In this series, we will continue to look at some of the key events that happened in the last twelve hours of the life of Jesus Christ.
The road to the crucifixion and on the cross
Mathew 27:31-57, Mark 15:20-47, Luke 23:26-43, John 19:16-40
1. Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry the cross
Jesus has been literally crushed by the scourging he received, it was difficult for him to carry a cross that weighs 165 pounds (as discovered by historian). The soldiers had to look for someone to carry the cross for Him. Simon the Cyrene was chosen. Who was Simon of Cyrene? He was just a random man, a bystander. Mark identified him as the father of Alexander and Rufus Mark 15:21.
The question is why Simon of Cyrene? From the account of the four gospel, there was no particular reason that the soldiers chose Simon to carry the cross. It could be anybody. He was just a random man. However, he must have been close to Jesus as a bystander to be chosen.
Application: It is instructive to note that Jesus could need someone to help him to carry His cross. For a man who himself is God to need a man at this point tells us that God will always need a man to do the part that he is capable of doing in any of His purposes. Man will always be needed in the agenda of God. So if you are close enough you will be chosen.
This event also remind us of one of the word of Christ Luke 9:23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. It is particularly significant that Simon was made to carry the cross to follow him from behind. As Jesus said in this scripture the carrying of the cross by Simon behind Jesus Christ signifies what all followers or disciples of Christ must do on a daily basis. We are to carry the cross on a daily basis aligning ourselves to the death of Jesus Christ.
2. Crucified on the cross
The word "crucifixion" comes from the Latin crucifixion, or crucifixio, which means "fixed to a cross." In the Roman crucifixion, a person's hands and feet were driven through with stakes and secured to a wooden cross. It was a painful, agonizing and shameful experience for Jesus.
Application
The cross was a symbol of capital punishment but after Jesus was crucified, it became a symbol of our faith in Christ Jesus in different ways:
Our redemption from sin Galatians 6:14, Ephesians 2:16
Our yoke as a Christian Luke 9:23
Our salvation ICorinthians 1:18
Our victory over the devil Colossians 2:14-15
As the emblem of our faith, you must on a daily basis see the cross as your cross. Personalizing the cross is the only way we can genuinely work in the true essence of it.
As part of the redemptive significance of the cross, it was to take away all our curses because by the crucifixion of Jesus He was made a curse for us as the scripture says curse is he that is hangeth on a tree Galatians 3:13.
Comments