Luke 23:31, “For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?”

One of the very excellent and effective ways of teaching and impacting wisdom is comparison. That is, putting two similar things together and drawing out similarities or differences. This is one of the methods that Jesus often used to gain and captivate the attention of His audience and make His many teachings and parables become divine and applicable wisdom to them. Today’s nugget is nonetheless a very classic example of that method and Jesus is in fact actually speaking to believers – you.

Beloved, in today’s scripture, Jesus is comparing between a green or wet wood and a dry one. In this case, the green or wet wood signifies or represents a wood still connected to and still receiving nutrients and sustenance from the tree. However, the dry one is obviously like a branch that has been cut away from the tree and lacking necessary supplies of nutrients and has now become dry. Now, Jesus was signifying that He was the green tree, whereas His audience were the dry wood. Now let’s recreate that question in today’s scripture. It says, “if they do these things in me (Jesus), what will be done in you (believers)?” So, what did they do in Him or to Him?

The next verse summarizes the whole story and it says, “there were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.” That means Jesus spoke this parable when He was being persecuted and led up to be crucified. This means that, Jesus was simply telling His disciples that, if He had to suffer like this despite being the son of God and God in the flesh, you as a believer needs to wake up and wise up and get prepared for this reality. The question now is how do you get prepared?

Dear child of God, the Bible gives a very clear clue in the way Jesus lived His life while on earth. Mark 1:35 says, “now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed.” This means that, despite being the green wood or the son of God, Jesus DEVOTED Himself to a life of prayer and BUILT a very living and FUNCTIONAL relationship with God even before any problem or persecution ever started. He didn’t wait until He was arrested by the religious authorities before He started praying.

No! Rather, He built a life of total and daily reliance and dependence on God and not on His own strength or abilities. Why? Matthew 26:41 says, “watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” There you have it! You need to wake up and wise up because, without God, you cannot SURVIVE not to talk of FLOURISH on earth as a believer because, if Jesus, God in the flesh was persecuted and RESISTED from fulfilling His divine destiny, what chances do you have to fulfil your destiny with you LIMITED abilities and capabilities without the UNLIMITED power of God that Jesus enjoyed through daily fellowship? Selah!

Further Reading
~ John 15:4, “Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.”

Prayer
~ Dear Lord, I receive grace to commit to developing a daily and total dependence on you through fellowship
~ Dear Lord, help me to never feel adequate and enough without your divine support or backup.