Weep not for me!

'Weep not for me!'

— Luke 23:28

Our Lord was carrying his cross through the streets of Jerusalem. He had been beaten, mocked, abused and scourged. Many were astonished at the hideous sight. ‘His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.’ As Jesus of Nazareth carried his cross through the streets, his temples bled. His face was bruised. And his back was lacerated. The sight was more than some women in the crowd could endure. They felt great sorrow and pity for Jesus. They could not refrain themselves; they wept, bewailed and lamented this suffering man. But Immanuel stopped the procession. Turning to those women, our mighty Savior said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.’

Why did our Lord rebuke these weeping women? They were rebuked not because they wept, but because they wept over the wrong thing. They felt sorry for poor Jesus. My friend, Jesus Christ is not a man to be pitied; he is a God to be worshipped and a King to be served! Too many people weep over the story of the crucifixion because they feel sorry for Jesus, thinking that sorrow for Jesus is salvation. Our Lord was not helplessly dragged off to the cross. He marched up to Calvary in triumph. We ought never to lament the fact that Christ died as he did upon the cross. Rather, let us glory in the cross. The death and resurrection of the Son of God is our salvation. Without the cross, we would all perish. The cross is God’s remedy for human sin. Weep not over the cure, but over the disease. Weep not over the fulfilling of the law, but over the transgression of the law. Do not ever weep over the fact that Christ died as a Substitute for sinners, but weep over the sin which made the death of Christ necessary for the salvation of his people.