The Via Sacra – The Nobility Of Service (6/12) Series

Message by Renée Soares (Pr. Eddie's oldest daughter)

Introduction

Good morning! Thank you once again for having me here again. What an honor and privilege to yet again share from God’s word before all of you here and all those watching us at home. If you’ve missed the last few messages than you won’t know that we are at the halfway point today. We are on a series here at Riverside exploring in a fresh way the 14 stations of the cross. We are taking lessons from the journey of Jesus from the Last supper to His resurrection. Last week we painfully remembered his suffering as he walked the Via Dolorosa, beaten and bruised after a horrific night of mistreatment and violence and betrayal. We concluded that we are not exempt from suffering in this life, we were not promised an escape from earthly suffering.

Today we continue walking with Jesus on his way to Calvary. (SLIDE 1 Title- The Via Sacra – The nobility of Service (6/12)

Jesus’ ministry was only 3 years and we might feel that was not enough time for him to show us everything we need to know and yet there is SO MUCH to be learned, so many lessons just in these crucial hours before Jesus’ death. When we read the gospels we read that Jesus walked everywhere. We have countless stories in the gospels of Jesus’ travels… (SLIDE 2: Both bible Verses same slide)

Luke 8:1 “Soon afterward Jesus began a tour of the nearby towns and villages, preaching and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom of God. He took his twelve disciples with him,”

Jesus even walked on water!

Matthew 14:25-26 “And in the fourth watch of the night He came to them, walking on the sea.

Jesus walked in the desert for 40 days and nights on an empty stomach and being tempted by the Devil.

In fact, today pilgrims from around the world come to the Holy Land to walk what is known as the Jesus Trail- a 65 km (40miles) hike that traces the routes Jesus may have walked during his ministry.

But here we are. 3 years into a packed and exciting mission that culminates in what could only have been Jesus’ longest most painful walk so far. The gospels describe in detail the various aspects of this walk. Historians have even pieced the bits together and created a timeline of how many hours it took from the garden of gethsemane to Jesus’ final breath. Last week we reflected on the Via Dolorosa- the road of suffering. The grueling walk through the city up to the place of crucifixion.

I have had the opportunity of visiting the Holy Land and walking these streets through Jerusalem. and if the Via Dolorosa looked anything then like it looks today then those are some pretty narrow streets. Some places along that road, must have been claustrophobically tight with the crowds that gathered to follow this event. I get anxious just thinking about it because I AM NOT a crowd’s person. So imagine the chaos: people shouting and chanting, roman soldiers screaming and pushing people off, Jesus walking or crawling his way through this madness, perhaps even being stepped on or kicked by the hundreds of people. Now notice this detail:

(SLIDE 3:) Luke 23:26 As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

And that’s it. This man Simon has one phrase dedicated to Him in the bible and that’s it, no more mention of him. Technically he is mentioned in Mathew Mark and Luke, but the sentence is almost identical in each account. Don’t you find it curious that this detail would have been included? I don’t believe that any of these incidents were coincidence or haphazard. Like I said there were hundreds of people watching, surely dozens of people touched Jesus along the way and I believe some of his friends must of surely attempted to help him or offer to carry his cross by that point. But here is a man who gets called out by the soldiers to help Jesus. Besides this curious detail, the gospels also mention he was a father and include his son’s names. I did a little research and here’s a few facts about this man Simon:

He was from Cyrene which is modern day Libya (Northern coast of Africa next to Egypt) Include picture. That is why many paintings have depicted him as a dark skinned man. Also, for soldiers to call this man out specifically it must have been because of his physical appearance so he is often depicted as a robust strong figure.