On that Cross!

    Reading: Luke 23.26-43
    Simon was a common enough Jewish name. There are eight of them in the New Testament! But the Simon in today's reading belonged to what is called the Diaspora - one of the Jewish communities scattered into other parts of the ancient world. Simon came from Cyrene - an old Greek colony in the north-east of what is now Libya. Many Jews had settled there. As the crow flies, Cyrene was about 1300 km from Jerusalem - quite a trip for a devout Jew coming to the holy city for the annual feast of Passover.

    The long trip was probably made by sea, but then the Passover was an important Jewish feast. The Jews celebrated Passover wherever they happened to live, but their hope was always "Next year in Jerusalem."

    Many assume that Simon was coming in from work. Perhaps, but not necessarily so. Whatever way he came toward Jerusalem was from the country.

    So far as we know, Simon knew nothing of Jesus. He didn't realise what he had walked into as he found himself unintentionally caught up in the crowd on its way to Calvary.

    On the way to Calvary

    There are three men on the way to execution, three men who have surely offended against society and the Roman law in some way, three men paying the ultimate penalty, three men to die in the most cruel way imaginable…

    No doubt in Cyrene he had seen it before, but never at Passover. And - most unusually - there seems an element of excitement in the crowd. Why would any Jew want to see any other Jew put through this horrid death? Two are criminals, it seems - part of plot to overthrow the Romans. Foolish plot, but surely most Jews would have had a secret sympathy with them.

    But the third? Who is he? Jesus, you say - a teacher, a man who went about doing good, teaching about the Kingdom of God, healing the sick… Jesus, bruised and bleeding from a Roman scourging, carrying a cross-bar to Calvary - Golgotha, the place of the skull, the place of execution.

    It is too heavy. His back is raw and pain stabs his body at every step. He stumbles… "You! Carry the cross for this man!"

    "A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him" (Lk. 23.27). There are a few people who care for him, and - to Simon's surprise - Jesus has the presence of mind and the selfless care for others to express his concern for the troubles that they and their children will have to face.

    So this is Golgotha! Foreboding place! I have carried the cross-bar for this Jesus. Now they will nail him to it and hoist him up on one of those posts. There he will die.

    Forgive them, Father!

    "Forgive them, Father, for they do not know what they are doing" (v. 34).

    Exposed to pain and public shame… "He saved others; let him save himself if he is the Christ of God, the Chosen One" (v. 35) "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!" (v. 37) "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" (v. 39)

    Who is this man? I carried his cross. Why should he die? What evil has he done? If he is the Christ, why doesn't he save himself, come down, prove his identity? He has words of forgiveness on his lips. Is that it? On that cross he bears the load of other people's sin - my load of guilt and pain! The very reason he doesn't save himself is that he may save others…

    Long and tedious was the road
    that brought me to Jerusalem!
    How I longed
    for Passover!

    Merchant shipping was delayed -
    all conspired to make me late,
    almost late
    for Passover!

    Late along the road I came,
    saw the Temple glow like flame!
    How I longed
    for Passover!

    Tiring, so I could not run,
    trudging wearily must come,
    almost late
    for Passover!

    Now I see a dusty cloud
    swirling round a noisy crowd
    on the road
    to Calvary!

    Passover I’ve come to eat,
    not to see these marching feet
    on the road
    to Calvary!

    Now I see one bruised and goaded,
    stumbling under cross-bar loaded,
    on the road
    to Calvary!

    Hand upon me, voice commanding,
    "Take the cross and bear it for him!"
    on the road
    to Calvary!

    Cross I carry, load I lighten,
    yet my load he carries for me
    on that cross
    on Calvary!

    Heavy beam that low had bowed him
    bears him as my sin assails him
    on that cross
    on Calvary!

    "It is finished!" hear him crying
    as for me I see him dying
    on that cross
    on Calvary!

    Passover - the lamb is slain,
    bearing all my guilt and pain
    on that cross
    on Calvary!

    Responding to the Gift

    "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (Jn 3.16).

    That's what Good Friday is all about. And it's what the Christian faith is all about - not what we manage to do for God, but what he has done for us.

    There is, however, an important question - how have we responded to the gift?

    We have used some imagination in putting ourselves in the shoes of Simon of Cyrene. How did he respond, having carried the cross for Jesus? We aren't told. Mark records that Simon was "the father of Alexander and Rufus" (Mk 15.21). So his sons quite evidently became Christians. Perhaps Simon did too.

    But what about you and me? Jesus has borne all our guilt and pain on that cross on Calvary. Now God offers us forgiveness and a whole new life as a gift. "Whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

    Accept the gift. Say to him, "Jesus, you didn't deserve death. You died in my place. Thank you! I welcome you as my Saviour and Lord. Amen."

    © Peter J. Blackburn, Ayr Uniting Church, Good Friday 9 April 2004
    Except where otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are from the New International Version, © International Bible Society, 1984.

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