusalem of bricks and mortar?

Is this a literal baby borne upon her knees?

No, obviously it is not. But this is the woman of which all who are in Christ have come into, and at this time it is a woman who gives suck, because verse 12 says that this refers to the time when the Lord is expanding the New Testament church with converts who are truly saved and who are being fed with the true Gospel of grace by the church, for the Spirit of God will guide the church.

Which Jerusalem is the Lord talking about?

He is talking about the Jerusalem that is above (Galatians 4:26), for the Jerusalem that is, is still unsaved and is in bondage with her children (Galatians 4:25).

Isaiah 60:16 is also is a verse that speaks of the faithful church that feeds its members the true Gospel of salvation in the New Testament dispensation. And notice that it is impossible to interpret this verse literally. We read in Isaiah 60:16,

Isaiah 60:16
Thou shalt also suck the milk of the Gentiles, and shalt suck the breast of kings: and thou shalt know that I the LORD am thy Saviour and thy Redeemer, the mighty One of Jacob.

This verse speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ, for He alone is our Savior and our Redeemer, and He is the mighty One of Jacob. The saints “shall suck the milk of the Gentiles”, which means that there will be Gentile teachers in the New Testament church which will feed the congregation with the true milk of the Gospel. And this is also the meaning of thou “shalt suck the breast of kings”. As long as we are faithfully declaring the true Gospel of grace alone, through Christ alone, we are the kings and priests of the New Testament era.

And so we see that when the Lord Jesus turned to the women who followed Him, He uttered a parable to them, which they did not understand, but which He uttered for us so that we would search it out. And He began this parable by saying that the time would come when most of those that are in the churches are being trained to be under the wrath of God. And then Christ followed this up with a statement that reflects the wrath of God on all those who have been led astray by their churches at the end of time. He said in verse 30:

Fall on Us, and Cover Us (Luke 23:30, Revelation 6:16-17, Isaiah 2:12-21)

Luke 23:30
Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us.

This is a clear statement of the timing of the end of the world. People are hiding from the Lord Jesus Christ when He is coming as the Judge of all the earth at the end of time, to take vengeance on those that know not God and that obey not the Gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. For example, we turn to Revelation 6:16. The Lord Jesus is opening the sixth seal of the scroll, which contains the decree of God for all the history of this earth, from the beginning of creation until the end of time. The opening of the sixth seal declares to us the appearance of Christ at His second coming. The seventh seal contains the last trumpet call, and the rapture, and the seven vials of the wrath of God. And then we read in Revelation 6:16-17, “And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?”

This is exactly what the Lord Jesus is saying in Luke 23:30. The people of the world will be surprised by the coming of the Lord, and they will be surprised by the fact that the end of time has come. Some are surprised by the fact that the Lord’s return is announced so early in the Prophecy of Revelation, already in Revelation 6. But this is no surprise to a student of the Bible, for the Lord’s return is already spoken of in Isaiah 2:12,

Isaiah 2:12
For the day of the LORD of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low:

The Day of the Lord is generally referring to the Last Day.

Isaiah 2:17
And the loftiness of man shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that day.

No more loftiness of man, for the Lord alone shall be exalted in that day.

Isaiah 2:19
And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the LORD and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Isaiah 2:20
In that day a man shall cast his idols of silver, and his idols of gold, which they made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and to the bats;

Isaiah 2:21
To go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Clearly, this is speaking of the end of the world, and all the people of the world shall know that Christ has come to judge all those who have not been taken up in the rapture. And so we see that the Lord Jesus in verses 28, and 29, and 30 of Luke chapter 23 is warning the church, yes He is warning the people in the churches, that the majority of churches will go apostate, and that judgment will be waiting them when Christ returns. And now we are ready to talk about:

The Green Tree and the Dry Tree (Luke 23:31, Matthew 3:11-12, Ephesians 1:4)

Luke 23:31
For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

In the context of verse 30, what would the dry tree refer to?

Yes, it would refer to the state of this dry tree near the end of time, when judgment will be meted out by Christ the Judge. This is the direction we should go. Luke 23:31 speaks about a good tree, in a time when the tree is still green, and about a dry tree, in a time when that same tree is very dry. When John the Baptist announced the coming of the Lord Jesus, he described Him as One who shall baptize His people with fire.

What does baptism by fire mean?

We read in Matthew 3:11-12,

Matthew 3:11
…He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire:

Matthew 3:12
Whose fan is in his hand, and he will throughly purge his floor, and gather his wheat into the garner; but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.

The Lord Jesus speaks of His crucifixion as a Baptism. And for sure it was a baptism by fire. When the Lord Jesus went to the cross to pay on our behalf what we owe to God, He had to pay the penalty that we would have to pay, which is an eternity in Hell. Thus Christ paid the penalty that was equivalent to an eternity in Hell, for only then will God’s righteousness be satisfied. We cannot understand how great His sufferings were in His soul, but we do believe what the Bible says in ephesians 1:4, which states that we were chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world.

In fact the Bible says that we were still in Christ when He went to the cross, and when He paid the penalty of the equivalent of an eternity in Hell. And so, when Christ endured a baptism by fire, referring to the torments of Hell in His soul, we were in Christ, and thus we also endured the baptism by fire with Christ as our representative. This is the meaning of Matthew 3:11.

According to Luke 23:31 the tree was still green then. But when we turn to Matthew 3:12, when “He shall burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire” refers to the time when the tree was dry.

And so, what tree did the Lord Jesus refer to in Luke 23:31?

It could not be the Tree of Life, for the tree of life does not turn dry. It could not be the Fig Tree, for the fig tree represents the nation of Israel, and the nation of Israel ceased to be a special nation in the eyes of God after Christ died on the cross.

Could it be the Olive Tree?

Let us look at:

The Olive Tree (Luke 23:31, Romans 11:1-24)

Luke 23:31
For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

And remember the word “For”, because the word “For” relates the actions done in the green tree and in the dry tree to the previous three verses. And notice the preposition “in”. In other words, the green tree cannot refer to the Lord Jesus Christ Himself, since He said, “For if they do these things in a green tree”. He did not say, “For if they do these things to a green tree”. But it is possible to do things in an olive tree.

In Romans 11 God is not speaking about a future glorious nation of Israel during a glorious millennium, for that is contrary to all that the Bible has to say. We have seen this several times during our studies in Matthew. In fact, Romans 11 is in full harmony with God’s plan of salvation as outlined in Romans 9 and 10, where God shows that He saves only those who are His elect, the remnant chosen from before the foundation of the world. And so, Romans 11:1 states with whom God is dealing through this entire chapter. We read in Romans 11:1, “I say then, Hath God cast away his people? God forbid. For I also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of Benjamin.” In other words, God has not cast away the remnant from the nation of Israel, for I am also an Israelite, and I am not cast away.

Romans 11:11
I say then, Have they stumbled that they should fall? God forbid: but rather through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy.

Romans 11:12
Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?

Romans 11:13
For I speak to you Gentiles, inasmuch as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine office:

Romans 11:14
If by any means I may provoke to emulation them which are my flesh, and might save some of them.

Romans 11:15
For if the casting away of them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving of them be, but life from the dead?

Romans 11:16
For if the firstfruit be holy, the lump is also holy: and if the root be holy, so are the branches.

Romans 11:17
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree,
wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

Romans 11:18
Boast not against the branches. But if thou boast, thou bearest not the root, but the root thee.

Romans 11:19
Thou wilt say then, The branches were broken off, that I might be graffed in.

Romans 11:20
Well; because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou standest by faith. Be not highminded, but fear:

Romans 11:21
For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed lest he also spare not thee.

Romans 11:22
Behold therefore the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.

Romans 11:23
And they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be graffed in: for God is able to graff them in again.

Romans 11:24
For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree which is wild by nature, and wert graffed contrary to nature into a good olive tree: how much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be graffed into their own olive tree?

In other words, the fall of the nation of Israel was that they crucified their Messiah. But through their fall salvation is come to the Gentiles. Then, beginning in verse 16 God is setting up the parable of the olive tree. There we read, “For if the firstfruit (which is Christ) be holy, the lump (the eternal church) is also holy: and if the root (which is Christ again) be holy, so are the branches (the eternal church again).”

What is the eternal church?

The eternal church consists of all those whom the Lord has made born from above; and thus the eternal church consists of all those among the remnant chosen by grace who have already been saved in their soul. There are others who are still going to be saved, and this is a process that continues until the last day, for only then is the temple of God complete when all the elect will have been saved. Then in Romans 11:17 God speaks about “branches were broken off.”

Branches Were Broken Off (Luke 23:31, Romans 11:17,20, Revelation 11:3-4, Revelation 1:20)

Romans 11:17
And if some of the branches be broken off, and thou, being a wild olive tree, wert graffed in among them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the olive tree;

About what point in history is the Lord speaking off when He says that some of the branches were broken off, and others were grafted in?

This took place when the olive tree was still green. The olive tree represents the eternal church.

Can we say that the olive tree was a green tree when the Lord Jesus was led to Golgotha?

Absolutely yes, for a few days later we see 120 faithful assembled in the upper room, and these were only the faithful ones in Jerusalem. There were many more in Galilee. The Old Testament church represented by the scribes and Pharisees was dead as a doornail, but the New Testament church was alive and well, and was about to grow by leaps and bounds. And so, which branches were broken off from the olive tree of which Christ was the root. Verse 20 says that they were broken off because of unbelief. The Jews who remained in their Judaism, and refused to believe that they crucified their Messiah, were broken off from the olive tree because God brought in the New Testament economy without the ceremonial law, and most of the Jews did not like that. They preferred to hang on to Moses, for they did not believe Christ.

And which branches were grafted in?

Those to whom God the Holy Spirit gave the faith to believe the words of Christ, and trust in the saving work of Christ on the cross, those were the branches that were grafted in.

Revelation 11:3-4 further proves that the olive tree represents the eternal church, consisting of people that remain faithful witnesses for Christ. Even though Revelation 11 is rather steep in allegorical language, we can still understand that the two faithful witnesses represent those that are faithful in the eyes of God.

Revelation 11:3
And I will give power unto my two witnesses, and they shall prophesy a thousand two hundred and threescore days, clothed in sackcloth.

Revelation 11:4
These are the two olive trees, and the two candlesticks standing before the God of the earth.

The faithful witnesses represented by the two olive trees are referenced in Romans 11:16-24, and the two candlesticks are referenced in Revelation 1:20 where we read, “The seven candlesticks which thou sawest are the seven churches.” And so, we now understand that in the first half of Luke 23:31 the green tree is the green olive tree, where something is done IN the green olive tree: Branches were broken off, and wild branches were grafted into that same olive tree. Now we come to:

Judgment on the Dry Tree (Revelation 11:7, Luke 23:31, Jeremiah 17:5)

Luke 23:31
For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?

And now we must remember that this verse ties into the previous three verses. The word “For” tells us that the people who are in consternation witnessing the Lord’s return as the Judge of all the earth, the ones that are crying to the mountains and hills to fall on them, are those that are represented by the dry tree. They thought they were safe and secure in their apostate church, but their church belonged to the dry olive tree. In fact, God prophesied that the two olive trees of Revelation 11 would end up to be dry and dead trees, for God says in Revelation 11:7, “And when they shall have finished their testimony, the beast that ascendeth out of the bottomless pit shall make war against them, and shall overcome them, and kill them.”

When the two witnesses have completed the work for which God had appointed them, then the two witnesses would be killed; which means that their faithful witness would be silenced, and that the remainder of the church from henceforth is only spouting false gospels. Most of the church has then become a dry olive tree. What is left of the church is ripe for the judgment of God, which means it is to be burned in the fires of Hell.

And so, this is how the parable fits together: The Lord Jesus warns us for the great apostasy which is surely going to come, or is with us already. The women to whom He seems to be talking to represent the New Testament churches, and their children are the people in the churches who are fed works gospels that do not save anyone.

They will see their error on the last day, but then it is too late, for the time of salvation has passed. And then the Lord summarizes the whole parable in verse 31 with the green tree and the dry tree.

And how does all this fit within the context of the Lord Jesus Christ going to the cross?

The Bible tells us that the atonement of the Lord Jesus Christ was a particular atonement for the particular sins of a particular group of people. Most churches these days preach a gospel where the Lord Jesus has paid for the sins of the whole world, and now it is up to us to make the decision if we want to be saved.

That is why the women were to weep for their children, for near the end of time most of the church-going crowd would remain unsaved, for they love to hang on to the words of their pastor, or Bible teacher, rather than to the Word of God. Very few people these days are interested in knowing exactly what God said, because they are lazy, and are satisfied with the words of their pastor or Bible teacher. A long time ago God warned His people for this very same error, for God said in Jeremiah 17:5, “Thus saith the LORD; Cursed be the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and whose heart departeth from the LORD”.

Those who trust their pastor rather than the actual Word of God are under a curse.

Did you hear what I said?

Please let this be a warning to all of us. Do not put your trust in my words. Put your trust in the Word of God, and God the Holy Spirit will guide your thoughts and intends of your heart to give you the guidance that you seek. Do not be lazy. Do your own Bible study. Search the Scriptures, for therein you will find treasures and revelations of the Lord Jesus Christ that you never even dreamed of.

AMEN.

By Alfred J. Chompff