Luke 23:31

This was evidently a proverbial saying in Jesus’ day. The green tree stands for good conditions resulting from God’s blessing and the dry tree for bad conditions resulting from divine judgment. If God allowed innocent Jesus to perish in times of His blessing, what would happen to guilty Jerusalem when God judged her?

"If the Romans condemned to death the one they admitted to be innocent, how would they deal in the future with those whom they found guilty?" [Note: The New Scofield . . ., p. 1119.]

Jesus’ words constituted yet another call for repentance. There was still time for individuals and the nation to believe on Him and escape God’s wrath, but barring repentance God’s severe judgment would certainly fall. Luke evidently recorded these words because of his interest in extending the call to salvation to his readers.