Echoing through the twisting limestone passageways of Jerusalem's Old City was the tapping cadence of the Greek Orthodox bishop’s scepter. Dressed in liturgical costume, the bishop also swung a smoking brazier of incense in rhythmic arcs as he led a cluster of solemn, black-garbed priests. What was this ceremony was all about?

My bewilderment must have shown. “They follow the Via Dolorosa every Thursday,” a shopkeeper whispered to me. “Would you like to see my shop now?” I declined, joining a clutch of sad-faced women trailing the procession ending inside the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

As I followed, a bell rang in my head: I remembered the weeping women who followed Jesus to the cross, as noted by Luke (23:27-31).

A large number of people followed Him, including women who mourned and wailed for Him. Jesus turned and said to them: “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me…” vss 27, 28a

There are, of course, no archeological remains to commemorate the tears of Jerusalem’s daughters. Memorialized as the eighth station of the cross, the event is marked by a beautiful but wildly inaccurate bas-relief of a robust Jesus politely addressing two women and a baby. The Gospel chronology, however, recounts that by the time Jesus spoke to the women, Simon was already conscripted as His cross-bearer and crucifixion was a few heartbeats away.

The event puzzled me. Why did these women weep when everyone else was howling for His blood? These were His last recorded words before being hammered to the cross: What was so important that He would muster strength to prophesy? And what meaning does His prophecy have to those following the cross today?

The road to Calvary is not the first time that the “daughters of  Jerusalem” appear in the Biblical narrative. They figure prominently as the muse of the Beloved in the Song of Solomon sonnet. They helped her choose rightly between the flashy wealth of the king and the ardent true love of the Shepherd.

The women in Luke attempt to do the same. They call to the Beloved — Israel — to choose between a powerful, consolidated leadership and Jesus the Good Shepherd. The daughters of Jerusalem are the conscience of the nation.

“Weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time will come when you will say, ‘Blessed are the barren women… vss 28b-29a

Jesus’ prophecy addresses another facet of their tears: Despite the popularity of The DaVinci Code alleging that Jesus and Mary Magdalene were married with children, the women weep because they know Jesus is about to die and leave no offspring.

Said Dr. Paul Wright of : “The two greatest values of life in ancient times were the maintenance of your ancestral land and your family; your ancestors behind you, your unborn descendants before you. Woe be it if your generation cuts that because you don’t have kids and all of your ancestors behind you are anticipating an unlimited eternity of descendants but that stops because you were infertile”