Daughters of Jerusalem – Women of Jerusalem. This was a common mode of speaking among the Hebrews.

Weep for yourselves … – This refers to the calamities that were about to come upon them in the desolation of their city by the Romans.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 28. Weep not for me] Many pious persons have been greatly distressed in their minds, because they could not weep on reading or hearing of the sufferings of Christ. For the relief of all such, let it be for ever known that no human spirit can possibly take any part in the passion of the Messiah. His sufferings were such as only God manifested in the flesh could bear; and, as they were all of an expiatory nature, no man can taste of or share in them. Besides, the sufferings of Christ are not a subject of sorrow to any man; but, on the contrary, of eternal rejoicing to the whole of a lost world. Some have even prayed to participate in the sufferings of Christ. The legend of St. Francis and his stigmata is well known. – He is fabled to have received the marks in his hands, feet, and side.

Relative to this point, there are many unwarrantable expressions used by religious people in their prayers and hymns. To give only one instance, how often do we hear these or similar words said or sung: –

“Give me to feel thy agonies!

One drop of thy sad cup afford!”

Reader! one drop of this cup would bear down thy soul to endless ruin; and these agonies would annihilate the universe. He suffered alone: for of the people there was none with him; because his sufferings were to make an atonement for the sins of the world: and in the work of redemption he had no helper.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

28. not for me, &c.noblespirit of compassion, rising above His own dread endurances, intender commiseration of sufferings yet in the distance and farlighter, but without His supports and consolations!

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

But Jesus turning unto them,…. These women being behind Christ, at the back of him; and he knowing who they were, and what they were doing, turns himself to them, and addressed them in the following manner: and said,

daughters of Jerusalem; or ye Jerusalem women; just as the inhabitants of Jerusalem are called daughters of Zion in Isa 3:16

weep not for me; signifying, that they need not be under any concern on his account, for he was very willing to die; he desired nothing more; this was that he came into the world about; nor was he afraid to die; death was no king of terrors to him; he went to the cross with the greatest courage and intrepidity: besides, his sufferings, though he knew they would be very great and painful, yet that they would be soon over; nor could he be long held in the power of death, but would be raised again, and go to his Father, and be exalted at his right hand, and which should be matter of joy: to which might be added, that hereby his Father’s counsels and covenant, purposes and promises, would have their accomplishment, the law would be fulfilled, justice satisfied, and all the perfections of God glorified, and the salvation of his chosen people effected; which, as it was the joy set before him, is a ground of rejoicing to believers: not that weeping on account of his sufferings and death was sinful; for he had offered prayers to God with cries and tears himself on this head; nor that it was altogether unreasonable, stupid, and preposterous; but Christ’s meaning is, that when things were rightly considered, there would be great reason to assuage their grief, on this account, and rather express it on another;

but weep for yourselves, and for your children; not themselves personally, but their nation and posterity; and either for sin, their own, and others; the sins of professors, and of the profane; particularly the sin of crucifying him, which would be more injurious to that people than to him, and do them more hurt than him, since they had imprecated his blood upon them, and their children; or rather, and chiefly on account of those distresses and calamities, that would come upon them, in a short time, for their rejection and crucifixion of him; on account of which he himself had wept over Jerusalem, and its inhabitants, Lu 19:41.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Turning (). Luke is fond of this second aorist passive participle of (Luke 7:9; Luke 7:44; Luke 7:55; Luke 10:23). If he had been still carrying the Cross, he could not have made this dramatic gesture.

Weep not ( ). Present active imperative with , Stop weeping.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

1) “But Jesus turning to them said,” (strapheis de pros autas lesous eipen) “Then Jesus turning directly to them, said,” to the mourning women of Jerusalem, local residents. These are the only words spoken by our Lord between His condemnation and crucifixion.

2) “Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me,” (thugateres lerousalem me kalaiete ep’ eme) “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep over me,” women of a doomed city, Jerusalem, not Galilee, to which judgment is surely coming, as surely as it did to Sodom and Gomorrah, Luk 21:20; Luk 21:24.

3) “But weep for yourselves,” (plen eph’ heautos klaiete) “But weep over yourselves,” your own coming sorrows when this city is besieged, as I have wept over this city already, Mat 23:37-39; Luk 19:41.

4) “And for your children.” (kai epi ta tekna humon) “And over your children,” your small children, in a coming hour of destruction of your homes and your city, a tribulation of dispersion that began for the Jews in AD 70 in the destruction of Jerusalem, that is to be culminated at the end of the Gentile age, Mat 24:15-22; Luk 21:21-23; Mar 13:14-20. Some of them would live till that terrible siege Mat 27:25.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

28. Weep not. Some have thought that the women are reproved, because foolishly and inconsiderately they poured out tears to no purpose. On the contrary, Christ does not simply reprove them, as if it were improperly and without a cause that they were weeping, but warns them that there will be far greater reason for weeping on account of the dreadful judgment of God which hangs over them; as if he had said, that his death was not the end, but the beginning, of evils to Jerusalem and to the whole nation; and in this way he intimates, that he was not abandoned to the wickedness of man in such a manner as not to be the object of Divine care. For, from the punishment which immediately followed, it was manifest that the life of Christ was dear to God the Father, at the time when all imagined that he had been wholly forsaken and cast off.

These words do indeed show plainly with what exalted fortitude Christ was endued; for he could not have spoken in this manner, if he had not advanced to death with a steady and firm step. But the principal object is to show, that under this mean and revolting aspect he is still under the eye of God, and that wicked men, who now proudly triumph, as if they had obtained a victory, will not long enjoy their foolish mirth, for it will quickly be followed by an astonishing change. This doctrine is even now of use to us, when we learn that Christ was not less dear to his Father, because for a moment he was deprived of his aid, but that he set so high a value on our salvation, that he did not even spare his only-begotten Son. He gave a remarkable proof of this, when he razed to the foundation, and destroyed, along with its inhabitants, the Holy City, in which he had chosen his only sanctuary. Let us learn from this to rise to meditation on the cause of the death of Christ; for since God revenged it with such severity, he would never have permitted his Son to endure it, unless he had intended that it should be an expiation for the sins of the world.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

(28) Daughters of Jerusalem.It is characteristic of the tenderness of our Lords sympathy that these were the first words recorded as coming from His lips after He left the presence of Pilate. The mocking, the scourging, the spitting, had all been borne in silence. Now He speaks, and His thoughts are of the far-off sufferings of others, rather than of those that were then falling upon Himself.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

28. Daughters of Jerusalem A beautiful but now a sad title. It means

heiresses of woe. Weep not for me A mere natural sympathy awakened even over the narrative of the Saviour’s crucifixion, though serving to attract attention to the solemn subject, and to be the entrance to deeper views, has in itself no saving power.

But weep for yourselves The Saviour does not condemn their tears for him, but warns them that they have not more than enough for their own fate.

And for your children The younger married persons in this crowd probably saw and shared in the woes of the destruction of Jerusalem forty years later. But it must have been mostly the generation of their children who suffered the destruction itself.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘But Jesus turning to them said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.”

And Jesus, bloodied and broken, hardly able to keep moving without support, saw their weeping and His heart was moved. For it brought home to Him a day that was coming, a day of which He had previously warned, when they would be weeping not for Him but for themselves. And His tender heart went out to them. He thought not of Himself but of them. And through His cracked lips He warned them not to weep for Him, but to weep for themselves and for their children. He wanted them to know what was coming on them so that they might be at least partly prepared for it, and even take the opportunity to escape it (Luk 21:21).

Note that He is speaking to the daughters of Jerusalem. He is aware that the festive crowds have not yet gathered. Compare here Zec 12:10 to Zec 13:1.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

Luk 23:28-30. Weep not for me, &c. “Though my death affects you, and seems to call for all your tears, yet it is rather a reason for joy than sorrow, as it will be a means of reconciling the world to God: rather reserve your tears for a real calamity which threatens you, and your children, which will terminate in the destruction of this city and nation, and which will be most terrible, and call for the bitterest lamentations: for in those days of vengeance, you will vehemently wish that you had not given birth to a generation, whose wickedness has rendered them objects of the divine wrath, to a degree that never was experienced in the world before. The thoughts of those calamities afflict my soul, far more than the feeling ofmy own sufferings.” These words sufficiently imply that the days of distress and misery were coming, and would fall on them and their children: but at that time there was not any appearance of such an immediate ruin. The wisest politician could not have inferred it from the present state of affairs; nothing less than the divine prescience could have certainly seen and foretold it. The expression in Luk 23:30 is proverbial, as appears from Hos 10:8. Isa 2:19 and is generally made use of to imply the pressure of some intolerable calamity.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

28 But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

Ver. 28. Weep not for me ] We are not so much to lament Christ’s dolorous sufferings (as Papists use to do in their stage playing descriptions of his passion) as to lay to heart and lament our sins, the cause of all. When a Papist came to Master Hooper at the stake, and said, “Sir, I am sorry to see you thus,” “Be sorry for thyself, man,” said hearty Hooper, “and lament thine own wickedness, for I am well, I thank God, and death to me for Christ’s sake is welcome.” (Acts and Mon.)

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

28. ] after He was relieved from the burden of the cross. This word comes from an eye-witness.

His future course was not one to be bewailed see especially on this saying, Heb 12:2 , , . Nor again were His sacred sufferings a mere popular tragedy for street-bewailing; the sinners should weep for themselves , not for Him .

] See Mat 27:25 , where the people called down the vengeance of His blood on themselves . Many of those who now bewailed Him perished in the siege of Jerusalem . Those who now were young wives, would not be more than sixty when (A.D. 70) the city was taken. But to their children more especially belonged the miseries of which the Lord here speaks.

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

Luk 23:28 . , are brought close together to emphasise the contrast = weep not for me , but for yourselves weep, hinting at the tragedies of Jerusalem’s fatal day. At such times the greatest joy, that of motherhood, is turned into the greatest misery (Holtzmann, H. C.). The mothers ever have the worst of it (J. Weiss in Meyer).

Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson

Daughters, &c. Not therefore the women from Galilee of verses: Luk 23:49, Luk 23:55. Greek. me. App-105.

for = on, or over. Greek. epi. App-104.

children. Greek. Plural of teknon. App-108.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

28.] -after He was relieved from the burden of the cross. This word comes from an eye-witness.

-His future course was not one to be bewailed-see especially on this saying, Heb 12:2,- , . Nor again were His sacred sufferings a mere popular tragedy for street-bewailing; the sinners should weep for themselves, not for Him.

] See Mat 27:25, where the people called down the vengeance of His blood on themselves . Many of those who now bewailed Him perished in the siege of Jerusalem. Those who now were young wives, would not be more than sixty when (A.D. 70) the city was taken. But to their children more especially belonged the miseries of which the Lord here speaks.

Fuente: The Greek Testament

Luk 23:28. [- , not-concerning Me) Already every moment Jesus was more and more directing His thoughts towards the coming glory. In the way that is pointed out in Zec 12:10, He does not forbid their mourning for Him (but only in the way that they were now mourning for Him, viz. as if He and His cause were crushed for ever; whereas He and it were near their glorious triumph).-V. g.]- – -, concerning yourselves-and concerning your children-behold) It is hereby indicated that the punishment about to be inflicted is near at hand. [Indeed that calamity was impending especially over the infants, and yet not so as that the women also who were lamenting Jesus could not live long enough to reach it.-Harm., p. 561.] Jesus Himself too wept for the city, and not for Himself. See ch. Luk 19:41, Luk 18:31-32. [How many men and women there are, who might, if they would, find no want of altogether serious causes for deploring their own state, but who devote the present day to careless security!-V. g.]

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

daughters: Son 1:5, Son 2:7, Son 3:5, Son 3:10, Son 5:8, Son 5:16, Son 8:4

Reciprocal: 2Ki 21:12 – whosoever Psa 48:11 – daughters Isa 3:16 – the daughters Jer 22:10 – Weep ye Lam 1:12 – if Lam 4:3 – the daughter Zec 13:8 – two Mal 2:2 – and I Mat 27:55 – many Luk 13:3 – ye shall Luk 13:34 – thy Joh 11:48 – and the 1Co 7:26 – that Jam 5:1 – weep Rev 1:7 – and all Rev 5:5 – Weep

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

TRUE PATRIOTISM

Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.

Luk 23:28

He came to His own full of griefs, full of love, of purpose, and lofty inspiration. His own received Him not, and, by rejecting Him, prepared their fall.

What lessons should we learn from this part of our Saviours bitter Passion?

I. We should learn to imitate His tenderness towards the guilty race who slew Him.Our Church has placed upon Good Friday a collect for the Jews. It is most suitable, for Jesus bears no malice, and we profess to follow Him.

II. Christs love for His own nation is an encouragement to us to cherish patriotic feelings.To care not simply for our personal and petty interests, but for the honour of our country, and for the well-being and safety of the Church of which we are privileged members. We should not merely confess our personal sins and plead for personal forgiveness, but we should remember the needs of (a) our nation, (b) our Church, and (c) the cause of Jesus Christ throughout the world.

Rev. H. A. Birks.

Illustration

O that the Lords salvation

Were out of Zion come;

To heal His ancient nation

To lead His outcasts home!

How long the holy city

Shall heathen feet profane?

Return, O Lord, in pity

Rebuild her walls again.

Let fall Thy rod of terror,

Thy saving grace impart,

Roll back the veil of error,

Release the fettered heart.

Let Israel, home returning,

Her lost Messiah see,

Give oil of joy for mourning,

And bring Thy Church to Thee.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

9

This shows a case of misplaced grief. Jesus was going to suffer the ordeal of the cross, which would be the last of all his sufferings. These people were destined to meet with distress unequaled by any case in history (Mat 24:21). Blessed are the barren, etc. When parents are forced to see the suffering imposed upon their children, they will wish that no children had been born to them.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

Luk 23:28. Daughters of Jerusalem. A natural address, but solemn and pointing to their relation to a doomed city.

Weep not for me. Comp. Heb 12:2. He not only endures the cross, but forgets His sorrows, so heavy, to tell the truth to those who manifested for Him only a human sympathy.

But weep for yourselves. Appropriate words for those who even now make of the crucifixion a mere popular tragedy. Doubtless many of these very women lived until the siege of Jerusalem, about forty years afterwards, but the catastrophe was to fall most directly upon their children: and for your children. Comp. Mat 27:25 : His blood be on us and on our children.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

Luk 23:28-29. But Jesus turning, said, &c. Jesus, who ever felt the woes of others more than he did his own, forgetting his distress at the very time that it lay heaviest upon him, turned about, and with a benevolence and tenderness truly divine, said to them, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, &c. Not that they were to be blamed for weeping for him, but commended rather: those hearts were hard indeed, that were not affected with such sufferings of such a person; but he bids them weep not only for him, but also and especially for themselves, and for their children, namely, because of the destruction that was coming upon Jerusalem, which some of them would probably live to see, and share in the calamities thereof; or at least their children would, for whom it behooved them to be solicitous. For the days are coming in which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, &c. As if he had said, The calamities about to fall on you and your children are most terrible, and call for the bitterest lamentations; for in those days of vengeance you will vehemently wish that you had not given birth to a generation whose wickedness has rendered them objects of the divine wrath to a degree that never was experienced in the world before. And the thoughts of those calamities afflict my soul far more than the feeling of my own sufferings. These words sufficiently imply that the days of distress and misery were coming, and would fall on them and on their children; which indeed they did in a most awful manner; though at that time there was not any appearance of such an immediate ruin: nor would the wisest politician have inferred it from the present state of affairs. The prediction was especially fulfilled during that grievous famine which so miserably afflicted Jerusalem during the siege. For, as Josephus reports, (Bell., Luk 5:10,) mothers snatched the food from their infants out of their very mouths: and again, in another place, (Bell., Luk 5:12,) the houses were full of women and children, who perished by famine. But Josephus relates a still more horrid story, which our Lord, with his spirit of prophecy, had probably in view. He says, (Bell., Luk 6:3,) There was one Mary, the daughter of Eleazer, illustrious for her family and riches. She, having been stripped and plundered of all her substance and provisions by the soldiers, out of necessity and fury killed her own sucking child, and having boiled him, devoured half of him, and covering up the rest, preserved it for another time. The soldiers soon came, allured by the smell of victuals, and threatened to kill her immediately if she would not produce what she had dressed. But she replied, that she had preserved a good part for them, and uncovered the relict of her son. Dread and astonishment seized them, and they stood stupified at the sight. But this, said she, is my own son, and this my work. Eat, for even I have eaten. Be not you more tender than a woman, nor more compassionate than a mother. But, if you have a religious abhorrence of my victim, I truly have eaten half; and let the rest remain for me. They went away trembling, fearful to do this one thing; and hardly left this food for the mother. The whole city was struck with horrors says the historian, at this wickedness; and they were pronounced blessed, who died before they had heard or seen such great evils.

Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments