Luke 23:26 -- “And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.”
l. THE FRIDAY SCENE
• The Date. . . . . Friday, April 11, 32 A. D.
• The Time. . . . . . Between nine and ten in the morning.
• The Place. . . . . . .The city gate of Jerusalem.
• The Setting. . . . . . A large crowd of people, some there in sympathy, some there in hate.
-It is a disorderly crowd, some are gloating and shouting while others are weeping and wailing.
-In those days of Roman rule, when a criminal was to be crucified, he was taken from the judgement hall and set in the middle of a square of Roman soldiers. His cross was laid across his shoulders.
-Then he was forced to march by the longest possible route, while before him a soldier marched with a placard which had the crime inscribed upon it. Not only did this serve as a notice, it served as a warning to those who might be involved in such a crime.
-He stood trial in front of Pilate. No evidence of His wrongdoing was found. There was nothing wrong with Him. Pilate stood back and could not find any fault anywhere. Nothing marring His character. Nothing concerning His ethics. No dishonesty. . . nothing. But that crowd down there, what did they want him to do?
-Pilate in his misguided plan, decided to shift the responsibility and let them make the decision. He gave them a choice, Barabas or the Christ? He was incredibly awed and yet stricken with the horror of their choice. . . . . . . . . . . . . They wanted Barabas.
-Amid the rabble of voices is a suffering Savior. He drags His limbs along in an almost fainting condition. Streaks and patches of blood show through His clothes where His skin has been torn and lacerated by the whips of the soldiers. There is a trail of blood on the ground.
-There are bleeding cuts on His face. The crown of thorns has buried itself into the tender forehead. His face is bruised, swollen, and discolored. He has endured the blows of the soldiers fists.
-It seems so much for Him to even stand, much less to have to carry the wooden cross. He halts, He sways, He stumbles under the load of the cross. He is about to fall but a rough hand steadies Him and He limps on a little further.
-He takes another pace or two and almost stumbles again. Then one more staggering step and He sinks under the wooden beam of the cross. The soldiers are getting impatient so they reach out and take a man at random, or so one might think. . . . from the crowd.
A. Simon, The Cyrene
-What an incredible commentary it is that the Salvation of the world must have another to bear His cross.
-The Cross that became Simon’s on that day was:
• A Compulsory Cross -- He had no choice to bear it. No life is without a cross, you must bear it.
• An Unexpected Cross -- He was on the way to worship at the Passover and suddenly the cross came to him without any warning nor any planning.
• An Honorable Cross -- The Value of the Cross depends on the spirit in which we take it up.
-So the Lord, near the point of total exhaustion gives up the Cross. The last few hours of the Lord’s life:
• Found Him in the agony of the Garden.
• Found Him facing a kangaroo court and rough handling by Caiaphas.
• Found Him in facing Pilate in the pre-dawn hours.
• Found Him at the brutual scourging.
• Found Him totally without food or drink.
-But the soldiers did not care that Simon was the one compelled to bear the cross. Here was a man who had saved his money the whole year to make it to the Passover in Jerusalem.
-He was perhaps fulfilling a lifetime dream of traveling in the neighborhood of 800 miles to worship. Almost before he knew it, a heavy hand slaps his shoulder, and his is commanded to carry the Cross.
• What is it that Simon felt on that morning?
• What were his reactions to the Cross?
-The sickening revulsion of having to carry the Cross. He is unwilling to carry it, for Matthew and Mark both say that he was “compelled” to carry the Cross.
-He struggles to get away from it, but Luke informs us that the soldiers “laid hold” of him to prevent his escape. Simon feels the humiliation of having to carry the Cross of the Criminal. His face burns hot with embarrassment. He feels sick when he catches a glimpse of the blood on the Cross.
-He slowly bends under the weight of the Cross and unwillingly follows the stumbling Prisoner. But in just the short few seconds of time, something eternal is awakened in the heart of Simon. Here was a man who had come to Jerusalem to live out one of his most cherished ambitions of a lifetime.
-But in those few seconds of time, something between the Lord and Simon takes place. Simon’s resentment, his bitterness, his anger starts to melt and it gives way to wonder. . . . . . to faith.
-Jesus stops and turns:
Luke 23:27_28 -- “And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him.” “But Jesus turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children.”
-In that interval, Simon catches a heart-moving glance of the most wonderful Man he has ever seen. It changes his life.
ll. THE SHOCK OF THE CROSS
(This was related to me by J. T. Pugh in Sept. 1997.)
There is a bridge in Michigan that from that particular bridge 100 people have jumped from the bridge. Of those 100, 87 have died and thirteen have lived. Of those thirteen who lived, they have gone on to now become very successful people. One of the thirteen was asked what it was that had made the change in his life. He related that the “shock” of the water, how cold that it was, how that he suddenly realized that if he did not swim that he was going to die. From this shock, he found the motivation to give life his all.
-The Cross brings a similiar shock to our lives. Once men gain the understanding of the Cross Principle, it forces them to come to terms with their soul.
-The Cross brings the following to our lives:
• The Shock of Contradiction -- No matter what we may tell ourselves or that others may tell us, the power of the Cross gives to us an indentification of our own sin.
• The Shock of Repentance -- Suddenly finding our lives convicted by the Spirit, we must do something. That something is the emptying of our hearts of the vile things that are generated by the flesh.
• The Shock of Self-Surrender -- This goes against all that we have ever known. To give up, to give in to the call of God. Self-preservation is not the real focus of the kingdom. When self-surrender occurs, suddenly we began to overflow to others what God has given to us. Self-surrender helps us to understand that there is something of higher value and a greater cause in life.
• The Shock of Holiness -- The power to overcome the wickedness of the flesh not on our own but by the drives of the Spirit.
Galatians 6:14 -- “But God forbid that I should glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world.”
-Jesus reached the conviction that He must bear the Cross. He could not come to terms with the world, but was impelled by love to renounce deliverance and bear the Cross.
-To take up the Cross:
• Means to take sides with Christ.
• Means to stand with Him at all hazards.
• Means to oppose the worldly spirit even until death.
• Means you will have to bear some shame and loss what this world has to offer.
• Means you will have to have far more courage than those in the world.
-The Lord leaves us no room to doubt that every true follower of His must bear a Cross. It has to be a definite act of faith and taken up to follow him.
lll. THE FOLLY OF TRYING TO CHOOSE YOUR OWN CROSS
-In 2 Samuel 24, a story is given about David. It is in the height of his strength. It comes at a time that he wants to evaluate his own greatness. . . . . . . against the commands of God. However, he numbers Israel. His army comes out to 1.3 million men.
-Then God steps in on the scene with judgement for David. God gave David a choice:
• 1. Seven years of famine.
• 2. Flee three months in the wilderness from his enemies.
• 3. Three days of pestilence.
-David’s choice became, “Lord let me fall into your hands.”
-Some might say that they want the cross of others that they might bear it better. But there is a great folly in choosing a cross on your own. You cannot choose your own cross, it is best that you leave it to God.
-If some were left to choosing their own crosses, they would never reach their spiritual potential. Allow God to choose the path that you are to walk.
-Samson found a lion in his path and he was forced to kill it. A few days later, walking along that path, he found that the dead lion had a honeycomb within it. He posed a riddle to the Philistines that no one could answer.
Judges 14:14 -- “And he said unto them, Out of the eater came forth meat, and out of the strong came forth sweetness. And they could not in three days expound the riddle.”
-The things that you fight and struggle with in the hallways of your heart. . . . . Where the real you lives. . . . . The crosses that you are forced to bear. . . . . .Will most likely be the very things that will save you.
-The Lions are:
• Disappointment.
• Severe trials.
• Persecution.
• Temptations.
-The fruit of the conflict are those fruit of the Spirit which occurs in the growing maturing body of the man who loves God with all of his heart.
-Out of the most acute trials, ordeals, disappointments, and humiliations come life’s best rewards.
Charles Simeon of Cambridge back in 1800’s found himself pastoring a church that really was an incredibly difficult place to serve. Because of his youth, Simeon was literally mentally tortured by the elders of that particular church. He wrote this in his journal about how he could carry such pressure from those men:
“One day, when I was an object of much contempt and derision in the University, I strolled forth, buffeted and afflicted, taking my little Greek Testament in my hand. I prayed that God would comfort me from His Word; and opening it, the first text that caught my eye was this: They found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; him they compelled to bear His Cross. Simon, you know, is the same name as Simeon. It was the very word I needed. What a privilege–to have the cross laid one me to bear it with Jesus! It was enough! I could leap and sing for joy! “Lay it on me Lord!” I cried, and henceforth I bound persecution as a wreath of glory around my brow. (Adapted from John Piper)
-It was true of Simon. . . . . the Cross reached beyond his own life.
Romans 16:13 -- “Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.”
-In Mark 15:21, we learn of two sons that Simon had. Rufus and Alexander. Rufus appears to have been one of the choice saints that was in the church at Rome. That terrible day of humiliation for Simon having to carry the Cross paid off in the end.
Acts 19:33 -- “And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander beckoned with the hand, and would have made his defence unto the people.
-Alexander, the man who stands to face down that terrible mob. . . . . perhaps this is the other son of Simon, standing with Paul in his defense.
-Leave your life to God, He has all power and the design that He has for your life will never fail.
Must Jesus bear the Cross alone, And all the world go free?
No there’s a cross for every one, And there’s a cross for me.
The consecrated Cross I’ll bear, Till death shall set me free,
And then go home my crown to wear, for there’s a crown for me.
Upon the crystal pavement, down at Jesus’ pierced feet,
Joyful, I’ll cast my golden crown, And His dear name repeat.
O precious Cross! O glorious crown! O resurrection day!
Ye angels from the stars come down, and bear my soul away.
Philip Harrelson
barnabas14@yahoo.com
