“And there followed him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting for him. But turning to them Jesus said, ‘Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say, “Blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed!” Then they will begin to say to the mountains, “Fall on us,” and to the hills, “Cover us.” For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?’” (Luke 23:27-31)
In the midst of His great physical pain, suffering, and humiliation, Jesus was not thinking of Himself, but of others. His heart, thoughts, and prayers were focused on those people who were weeping for Him as well as on those who were putting Him to death, Jews as well as Romans. He knew that were in grave danger. The judgment which His Father would bring on the nation of the Jews as a result of their actions against the Son of God would cause them great suffering and pain.
In our global climate, the tendency of many is to lash out at those who do bad things to them, who malign or belittle them, or who just disagree with their worldview. Such hurt feelings are the fuel which inflames cancel culture and the whole woke attitude which attempts to belittle the faith of Christians by negating God’s truth with whatever feels good.
But Jesus did not lash out at those who hurt Him though He was treated with great contempt and cruelty. As we seen from Luke’s Gospel, as Jesus was suffering, His concern was not His own pain but the feelings and needs of others. He comforted the grieving women. He forgave His executioners, both the Romans and the Jews. He granted mercy and salvation to the repentant thief. And, no doubt, His thoughts were for us as well, for He bore the weight of our sins. He experienced the wrath of God because of us, so we too are to be counted among those who nailed Him to the cross.
When we or our faith are slandered we should weep for those who do it for they do not know Christ. They are on their way to eternal hell and that is sad. And when we ourselves suffer then, we should seek the help of Jesus so we may offer our pain for His glory. Knowing that our suffering is serving His eternal purpose will help us endure.