Good Morning Friends,
Some of Jesus’ most mysterious words come not in His parables, but on the road to His crucifixion. As He carries the cross, He turns to the weeping women of Jerusalem and speaks of a green tree and a dry tree, a riddle that opens into the whole drama of divine wrath, human rebellion, covenant judgment, and the mercy of the Cross. Stay with me as we consider the message and power in these words and ultimately why the wrath of God exacted on the Cross was not sufficient to forestall the wrath of Rome. This devotional gathers the threads of Luke’s narrative, Reformed doctrine of salvation, and Jesus’ prophetic imagination into one tapestry: the Cross as the place where wrath is absorbed, mercy is offered, and judgment is grieved. We ask: How Does The Green Tree, The Dry Tree, And The Labor Of Jesus On The Cross Reveal The Heart Of God?
Scripture Summaries:
Luke 23:31 — The Green Tree and the Dry Tree
Jesus warns: If Rome crucifies the innocent One (the green tree), what will happen to a nation hardened in rebellion (the dry tree)? It is a prophecy of grief, not vindictiveness.
Luke 19:41–44 — Jesus Weeps Over Jerusalem
Jesus foresees the coming destruction of Jerusalem because it “did not recognize the time of God’s visitation.” Judgment is the tragic fruit of rejected mercy.
Romans 3:25 & Isaiah 53 — The Cross and Wrath
Paul and Isaiah proclaim that Jesus bears the wrath due to sinners. He absorbs judgment so that mercy may be extended.
Luke 21 — Near and Far Future
Jesus speaks of two horizons: Near-term: the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70.Long-term: the return of the Son of Man in History and eschatology woven together.
Message: Today we explore the imagery of the green tree, the dry tree and the cross to explain why the cross exhausts God’s wrath but does not continue it in the destruction of Jerusalem by Rome in 70 A.D. Reformed theology holds this tension with clarity: Jesus bears God’s wrath for sin. Yet Israel still faces judgment. Why? Because the Cross is sufficient for all but applied only through faith. Atonement is objective, but its benefits are received subjectively. Jesus dies as Israel’s representative, but Israel refuses to be represented by Him. Jerusalem’s destruction is not “extra wrath.” It is a covenantal consequence, long foretold, long grieved, long resisted by God’s mercy. In the imagery of the green tree and the dry tree, Jesus is the green tree, alive, righteous, full of divine life. Israel, hardened and resistant, is the dry tree. Jesus’ warning echoes the prophets: Jeremiah’s tree imagery, Ezekiel’s burning forest, Isaiah’s stump and shoot. Jesus stands in their line, but with tears in His voice. He is not predicting with cold detachment; He is lamenting with covenant love.
The Cross is the place where wrath and mercy meet. But mercy must be received. Israel’s leaders reject the very salvation offered to them. Thus AD 70 becomes the historical outworking of centuries of prophetic warnings. Jesus sees this future. Luke shows Jesus looking at two horizons: The near future: armies surrounding Jerusalem, the Temple falling, exile returning. The far future: cosmic signs, the Son of Man appearing, redemption for the faithful. The Cross inaugurates salvation. The Second Coming consummates it.
And So, Jesus’ prophecy is not thunder, it is heartbreak. He is the King who weeps. The Judge who longs to gather. The Lamb who bears wrath so that sinners may find refuge. The green tree is mercy offered. The dry tree is mercy refused. And the Cross stands between them as the hinge of history. This is the heart of God, desiring for us to see the green tree in our lives, the places where Christ’s life is breaking in with freshness and hope. We are to see the dry tree places in our own lives, areas that are hardened, resistant and brittle. We are to realize that Jesus does not speak these words to condemn us, but to invite us. He is the green tree who was cut down so that dry trees might live again. His grief over Jerusalem is His compassion over us. His Cross is the place where wrath ends and mercy begins.
Pray Lord Jesus, that we see You as the green tree, full of life, full of righteousness, full of mercy. Pray we are thankful for You bearing the wrath that belonged to us, and for offering salvation with open arms. Pray that where our hearts are dry, You soften them. Pray that where our lives are brittle, You restore them. Pray that where we resist Your visitation, overcome us with grace. Pray you teach us to see Your tears over Jerusalem as Your tears over us not of anger, but of longing love that we would be transformed. Pray You root us in Your life and prepare us for the day when the Son of Man comes in glory.
Amen.
Blessings,
John Lawson
Daily Devotionals 