Scripture - Matthew 27: 31-54
After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him.
The Crucifixion
As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull).
There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Two robbers were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!”
In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the King of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” In the same way the robbers who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
The Death of Jesus
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lamasabachthani?”—which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” When some of those standing there heard this, they said, “He’s calling Elijah.” Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge. He filled it with wine vinegar, put it on a stick, and offered it to Jesus to drink. The rest said, “Now leave him alone. Let’s see if Elijah comes to save him.”
And when Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, he gave up his spirit.
At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. The tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs, and after Jesus’ resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified, and exclaimed,
“Surely he was the Son of God!”
Today's highlight verse(s): 54b "Surely he was the Son of God!"
How did Jesus spend His final week on Earth?
On this day, He died.
What can be added to this? The most tragic, yet the most triumphant event in all of history. Volumes have been, and will be written regarding this day. Some poor souls, sadly many inside the church, debate that it even happened.
For today, I would like to focus on one event -- Simon's carrying of the cross, also recounted in Mark 15, and Luke 23.
Jesus is often betrayed in movies and stories as being too weak to carry the cross, and that Simon was forced into His place. This may or not be true, but it is never mentioned in Scripture, that Jesus couldn't, only that Simon was forced to.
But this is not my point. Let us consider Simon, who, not knowing what was going on, suddenly yanked from the crowd and forced into what he might have believed was his own execution march. How would he know any different? And yet he was innocent of any capital crime -- as innocent as any man might be.
I consider the story of Simon to be a comma, a punctuation mark in the story of the crucifixion. For as innocent as he might have been, he was far more worthy of death than Jesus, the only true innocent who ever lived. And it was Jesus on His way to be executed, for Simon, and you, and me. And so, it might just be, that as God watched His Son march toward death, he paused the events, and caused the cross to be put on an ordinary man, like you, like me, where it truly belonged.
Yes, it was Simon, and you, and me, that deserved to die...for all have sinned. Maybe, just maybe, for the onlookers then and now, God gave us a moment to think about that.
This season of Easter let us appreciate our guilt.
Click HERE to see
The Via Dolorosa -
The Way of Suffering
Questions:
1. What do you think of this passage?
2. Why do you think Simon had to take the cross?
3. How do you feel on this, the day of His death?
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