Photo by Samuel McGarrigle on Unsplash
By Mike Chaffin
For if these things are done when the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?” Luke 23:31
Metaphor, allegory and riddles. Jesus used all these visual word devices and more to teach the principles of the kingdom of God. In this passage Jesus asks us a question that we should ponder, a riddle we must understand.
Jesus posed this question to a group of women who were weeping by the road to Golgotha as Jesus, and Simon of Cyrene, carried the cross toward His crucifixion. The question is an explanation of prophecy, a claim, and a warning.
To understand what Jesus is saying we first have to realize Jesus used questions as teaching moments. When He asks a question, we need to immediately go into student mode. We must understand the question before we know how to answer it. In this question Jesus once again references Old Testament prophecy. If we don’t know this we lose the meaning and significance of the question.
The reference is in Ezekiel. God tells Ezekiel to prophecy to the south. In Hebrew the word for south is Teman, which is also the name of a city just south of Judah. Since Ezekiel is in captivity in Babylon the message is to both Israel and Judah, the twelve tribes of Israel.
47 Tell the southern wilderness, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: Hear the word of the Lord! I will set you on fire, and every tree, both green and dry, will be burned. The terrible flames will not be quenched and will scorch everything from south to north. 48 And everyone in the world will see that I, the Lord, have set this fire. It will not be put out.’”
Then I said, “O Sovereign Lord, they are saying of me, ‘He only talks in riddles!’” Ezekiel 20:47-49
Jesus is the green tree. He is telling us via this question; I am the green tree. He is by reference saying He is the Messiah. The first to be persecuted by the evil rulers of this world. His death and resurrection make it possible for us who believe to have everlasting life. The green tree also represents innocence. Jesus was sinless so He alone qualified to die on the cross for our sins.
Dry wood represents guilt. We are guilty of sin and unless we repent, we will die. It also represents those who are guilty, but who have accepted Jesus as Savior. We will face similar persecution as Jesus when we take up our cross and follow Him. Martyrs have been around since the first follower of Jesus was killed for his beliefs. A recent martyr is Charlie Kirk. He was killed for speaking the truth of the gospel without fear, for he knew where his future lay.
The people of Ezekiel’s day accused God of speaking in riddles as they did not understand the prophecy. Jesus thanked God in His day that much of His teaching was hidden from the religious intellectuals and hypocritic leaders but revealed to those who were searching for the way, the truth and life. Jesus gives His believers all three.
The warning Jesus gives is real. Peter wrote on this,
So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. 2 You won’t spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God. 3 You have had enough in the past of the evil things that godless people enjoy—their immorality and lust, their feasting and drunkenness and wild parties, and their terrible worship of idols.
4 Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you. 5 But remember that they will have to face God, who stands ready to judge everyone, both the living and the dead. 1 Peter 4:1-5
The good news is we can know the answer to Jesus questions. He tells us to seek and we shall find, knock and it shall be opened. Furthermore, He proclaimed to his followers, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”
Contemplation: Do I know the Old Testament well enough to hear Jesus and understand? What can I do to fully understand all Jesus is telling me?
