Watch The Lamb

WATCH THE LAMB

Mark 15:21-24

INTRODUCTION

A. HUMOR

1. I heard about this minister, he'd been out bear hunting all day. He searched through the woods, but found no signs of a bear. Frustrated, he threw his gun down on the ground and walked over to a stream to cool off.

2. About that time he saw this huge grizzly bear running at him, full speed, only a hundred feet away. He fell down on his knees and said "God, I need protection. Please convert this bear into a Christian."

3. Miraculously, the bear stopped in his tracks, lifted both paws to the Heavens and said, "Lord, thank you for this food I am about to eat."

B. CAUGHT BETWEEN TWO COVENANTS

1. There are two covenants. We Christians don’t live under the Law, but under grace. In Christ we have freedom.

2. The Old Covenant – the Mosaic Law – revealed our sin, the sacrifices, the demands of the Law for God to accept us. But the Old Covenant was never meant to solve the problem of sin.

3. On the other hand, we have the New Covenant which is based on grace. Jesus accomplished it all. We’re saved by His sacrifice – not by works, but grace.

4. For some people it’s hard to accept GRACE ALONE – we feel we must do something to earn our salvation.

5. Today we’re looking at a man who was caught in between the two covenants. He saw each of them clearly portrayed before his eyes. His name was Simon of Cyrene.

C. TEXT & TITLE

1. “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....and they crucified Him.” Mark 15:21-22,24.

2. The title of this message is “Watch the Lamb.”

I. SIMON’S CONVERGENCE WITH DESTINY

A. HISTORY OF HIS JOURNEY

1. Cyrene was a city about 800 miles from Jerusalem. It was located near modern Tripoli, Libya. There was a substantial colony of Jews living there.

2. Most likely Simon (and possibly his 2 sons) came over land 600 miles to Alexandria, Egypt, and then crossed the Mediterranean by Roman galley from Alexandria to Joppa. Rowed through the surf, he/they arrived at Jerusalem just in time for the Jewish Passover.

3. As a Jew living abroad, he had longed to come to Jerusalem – to see the great Temple & be a participant in the faith of his fathers and join in the sacred Passover feast.

4. Simon (and possibly his sons, since Mark mentioned them in the context of Simon’s journey) had traveled all those miles and barely gotten the motion of the ship out of his mind when, in the providence of God, he became involved in one of history’s greatest moments.

B. PROVIDENCE OF GOD

1. It’s especially interesting that it was NOT one of the apostles or a local Jew who was compelled to carry Christ’s cross, but a stranger from North Africa, in no way connected with the life and teachings of Jesus Christ.

2. Imagine how many miracles God must have worked so that this man from North Africa would arrive at the exact day and at the precise second of the clock to carry Jesus’ Cross up Mt. Calvary!

C. LOOK AT THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS

1. Having spent the night in a nearby town, Simon of Cyrene got up early and made his way on the winding roads leading to Jerusalem.

2. His heart was bursting with anticipation of seeing the City of his Fathers. His steps were light. Finally the City came into view!

3. As he drew near the city gate, he began to hear shouting, and a rhythmic beat that sounded like “Crucify! Crucify! Crucify!”

4. All at once the mob came boiling out of the gate and he was caught up in it. He became aware of 2 moving walls of Roman steel between which there staggered a man carrying a cross. Then he noticed three men.

5. But it was the first One that attracted his attention. Blood was trickling down His face from a twisted ring of long-thorn briars someone had shoved on His head. His cheeks bore the marks of bloody sweat and had black and blue bruises.

6. Yet His face was like none he’d ever seen before –

a. Majesty blended with misery;

b. Innocence with agony;

c. Love mingled with sorrow!

7. But it was the terrible look in His eyes that fascinated, awed, and frightened Simon! Everything else was forgotten – the feast, celebration, Temple, the people he was to meet. This Man filled his senses.

8 AND THEN HE LOOKED UP and their eyes met. And Time stopped. Never could Simon explain what happened in that moment when Jesus read his heart and knew all about him. What made Jesus smile that slow, sad smile that said so much and calmed Simon’s wildly beating heart? And then Jesus stumbled.