Luke 23:31

Or as if He spake to all: If I who have done no sin being called the tree of life, do not depart from the world without suffering the fire of my Passion, what torment think ye awaits those who are barren of all fruits?

But that such horrible days are to be awaited without doubt, dreaded, and anticipated with weeping, he shows from the consideration of his own passion, when he adds: For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry? …

For if the Romans have done this to Me, a moist tree, fruit-bearing, ever green and ever living by the power of the Godhead, and nourishing all with the fruits of My teaching, what will they not do to you, that is, to the people, …

If they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry? - Our Lord makes use of a proverbial expression, frequent among the Jews, who compare a good man to a green tree, and a bad man to a dead one: as if he had said, If an innocent person suffer thus, what will become of the wicked? Of those who are as ready for destruction as dry wood for the fire?

36 And the soldiers also mocked him, coming to him, and offering him vinegar, 37 And saying, If thou be the king of the Jews, save thyself. 38 And a superscription also was written over him in letters of Greek, and Latin, and Hebrew, THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS. 39 And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us.

quarantine:scripture (2026-07-29) — verbatim-scripture

For if they do these things in a green tree,....

For if they do these things in a green tree ... - This seems to be a proverbial expression. A “green” tree is not easily set on fire; a dry one is easily kindled and burns rapidly; and the meaning of the passage is - “If they, the Romans, do these things to me, who am innocent and blameless; if they punish me in this manner in the face of justice, what will they not do in relation to this guilty nation? What security have they that heavier judgments will not come upon them?

green tree--that naturally resists the fire. the dry--that attracts the fire, being its proper fuel. The proverb here plainly means: "If such sufferings alight upon the innocent One, the very Lamb of God, what must be in store for those who are provoking the flames?" Lu 23:32-38, 44-46.

quarantine:debris (2026-07-29) — starts-lowercase

These words must have sounded particularly terrible to the ears of a Jewish woman. To her, it was always a disgrace to be childless. The idea of a time coming when it would be a blessing to have no children — must have been a strange and fearsome thought to her mind. And yet within fifty years, this prediction of Christ was literally fulfilled! The siege of Jerusalem by the Roman army under Titus, brought down on all the inhabitants of the city the most horrible sufferings from famine and pestilence that can be conceived. Women are reported to have actually eaten their own children during the siege for lack of food. Upon none did the last judgments sent upon the Jewish nation fall so heavily, as upon the wives, the mothers, and the little children. Let us beware of supposing that the Lord Jesus holds out to man nothing but mercy, pardon, love, and forgiveness. Beyond all doubt, He is plenteous in mercy. His mercy is like a mighty stream. He "delights in mercy." But we must never forget that there is justice with Him — as well as mercy . He is preparing punishments for the impenitent and the unbelieving. There is wrath revealed in the Gospel, for those who harden themselves in wickedness. The same cloud which was bright to Israel — was dark to the Egyptians. The same Lord Jesus who invites the laboring and heavy-laden to come to Him and rest — declares most plainly that unless a man repents — he will certainly perish; and that he who does not believe — shall be damned. (Luke 13:3; Mark 16:16.) The same Savior who now holds out His hands to the disobedient and rebellious — will come one day "from Heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God, and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.

CAN you picture the scene? Jesus is given up by Pilate to the Jews that they may do their will with Him and, led by a small band of soldiers, He is conducted into the public street, bearing His Cross upon His shoulders. Perhaps they judged Him to be weary with His night of watching and worn with His suffering from the scourge, and they feared lest He might die upon the road and, therefore, with a cruel mercy, they laid hold upon one in the crowd who had too loudly expressed His sympathy, impressed him into military service and compelled him to assist in carrying the instrument of execution. You see the haughty scribes and the ribald throng—but the center of the spectacle, and the cause of it all was our Lord Himself—Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. We cannot paint Him. All who have ever attempted to do so have, to a large extent, been unsuccessful, for there was upon His face a mingled majesty and meekness, loveliness and lowliness, sanctity and sorrow which it would not be possible to express upon canvas or to represent in words. About His Person there were abundant marks of cruelty. He had been scourged. Everyone could see it. His own garments, which they had put upon Him, could not conceal the marks of the Roman lash. The traces of the crown of thorns were on His brow and the rough treatment of the soldiers had left its tokens, too, so that His visage was more marred than that of any man. And His form more than the sons of men. And now He is being led away to be put to the shameful death of the Cross. There were some glad eyes there, delighted that, at last, their victim was in their power and that the eloquent tongue which had exposed their hypocrisy would now be silenced in death. There, too, were the unfeeling Romans, to whom human life was a trifle. And all around, gathered in dense masses, the brutal mob, bribed to shout against their best Friend.

CAN you picture the scene? Jesus is given up by Pilate to the Jews that they may do their will with Him and, led by a small band of soldiers, He is conducted into the public street, bearing His Cross upon His shoulders.

If they do these things in a green tree - This seems to be a proverbial expression, the sense of which is: If they spare not a tree which, by the beauty of its foliage, abundance and excellence of its fruits, deserves to be preserved, then the tree which is dry and withered will surely be cut down. If an innocent man be put to death in the very face of justice, in opposition to all its dictates and decisions, by a people who profess to be governed and directed by Divine laws, what desolation, injustice, and oppression may not be expected, when anarchy and confusion sit in the place where judgment and justice formerly presided? Our Lord alludes prophetically to those tribulations which fell upon the Jewish people about forty years after. See the notes on Matthew 24:1-51 (note).