For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?  Luke 23:28-31 HCSB

Once again, we see Jesus putting His followers above Himself.  As He is being lead to Calvary, he urges the women that are mourning not to cry for Him.  He tells them to weep for themselves and future generations.  Jesus knows that even though He is about to die in order to take on the sin of the world (past, present, and future) that many will not accept Him.  He knows that many will choose a life of sin and death over a life of mercy, grace, forgiveness and eternal life.   But the verse in this passage that really caught my attention, was verse 31, our passage for today,  “For if they do these things when the wood is green, what will happen when it is dry?”

When wood is green it is alive.  If you have ever tried to break a limb that has been cut from a tree you know that it is very difficult while it is “green”.  Once it dies it is much easier to break it or burn it.  If you have ever cut wood and tried to burn it right away, you know that the same holds true, it must die and dry up before it can be burned.  Jesus was alive and living among these people and there were still many who did not believe.  Not only did they not believe, they hated Him enough to crucify Him.

Can you imagine living in Jesus’ day.  In those days they only had the books of the Old Testament, but Isaiah had prophesied that a savior would be born.  He had prophesied that this savior would be king of Assyria (Isaiah 7:17).  Unfortunately, many had looked for a political king and failed to believe that Jesus was the Messiah that had been promised.  What happened from the moment Jesus was born of a virgin, on through His sinless life and his horrible excruciating death, was miraculous.  He performed many miracles while He walked the earth, but still many did not believe.  Jesus knew during his lifetime that there were many non believers.  He knew that they would plot His death and that He, who had never sinned would die to take on all the sins of the world.   And in this scripture passage, He knows that plenty of those he will die for will never come to accept Him or appreciate His great sacrifice.  So if those living and walking with Jesus in His day didn’t get it, well what about the future generations.  Prior to this verse, Jesus tells them that there will come a time when people will want to die because the world will be so bad.

In Jesus day many saw the miracles that he performed.  Many were healed or had loved ones healed or even brought back to life.  Even though He was performing all these miracles, there were still many who refused to believe.

So we fast forward over 2,000 years and things are pretty much the same.  There are those of us believers who will celebrate this Easter weekend.  We will take time today to thank Jesus for his death on the cross so that we may live.  We will praise God for sending a savior to rescue us from our sinful lives.  We will greatly appreciate the sacrifice made for us while we were still sinners.  But there are those that will grudgingly view this as a day where they have to spend money on candy and Easter baskets.  There are those that will go and buy a beautiful new outfit that they will wear to their annual pilgrimage to the church of their choice knowing that they will not darken the doors of another church before Christmas.  Well, they may go back to church for a wedding or a funeral, but they won’t get carried away and make it a regular Sunday thing.  Their lives are just way too busy for all that.  They will go on crucifying Jesus with their daily living.

We may not be physically walking with Jesus, but we can choose to be in close relationship with Him.  We can see the wonder of His love in the sunrise or the moonlight.  We can see his glorious creation in the flowers and the trees. We still can see miracles performed, yet there are those that still don’t get it.

So the Bible tells us that there are those that will never get it.  There are those that refuse to hear the word of God and there are those that hear it all the time and do not understand (Matthew 13:14). There are those that sit in church every Sunday and are headed straight to hell.  There are those that continue to crucify Jesus with their day to day living.  They choose to stay in their lives of sin. You can choose not to be one of those. We all sin, but as Christians we choose not to sin and when we slip up we immediately go to God for forgiveness and strive to not make the same mistake again.

To answer Jesus’ question of what will it be like when the wood is dry, well let me tell you the wood has been drying for over 2,000 years and it is not good.  People seeking “something” in their lives try to fill the void with drugs instead of a savior.  This leads to all type of sin and debauchery.  From the White House to the crack house, we see sinful, immoral, shameful behavior.  Many choose to look the other way and make excuses.  So to answer Jesus’ question, it’s bad, really bad.  I pray that this means He is coming back to get us soon.  I pray that you will be coming with us to glory and not choosing to stay in this filth that has become our society.

So today on this Good Friday, I ask you to consider something.  You have taken the time to read this thus far, so go ahead and take a few more minutes to ponder these questions.  Do you get it?  Do you understand that Christ died for miserable sinners just like you and me?  Do you appreciate the sacrifice that He made for us?  Are you taking full advantage of the privilege of being a prince or princess, the child of the King of Kings?  Are you living your life to glorify God the Father in everything you do?

If not, then what are you waiting for?  Come into the family of God.  Take full advantage of the peace, joy, and protection that is provided to His children.  Learn to bask in His glory and be prepared to go to Heaven to meet your Heavenly Father.

If you are going to church this Sunday planning on making your bi-annual visit, please consider attending the Sunday after that and the Sunday after that and so on.  Please consider spending time daily studying His word and speaking to Him through prayer.  You will get so much more than you give, trust me.

Have a great Good Friday!