Women in the Easter StorySýnishorn

Don’t Weep for Me

The women who loved Jesus followed him down the painful road to Golgotha. As Jesus took each painful step, the women cried out in mourning. But He turned to them and said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children” (Luke 23:28).

Jesus knew what His mission was. He knew the purpose for all His suffering, and it was this goal that drove Him through the horrific violence of self-sacrifice. And even though it was excruciating, it was not for Him to mourn over. His heart looked beyond the pain to the prize. Jesus knew His death would end with resurrection and redemption.

The women couldn’t see the other side of the suffering. They forgot Jesus’ promise to rise again. They forgot the power over death that He displayed at places like Lazarus’ tomb and the bedside of Jairus’ daughter. They couldn’t see the future past the circumstances that they were witnessing.

And Jesus chastised them—weep for yourselves and for your children. He reminded them that the true sorrow is the sin of the world, a lost generation and the generation to come. If these women should pray and weep for anyone, let it be for those who have no hope.

That message is still true for us today. Rather than weep for the immediate circumstances before us, or the suffering that we endure for Christ, let us weep and pray for a world that refuses to experience the love of Christ and believe in the power of His resurrection. Let us turn our attention outward to the people of this world.

In the way of Christ, we carry our own cross now, but we don’t need sympathy. What we bear we endure with joy, knowing that this life is only temporary, and our prize is far better than anything this world could offer.

Discuss: Evaluate your own spiritual walk. Are you living in the unresolved past or finding yourself overcome by the present? Or are you keeping your eyes on the future?