Audio - Jesus’ Sermon to the Women

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The First Sunday in Lent
Jesus’ Sermon to the Women
March 1, 2009

TEXT:  (Luke 23:28-31 NKJ) But Jesus, turning to them, said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. 29 "For indeed the days are coming in which they will say,`Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!' 30 "Then they will begin`to say to the mountains, "Fall on us!" and to the hills, "Cover us!"' 31 "For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?"
 
As our Lord made His way to the place of the crucifixion, He spoke to the women who followed Him—they didn’t hide in the crowd—they walked along in a state of shock—What was happening to their Lord?—it is interesting that the women were the last to hear Jesus’ teachings—and the women were the first to see the empty tomb—why were the women selected for this privilege?—perhaps to teach us all a lesson on increasing our strength with the power of Christ—Paul understood this lesson—the weaker we appear in human terms, the stronger our faith can make us through the power of Christ—there is no limit to our faith—and there is no limit to the strength of Christ available to us
 
(2 Corinthians 12:9-10 NKJ) And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ's sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.
 
 
Women were not well-respected in that day and in that culture—perhaps that is why Jesus chose to teach His lesson through them—thinking back to the Old Testament example of Gideon—when God chose to defeat the Assyrians’ 120,000 man army with only 300 Israelites—and the army of God did not even bring weapons to the battlefield—we understand that God shows His strength through the weak—our example of the women boldly approaching the place of the crucifixion—following the armed soldiers who are leading Jesus to the place that He will be sacrificed—these women are sad and upset—and Jesus takes this time to help them prepare for the events that will take place—He begins by letting them know that He has more concern for them than they should have for Him
 
As Jesus speaks with these women, He knows what events wait for them—the historian of the day named Josephus gave vivid details of the things that took place after Jesus’ resurrection—women ran to the mountains—they hid in caves and tunnels—they were starving to death—and when their children died, Josephus tells us that some consumed the flesh of their own dead babies to survive—all this was part of God’s punishment of Israel for not recognizing and honoring His Son
 
(Luke 21:20-24 NKJ) "But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. 21 "Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. 22 "For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. 23 "But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. 24 "And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.
 
Jesus knows that His fate will be over in a few hours—and He knows that their future will include long-term suffering that they cannot even imagine—in Jesus’ case the torment would be life for life—that was God’s plan from the beginning—consider the words God gave us through Moses
 
(Leviticus 17:11 NKJ) `For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul.
 
(Deuteronomy 19:21 NKJ) "Your eye shall not pity: life shall be for life, eye for eye, tooth for tooth, hand for hand, foot for foot.
 
Jesus came to offer His life that we might have life—He paid the price to set s free
 
(Mark 10:45 NKJ) "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."
 
Jesus also knew that His death and resurrection had a purpose—but these women would suffer out of pure evil and greed—Jesus died for our sins—God demands payment for disobedience—He demands payment for our sin—Jesus offered to be the Ultimate Sacrifice—the Payment for our sins—the Ransom for many as we heard described by Mark
 
(2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJ) For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
 
The Sermon Message: Jesus’ Example of the Tree
 
Jesus closes His short sermon to the women with a reference to trees—"For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?"—we have to extend the symbolism of the tree to include other Scriptural references if we are to fully grasp what Jesus is teaching—in the Old Testament, at the time of creation, there was a tree of life—after the fall into sin, God removed man’s access to that tree
 
(Genesis 3:22-24 NKJ) Then the LORD God said, "Behold, the man has become like one of Us, to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever "-- 23 therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken. 24 So He drove out the man; and He placed cherubim at the east of the garden of Eden, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.
 
The symbolism of the tree is repeated throughout the Bible—for example, in the Old Testament, God had Moses bring the Israelites to the bitter waters of Marah—and the bitter was made sweet by the addition of the tree as directed by God
 
(Exodus 15:23-25 NKJ) Now when they came to Marah, they could not drink the waters of Marah, for they were bitter. Therefore the name of it was called Marah. 24 And the people complained against Moses, saying, "What shall we drink?" 25 So he cried out to the LORD, and the LORD showed him a tree. When he cast it into the waters, the waters were made sweet. There He made a statute and an ordinance for them. And there He tested them
 
 
 
Note that the bitter water was made sweet by God when Moses threw the tree into the water—over 2 million people could not have survived without the sweet water of the tree—today’s believers—God’s people of today—cannot survive without the victory over death Jesus achieved on the tree of the cross—the Sacrifice brought death to Jesus the Man—and our victory over death came by the glorification of our Lord—the glorification God gave His Son—and us—through the resurrection of Jesus, the Christ
 
Jesus used a tree as part of His teaching during His sermon on the mount—surely the women walking with Jesus to the place of His crucifixion have heard of Jesus’ sermon on the mount teaching—or perhaps they heard of the teaching of the lesson of the fruit of the vine that Jesus taught at the table of the “Last Supper”
 
(Matthew 7:19-20 NKJ) "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. 20 "Therefore by their fruits you will know them.
 
(John 15:1-9 NKJ) "I am the true vine, and My Father is the vinedresser. 2 "Every branch in Me that does not bear fruit He takes away; and every branch that bears fruit He prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 "You are already clean because of the word which I have spoken to you. 4 "Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. 5 "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 "If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 "By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 "As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love.
 
We began with the tree of life in first chapter of the first Book of the Bible, Genesis—and we see the tree of life again in the last chapter of the last Book of the Bible—Revelation


 
 
(Revelation 22:1-7 NKJ) And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. 4  They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. 5  There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever. 6 Then he said to me, "These words are faithful and true." And the Lord God of the holy prophets sent His angel to show His servants the things which must shortly take place. 7 "Behold, I am coming quickly! Blessed is he who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book."
 
As Jesus teaches the women on the road to the place of the crucifixion—man, by nature, became dead wood—or as Jesus describes it, dry wood—wood without life—as we see in the closing chapter of Scripture—the water of life from the throne of God will provide for the tree of life—and there will be fruit every day—when Jerusalem falls, Jesus wants the women who will bear much suffering and pain to understand that they must remain focused on their eternal future in heaven—they must not dwell on the pain and suffering of their journey through life in this world—they who believed, and we who believe today have our citizenship in heaven
 
(Philippians 3:20-21 NKJ) For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.
 
While in agony from His wounds—while being physically weakened by the things of this evil world that He endured—our Lord focused on the things of heaven—and He asked the women to do the same—that is the message to remember today
 
ALL GLORY BE TO GOD!