THE UNEXPECTED CROSS
(Sermons2012: Simon of Cyrene Narrative) 3/11/2012 a.m. Mark 15:21
A theologian said the cross of Jesus is like a diamond because the more angles you can look at it the greater your appreciation. Over the next two weeks we are going to look at the cross from different perspectives. Today we are going to look at the cross from the perspective of Simon of Cyrene. He makes an appearance in the fifteenth chapter of Mark’s gospel.
And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him.
A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull) Mark 15:20-22 NIV
Do you have a Bucket List. You know a list of experiences you want to have sometime in your life. Probably a good portion of them are simply places you want to see. Today’s story features a man with a place to go on his “bucket list.” Although he would not have called it that. He found what he expected and what he had not expected.
Simon had dreamed of that day all his life. The day he would first enter into Jerusalem. For those of his Hebrew heritage, it was the most important place in the world. The place where Abraham almost sacrificed his only son Isaac. The city that King David made his capital. The land where Solomon built the first Temple. The place where Jeremiah and Isaiah prophesied and Nehemiah had rebuilt the Wall. But what he wanted to see most was the new temple. “Herod’s Temple” they called it because old King Herod had expanded and remodeled the old temple before he went mad with suspicion. Work on it had begun several decades ago. And while the main structure was done, some perimeter areas remained incomplete. And while it was not a widely recognized wonder like the pyramids of Egypt, the Colossas of Roads or the Temple of Aphrodite in Ephesus, it was the most endearing structure in the world for all the descendents of Abraham.
You might say Jerusalem was Simon’s most favorite place in the world he had never been. He really wanted to remedy that. Not just to be in Jerusalem, but to be there at during its grandest time, Passover! Historians estimate that as many as 100,000 pilgrims come to Jerusalem annually for the Passover feast. Those who live within close enough proximity make the journey every year. For others, like Simon, it was a dream just to get there once in his lifetime. Today you might say that seeing Jerusalem with his own eyes was something on his “bucket list.”
But, such a journey was no easy task. You see Simon lived in the city of Cyrene. It was the capital city of the district of Cyrenaica in North Africa. There were many Jews in Cyrene. Over the centuries, hardship and warfare had caused the spread of Hebrews all over the world. Many years ago Simon’s ancestors had settled here. Decades later the population of jews in Cyrene numbered in the tens of thousands. Even so, his people were a minority in the area. While far from the land promised to Abraham thousands of years ago, they worked hard to observe and preserve the heritage, traditions, and practices of their people.
Ever since he was a boy, Simon and his family observed Passover. When he was the youngest at the dinner table, he would ask the opening questions beginning with: What makes this night different than all others. And each year he would be mesmerized at the story of how God used Moses and ten plaques to melt Pharoah’s heart to the point that he would let the Hebrew Slaves go. He would get a chill down his spine when they told the story about the Passover Lamb whose blood was placed over each family’s door, requiring that the death angel pass over that home.
Each year they retold the story, completed their Passover observance, and declared, Next year in Jerusalem. But to Simon it sounded like empty words, good intentions with no real means to become a reality. After all, it would require a journey of over 800 miles just to get there. It felt like it might as well be a million miles.
It would take months and an enormous amount of funds for such a pilgrimage. But Simon was determined to see it with his own eyes. It was his dream!
He did not have picture books, postcards, and the Internet to give him images of what it looked like. What he did have were the descriptions of the folks around him, some of whom had been to Jerusalem, had seen the Temple, and told about it in vivid detail. They spoke of support columns so massive that three men with outstretched arms were required to embrace them. Simon was told that the outside of the building was covered with so much gold that a person could scarcely look directly at it in the bright sunlight. He heard about priests going about their duties in robes made of the finest linen and of walls a hundred feet tall! Each rendering made Simon want to be there all the more…during Passover. If he was going to make the trip, he wanted to be there in the season of its grandest celebration.
So began saving a little bit back every time money came into his hands. In time, his pouch of gold coins became heavier and heavier. He arranged to be gone from his family business. His parents and siblings could not understand why he would want to take such a trip, nor did any of them volunteer to go with them.
Finally, the day of departure came. It was a full month before Passover. But that many days were necessary to get there on time. Simon packed what he could carry. Cyrene was a located along the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. So while the trip was long, the method of covering the distance was fairly simple. Simon went to the nearby dock and booked passage on a ship sailing to Joppa, along the Palestinian Coast. Joppa was best known as the port Jonah had sailed from before being swallowed by a great fish. Simon could not escape the irony that Jonah left Joppa running way from God. He, on the other hand, was sailing to Joppa in order to experience God in a meaningful way. From there he could walk the 35 miles or so to Jerusalem
Most of the people on the ship were crew. But several were fellow pilgrims going to Jerusalem for Passover, including several who had been there before. As they passed the long days on board, they told Simon a bit of what to expect. Expect massive crowds of enthusiastic worshippers. Expect a close watch from the Roman guard whose task it is to squash any hint of rebellion. Expect the singing of the Passover songs with such intensity you will wonder if the angels themselves were joining in. Their renderings only enhanced Simon’s eagerness to be there to experience Passover for Himself.
After stopping in several ports to load and unload cargo and passengers, the day finally came when the ship docked in Joppa and the walk to Jerusalem. It was the 12th day of Nisan, two days before the Passover lambs were to be slaughtered and just enough time to make the two day walk to Jerusalem. On the first day, Simon linked up with other pilgrims and made camp with them that night. The roads were too dangerous for anyone to venture along alone. But the next morning, he waited for no one. He got up at early light and when it was bright enough to see the road, he headed eastward toward Jerusalem.
Along the dusty road he strained his eyes into the distance ahead to catch his first glimpse of Jerusalem, the holy city. Jerusalem sets up on a hill, Mount Moriah. But mountains, some as tall as Mount Moriash, also surround it. So when Simon turned a corner and got his first good look at Jerusalem, he was not looking up at the city, but down at it. And it was magnificent! The walls were thick and formidable. But most impressive was the temple. It was so big. It dominated the entire city. And the central building that Simon knew contained the Holy of Holies stood tall and impressive. Indeed the gold was glistening in the morning sun.
Simon covered the last miles as fast as his feet could carry him. The closer he got to the city, the more crowded the road became. Finally there he was at the western gate. Walking in he soon found himself in the flow of the crowd up the narrow streets lined with the shops of numerous merchants.
Suddenly he looked ahead and saw some kind of processional squeezing through coming in his direction. He pushed through the crowd to get a better look. But his stomach was not prepared for what his eyes would see. He saw three men carrying the full weight of huge beams of wood come struggling down the road; several Roman soldiers carrying whips were pushing them along. Occasionally Simon would hear the crisp clear crack of one of the whips. Simon quickly realized that what he was watching was a death march and the three men carry the beams of wood were going to be crucified.
Simon knew better than to get involved with local problems, so he tried to keep his distance. Yet curiosity got the best of him and he ventured closer to the processional.
The anger of the crowd was intense. The intense shouts of the crowd were directed primarily at only the second of the three men. Someone in front of this one was carrying a sign that read: Jesus of Nazareth. King of the Jews. As this man struggled toward Simon he noticed what looked like a woven band of thorns shoved down on his head like a cruel joke of a crown. He looked exhausted, staggering under the weight of the beam
Simon turned to an old man standing by and inquired. Who is this one for whom there is such a cry for blood? He replied, Have you not heard of the prophet from Nazareth named Jesus? Today it is he that is being crucified. Simon returned, If he really is a prophet, for what crimes is he being crucified? The old man head dropped and with sorry in his voice he said, This man has committed no crimes, neither does he deserve this inflection. But the religious leaders considered him a threat because he said he was Messiah, the Promised Anointed one sent from God.
Finally he fell. And it just so happened that he fell right in front of Simon. The soldier stepped up with and raised his whip as if to try to force him up. But he quickly came to realize what Simon and everyone else knew, this man was going nowhere by himself.
Suddenly Simon felt a gruff hand grab him by the sleeve. A solder pulled him into the street and said, You, carry his cross. But he hesitated because to touch that bloody cross would make him unclean. If he was “unclean” he could not observe the Passover as he had planned. Also, if he carried it through the street, the people would assume he was the criminal. Simon knew it was not a request. So he knelt down and lifted the cross and the march continued. It was ironic that in just a moment Simon went from being at the one place in the world he wanted to be more than anywhere else, to wanting to anywhere else other than where he was.
Some were leading. Some were following. Some were shouting. A few spat on him. A handfull were crying. And there in the middle of it all was Simon, unexpectedly carrying a cross. No longer moving into the city toward the place of sacrifice but out of the city and up a small hill outside the walls.
As Simon struggled up the hill the blood of the man beside me mingled with his own sweat. At one point he looked over to see this condemned man, whose cross he was carrying staring right back at him. Simon would say that what he saw in that glance changed him forever. He saw not anger nor remorse, but a look of gratitude, but more than gratitude, compassion. Simon wondered if what the old man had said were true, that this man was not only innocent, but the Messiah, sent from God.
When they finally reached the top, the soldiers told Simon he could drop the cross and leave. He did the first, but not the second. He could not leave. So he watched at a distance. He watched the rough nails driven in the hands and feet. He watched the cross raised up between heaven and earth. He listened to the mocking crowd and he heard the reply of Jesus: Father Forgive them. They know not what they do.
It was then that Simon knew that these were not the words of a criminal. These were the words only a man from God could utter. When Simon finally did come down he never made it to the temple. Because sometime that day he came to realize that the real sacrifice was not the Passover lamb that was slain on the altar of the temple. No, the real sacrifice was the man Jesus, the “Lamb of God” slain on a cross at the hill called Golgotha.
Later that night Simon noticed something in his hand: a rough splinter than came off the cross while he was carrying it. He pulled it out, wrapped it up carefully in a cloth. When he got home and his family asked what the highlight of his trip was, he would pull out the splinter and tell them about how he helped Jesus carry his cross and Jesus carried his sin.
I confess that much of that story is beyond what is told in scripture. Simon is mentioned in Matthew, Mark, and Luke, but Mark’s description is representative of all we know about Simon of Cyrene:
A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. Mark 15:21
While there is much that we do not know, there is much that we do know.
PEOPLE ARE SEEKING FOR MEANING
Universally true. Everyone is looking for a meaningful existence. Some are looking for it in ease and pleasure. Some are looking in wealth. Some are looking in accomplishment, some in religious activities.
We do not know exactly how long the walk was nor what Jesus and Simon said or did not say to each other. But we know that Simon saw how perfect love and grace responded to cruelty and injustice. Meaning is found in Jesus. Jesus is the answer.
PEOPLE HAVE UNEXPECTED ENCOUNTERS WITH THE CROSS OF JESUS
Not only did Simon not expect it the cross, I suspect he didn’t want it. By neither choice nor preference of his own, Simon came to the aid of Jesus. To be honest, he would not have carried that cross if he had not been forced to. But the very thing he did not want to do was and is his greatest pride even to eternity.
Some people find the cross. Sometimes the cross finds you. God had a divine appointment with Simon that day. Sometimes he makes Divine Appointments with us. Like Simon, these may involve tasks we would prefer not to do. But, like Simon, these often lead to some of life’s greatest blessings.
PEOPLE LEAVE A LEGACY
Our lives leave and influence, particularly upon our family. Mark mentions the sons of Simon: Alexander and Rufus. Notice that Mark writes as if his readers will recognize who they are.
It is largely thought that Mark wrote his Gospel for Christians in Rome. Paul later writes a letter to the church at Romans. In his closing greetings he says: Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord… (Romans 16:13a NIV) It is not too great of a reach to conclude that this Rufus is the same person as Simon’s son. Simon’s story had left an impact on his children.
Are you seeking? Are you praying for someone to have an unexpected divine appointment?
What kind of legacy are you leaving?
