Luke 23:31 · Bible study
Luke 23:31 Commentary: Green Tree and Dry
Greek · 11 what the commentators say
Meaning in one sentence
Jesus' proverb on the way to the cross contrasts the innocent sufferer (green tree) and the guilty facing judgment (dry tree).
Research Summary
- Meaning: A proverb contrasting the suffering of the innocent Christ (green tree) with the greater judgment due to the guilty (dry tree).
- Key words: hugros (green, full of sap), xeros (dry, withered), xulon (tree, also wood for the cross).
- Main debate: Whether the dry tree refers to the destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70) or to the final judgment of the wicked in hell, or both.
- Theological theme: Divine justice: the severity of judgment on sinners highlighted by the voluntary suffering of the sinless one.
- Best use: A sobering call to repentance and a comfort for believers that Christ bore what we deserved.
Translation Comparison
BSB Berean Standard Bible 2020
For if men do these things while the tree is green, what will happen when it is dry?”
WEB World English Bible 2000
For if they do these things in the green tree, what will be done in the dry?”
KJV King James Version 1769
For if they do these things in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
ASV American Standard Version 1901
For if they do these things in the green tree, what shall be done in the dry?
YLT Young's Literal Translation 1898
for, if in the green tree they do these things--in the dry what may happen?'
Darby Darby Bible 1890
for if these things are done in the green tree, what shall take place in the dry?
Douay-Rheims Douay-Rheims Bible 1899
For if in the green wood they do these things, what shall be done in the dry?
Translations in other languages (10 available)
Porque si en el árbol verde hacen estas cosas, ¿ en el seco, qué se hará?
Porque, se fazem isto à árvore verde, o que se fará com a árvore seca?
Car, si l’ on fait ces choses au bois vert, qu’arrivera-t-il au bois sec?
Denn so man das tut am grünen Holz, was will am dürren werden?
Want indien zij dit doen aan het groene hout, wat zal aan het dorre geschieden?
Poiché se fan queste cose al legno verde, che sarà egli fatto al secco?
Albowiem ponieważ się to na zielonem drzewie dzieje, a cóż będzie na suchem?
Ибо если с зеленеющим деревом это делают, то с сухим что будет?
「 這些事 既行 在 有汁水的 樹上， 那枯乾的 樹將來 怎麼樣呢？」
For if they do these things when the tree is green, what will they do when it is dry?
Verse in Context
Original Language (Koine Greek)
New Testament · Koine Greek · Luke 23:31
Source: STEPBible TAGNT/TEHB (CC-BY 4.0). Click or tap a morphology code to see the full parsing.
Scholars' Consensus
The commentators agree this verse is a proverb drawn from Jewish wisdom. Jesus compares himself to a green tree, full of life, innocent, not fit for the fire, and the guilty to a dry tree, ready to burn. The logic runs: if the Romans treat the innocent Christ so brutally, what will they do to a nation ripe for judgment? Barnes sees the green tree as pointing to Christ's purity and the dry tree to sinners adapted to suffering. Calvin calls it a familiar comparison: if green wood burns, dry wood will certainly kindle. Gill expands: the green tree speaks of Christ's grace and fruitfulness, while the dry tree represents those destitute of righteousness. The verse is both a prophecy of the destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70) and a warning that divine judgment on the guilty outweighs the suffering of the innocent. Wesley sums it up: 'If an innocent person suffer thus, what will become of the wicked?'
How settled is the interpretation?
Interpretive difficulty: Medium
Main views:
- Historical fulfillment (AD 70): Immediate context of weeping for Jerusalem; echoes of Ezekiel 20:47; fulfilled in the Roman destruction.
- Eschatological warning (final judgment): Proverbs 11:31 and 1 Peter 4:17-18; the logic of comparative judgment applied to hell.
- Christological contrast: The green tree as Christ, the dry as sinners; stresses the severity of sin and the uniqueness of Christ's suffering.
What is clear: The verse contrasts the suffering of the innocent with the fate of the guilty, affirming that divine judgment is certain and severe.
What Scholars Agree and Debate
| Topic | Agreed | Debated |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning of the green tree | All commentators see the green tree as representing the innocent, righteous sufferer, Jesus Christ. | Some (Gill, Barnes) emphasize Christ's personal innocence and fruitfulness; others (Calvin, Cambridge) focus on the comparison that if the green tree is burned, the dry tree certainly will be. |
| Application to Jerusalem vs. final judgment | Most agree the immediate reference is to the coming destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in AD 70. | Barnes applies the verse to the eternal punishment of sinners in hell; Wesley and Clarke focus on the historical judgment; both readings are found in the tradition. |
| Whether the dry tree represents the Jewish nation or all sinners | The dry tree represents those who are guilty and ripe for judgment. | Some see it primarily as the Jewish leaders or the nation (because of the immediate context); others generalize it to all impenitent sinners (following Proverbs 11:31). |
| Role of the women's tears | Jesus redirects their tears from himself to themselves and their children, indicating a greater danger. | Some see this as a command to repent personally; others see it as a corporate lament for the nation's fate. |
Historical & Cultural Context
Jesus speaks these words as he carries his cross through Jerusalem. The Roman governor Pilate has just handed him over to be crucified. A crowd of mourners follows, including women who lament his fate. Jesus turns and tells them not to weep for him but for themselves and their children. He describes coming days so terrible that childlessness will be considered blessed, and people will beg the mountains to fall on them. This is the immediate context of verse 31: Jesus extends the warning using a proverb that echoes the Old Testament prophets.
In Ezekiel 20:47, God says he will kindle a fire that devours every green tree and every dry tree, a judgment that spares no one. Jesus reverses the image: if the green tree (the innocent) is consumed, how much more the dry (the guilty)? The imagery would be familiar to a people who understood wood as fuel. A green tree, full of sap, resists fire; a dry tree burns quickly. Jesus applies this to the fate of Jerusalem. Forty years later, in AD 70, Roman armies destroyed the city and the temple. Josephus records horrors so extreme that soldiers grew weary of killing. Early Christians remembered Jesus' words and fled Jerusalem before the siege. The verse also carries a broader meaning: the suffering of the righteous is not meaningless, but it signals that God's judgment on evil is sure and will not spare the guilty.
Textual Notes
The consulted sources note no significant textual variants for Luke 23:31. The verse is well-attested across manuscripts, and the wording is stable in the Greek tradition. The saying appears only in Luke's Gospel.
Reception History
Early church fathers such as Eusebius used this verse to explain the destruction of Jerusalem as a divine judgment on the Jewish nation for rejecting Christ. In the medieval period, the verse was often applied to purgatorial suffering, though that interpretation has been rejected by Protestants. Reformers like Calvin read it as a consolation for the innocent who suffer: God will not let the wicked escape. Wesley and the Methodist tradition emphasized the warning for personal repentance. In modern evangelical preaching, the verse is sometimes used in evangelistic appeals, comparing Christ's limited suffering with the eternal suffering of the lost. Throughout history, the image of the green and dry tree has remained a powerful symbol of comparative judgment.
Preaching This Verse
Three-point outline
- The green tree: innocent suffering. Jesus, the sinless one, is led to execution. His suffering is undeserved, yet he bears it without complaint. This challenges our sense of fairness and calls us to trust God's purposes even when we cannot understand.
- The dry tree: inevitable judgment. If the innocent suffer so grievously, what awaits the guilty? The dry tree is ready fuel for the fire. This presses us to consider the seriousness of sin and the reality of divine justice.
- The call to weep for ourselves. Jesus redirects the women's tears from himself to their own city. The warning is not morbid but merciful: weep now so that you may escape the coming wrath. Repentance is the only wise response.
Five-point outline
- Context of the cross. Jesus is on the way to Calvary. The crowd includes sympathetic women. He stops to speak a word of urgent warning.
- The proverb explained. Green tree vs. dry tree: a familiar Jewish comparison. A good man is like a green tree; a wicked man like a dry one. The point is comparative severity.
- Immediate fulfillment. The destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. History confirms the horror of those days. Jesus' prophecy came true within one generation.
- Eschatological dimension. Many commentators, including Barnes, apply the verse to the final judgment. Christ's sufferings were limited; the sinner's will be endless. The green tree burned briefly; the dry tree burns forever.
- Pastoral application. This verse is not for curiosity but for comfort and warning. The innocent sufferer is our Savior. We who trust him are safe from the fire. The warning calls the careless to consider their standing before God.
Illustration hooks
- A firefighter explains that a dry house burns faster than a damp one. In a wildfire, the green grove might survive, but if the green is burning, the dry is doomed. Jesus uses that logic to shock the hearers.
- In a courtroom, a judge sentences an innocent man to a heavy fine. The onlookers think: if the innocent pays this price, what will happen to the guilty? That is the force of the proverb.
- A garden with a healthy tree next to a dead tree. A storm uproots both. The gardener says: if the strong tree fell, the brittle one has no chance. The green tree falling signals that judgment is coming for all.
Questions your congregation is asking
- Does this verse teach that God punishes the innocent? (No; Christ's suffering was voluntary and substitutionary.)
- Is the dry tree a prophecy about hell? (Some see it that way; others apply it to earthly judgment on Israel.)
- Why did Jesus tell the women to weep for themselves? (He wanted them to repent before the disaster came, not just to feel pity.)
Leading a Discussion
This proverb spoken by Jesus on the road to the cross raises hard questions about suffering, justice, and judgment. The group should read Luke 23:27-31 in context. Notice how Jesus turns the attention from his own pain to the danger faced by those who reject him. The green tree and the dry tree form a picture that is both memorable and unsettling.
Discussion questions
- Read Luke 23:27-31. Why does Jesus tell the weeping women not to weep for him? What does he want them to realize?
- What kind of tree is Jesus in this proverb? What does the green tree represent? Use the lexical note that hugros means moist, full of sap, alive.
- The dry tree represents the guilty. How does this comparison work? What does it imply about the coming judgment on Jerusalem? See Ezekiel 20:47-48 and Proverbs 11:31.
- Barnes and Calvin both apply the verse to the final judgment of the wicked. Do you see the verse as referring primarily to historical events (AD 70) or to eternal punishment? Can it mean both?
- If the innocent Christ suffered so greatly, what does that tell us about the seriousness of sin? How does this affect your view of the cross?
- Jesus used a proverb from everyday life. What other biblical proverbs use natural images to teach about judgment? How do these images help us understand God's justice?
- How should we respond to this verse today? Does it call us to repentance, to trust in Christ's finished work, or to both?
Word Study
The key original-language words in this verse. Select any word for its full lexicon entry — meaning, every occurrence in Scripture, and related words.
Cross-References
Source: Treasury of Scripture Knowledge (TSK, public domain)
| Proverbs 11:31 | Behold, the righteous shall be repaid in the earth, how much more the wicked and the sinner! |
| Jeremiah 25:29 | For, behold, I begin to work evil at the city which is called by my name; and should you be utterly unpunished? You will not be unpunished; for I will call for a sword on all the inhabitants of the earth, says Yahweh of Armies.”’ |
| Ezekiel 15:2 | “Son of man, what is the vine tree more than any tree, the vine branch which is among the trees of the forest? |
| Ezekiel 15:7 | I will set my face against them. They will go out from the fire, but the fire will still devour them. Then you will know that I am Yahweh, when I set my face against them. |
| Ezekiel 20:47 | Tell the forest of the south, ‘Hear Yahweh’s word: The Lord Yahweh says, “Behold, I will kindle a fire in you, and it will devour every green tree in you, and every dry tree. The burning flame will not be quenched, and all faces from the south to the north will be burned by it. |
| Ezekiel 20:48 | All flesh will see that I, Yahweh, have kindled it. It will not be quenched.”’” |
| Ezekiel 21:3 | Tell the land of Israel, ‘Yahweh says: “Behold, I am against you, and will draw my sword out of its sheath, and will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked. |
| Ezekiel 21:4 | Seeing then that I will cut off from you the righteous and the wicked, therefore my sword will go out of its sheath against all flesh from the south to the north. |
Interlinear and lexical data from STEPBible (CC BY 4.0). Cross-reference data from OpenBible.info (CC BY 4.0). Commentaries are public domain.
For personal reflection
Read the devotional page — prayer, application, and "for families"
What the Commentators Say
10 public-domain commentaries, condensed into plain language.
Adam Clarke's Commentary Methodist/Wesleyan 1826
Clarke reads this as a proverbial warning applied to the Jewish nation. If the innocent and fruitful Jesus is put to death, the guilty and barren nation will certainly face destruction. He takes it as a prophecy of the Roman devastation of Jerusalem about forty years later.
Barnes' Notes on the Bible Protestant 1832
Barnes contrasts the innocent Saviour to a green tree and guilty sinners to a dry one: if the green tree burns at all, the dry one blazes far worse. His point is that Christ’s suffering, though severe, was limited by his sinlessness, while the sinner’s eternal suffering will be infinitely greater, fed by guilt and raging passions.
Calvin's Commentaries Reformed 1564
Calvin reads the green and dry wood as a contrast between the innocent Christ and the guilty Jews. If the righteous suffer now, the wicked cannot avoid God's coming judgment. This gives believers comfort: God permits his own to be oppressed for a time, but he will not let the guilty escape.
Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges Anglican 1880
The Cambridge Bible commentary notes that this proverb's meaning is unclear and has drawn absurd explanations. Two interpretations are offered: either it refers to the escalating crimes as the tree of natural life withers, or it contrasts the fate of the innocent Jesus with what awaits the guilty.
Geneva Bible Notes Reformed 1599
The Geneva Notes highlight the contrast between the green tree, representing Christ's innocence, and the dry tree, symbolizing the guilty. If such severe judgment falls on the sinless, the punishment awaiting the wicked will be far worse.
Gill's Exposition of the Bible Baptist 1748
Gill identifies the green tree as Christ himself, innocent and full of grace, and the dry tree as the wicked, especially those who rejected him. If such horrors befell the holy and harmless one, the punishment awaiting those who are spiritually barren and guilty will be far worse.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary Protestant 1871
JFB interprets the "green tree" as Christ, the innocent One who naturally resists fire, and the "dry tree" as sinners who are fuel for judgment. The proverb's point is stark: if such sufferings fell on the sinless Lamb of God, how much worse must be in store for those who provoke the flames?
Matthew Henry's Commentary Reformed/Presbyterian 1710
Henry marvels at the astonishing speed of the trial and crucifixion, noting that all the proceedings from early morning to the cross took only a few hours. He suggests Christ's enemies hurried for fear his friends would hear and rise to rescue him.
Vincent's Word Studies Evangelical 1887
Vincent notes that the Greek word translated "tree" originally meant wood or timber, but in later Greek came to mean a tree. He observes that Peter deliberately uses this word for the cross, connecting it to the curse described by Paul in Galatians.
Wesley's Explanatory Notes Methodist/Wesleyan 1754
Wesley interprets Jesus' proverb as an argument from the greater to the lesser: if the innocent suffer so terribly, what awaits the guilty? He contrasts a righteous person to a green tree and a wicked person to dry wood ready for fire, pressing the question of what judgment will fall on those spiritually barren.