(Bible Study - February 2001)
After the various forms of indignity to which he had been exposed and the cruel experience of scourging, our Lord was led away to be crucified (see Matt. 27:31 RV, as all references).
Simon the Cyrenian
It was evidently the custom for the condemned man to carry the cross on which he was
to be nailed. According to John’s record (19:17), this the Lord started to do. In
view of all that he had suffered, it was no wonder the burden was too great for him.
Accordingly, the services of Simon, a Cyrenian, were enlisted (Matt. 27:32; Mark 15:21).
The Cyrenian Jews appear to have been numerous in Jerusalem and there is a mention of their synagogue in Acts 6:9 The fact Matthew and Mark refer only to Simon carrying the cross implies surely that the Lord must have been relieved of his burden at an early stage. Accordingly, Simon would have gone all the way to Golgotha. Tired with his efforts, he would rest and wait to see the outcome of the drama in which he had been called to play so unexpected a part.
There is evidence to suggest he became a disciple. He may well have stayed on and been present at the events associated with the crucifixion. Mark indicates that two of his sons, Alexander and Rufus, were disciples (Mk. 15:21); they were evidently well known in Christian circles, otherwise why record their names? Furthermore, we note the occurrence of Rufus’ name in Romans 16:13, where also his mother is mentioned and she, if our surmise is correct, would be Simon’s wife. Thus it is possible that Simon’s association with the cross of Christ bore fruit in the conversion of a whole family: the death of our Lord was, by the very circumstances in which it took place, achieving salvation.
If indeed Simon’s interest in the Lord was aroused, it would not be long before he would have opportunity to hear Peter preach and call on his hearers to be baptized (Acts 2:38). As he acquired a growing acquaintance with the Lord’s teaching and example, Simon would come to appreciate that there was a deeper sense to baptism (cf. Rom. 6). The records in Matthew and Mark of the journey to Golgotha are brief, hence the fact they give such prominence to Simon (and see also Lk. 23:26) must imply this connection was highly significant.
The women
Apart from recording Simon’s name, Luke furnishes additional details and these
are very precious. His account implies that the journey to Calvary was not a quick one, a
reflection which enables us to understand why the carrying of the cross was beyond the
Lord’s physical powers, weakened as he was by all he had endured.
Luke informs us that, as the Lord made his way to Golgotha, he was accompanied by "a great multitude of people, and of women who bewailed and lamented him" (Lk. 23:27). While the distance the company covered may not have been very great, John tells us that the place of crucifixion "was nigh to the city" (19:20; see also Heb. 13:12); the company had to make its way to one of the city gates and pass beyond it. In endeavouring to assess how large the company was, we need to recall that not only had the chief priests and those they influenced congregated around the praetorium, but also those who loved him. Prominent among these were the women.
When the Lord left the judgement hall, he was, as John tells us, initially bearing the cross. All would understand what this meant. His appearance after his shameful sufferings would arouse pity in the hearts of all who loved him. The spectacle the Lord presented was a fulfillment of those sombre words spoken by the prophet: "His visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men…and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him" (Isa. 52:14; 53:2)
It was the lamentations of the women that touched the Lord’s heart, and he turned to them, and said: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold, the days are coming, in the which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the breasts that never gave suck" (Lk. 23:28-29).
It is as we consider his reaction to their grief that we begin, perhaps all too inadequately, to appreciate our Lord’s nobility. Our principal concern in our series of studies has been with his humility but, with him, as with us, humility is the root from which the other virtues spring. Here is a man who has endured the spiteful hatred of his fellow men, and not merely their hatred but the crude indignities to which they have submitted him. His scourging has given them pleasure and they will shortly be gloating over his sufferings upon the cross. The burden of these experiences would be too much for the spirit of any man. But not so in the case of the Lord Jesus.
There is not a single word of self-pity, not a single word of criticism of his tormentors, but he is moved with compassion for Jerusalem and its inhabitants. With his unique foreknowledge, he knows what dire fate awaits the city. When, in the course of his last journey, he had come in sight of the Jerusalem which was to reject him, he was not thinking of himself; so far from doing so, he wept for the city! (Lk. 19:41). In his mind’s eye he could see with the greatest vividness the calamities to befall it. Some 40 years later, in AD 70, the city would be besieged and its rebellious citizens would undergo unspeakable sufferings. Deeply moved at the thought of what the future held, he spoke directly to the city: "[They] shall dash thee to the ground, and thy children within thee; and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another; because thou knewest not the day of thy visitation" (v. 44).
His greatness of spirit
It was the same spirit of compassion which moved him as he spoke to the women on the
road to Golgotha. This remarkable capacity to detach himself from his own harrowing
circumstances reveals the uniqueness of our Lord. We have only to remember the contrast
with the behaviour of Peter who, challenged, thrice denied his Lord, to appreciate that
there never has been any other like Jesus. Let us never forget that truth.
None pondered the greatness of Christ’s love more than the Apostle Paul. In his letter to the Ephesians, he feels the inadequacy of human language to convey the fullness of Christ’s love. In his prayer on behalf of his readers, he asks God to grant to them to "be strong to apprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge…" (Eph. 3:18-19).
Here is the paradox: how can we know what is beyond our comprehension?
The first condition is to acknowledge that we shall, at least in this life, never fully understand the fullness of the Lord’s love. Peter was well aware of this, and that is why he bids his reader to "grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ" (II Pet. 3:18). In the case of Paul, the consciousness of Christ’s love kindled in his own heart a responding love, so that he could say that "the love of Christ constraineth us" (II Cor. 5:14). So serious a matter for Paul was this subject of love for our Lord, that he uses strong language: "If any man loveth not the Lord, let him be anathema."
Perhaps it is a sad reflection that too many of us can unhesitatingly locate Paul’s words, "But though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach unto you any gospel other than that we preached unto you, let him be anathema," but would have no idea where he makes the previous statement about love for our Lord. While we need to recognize the paramount need for what Paul calls elsewhere sound doctrine (see I Tim. 1:10; II Tim. 1:13; Titus 1:9; 2:1) by the same token we must see the necessity for Christ to dwell in our hearts by faith, and so effectively become our life (Col. 3:4). In our understanding of our Lord’s humility, our consideration of all that led up to his crucifixion, and of his behaviour on the cross, can give us precious insight into his love.
The crucifixion
It is to the subject of his crucifixion that we now return. When
the procession finally reached Golgotha, the soldiers in charge assumed complete control.
In fulfillment of Psalm 69, which so graphically foretells some of the circumstances of
the crucifixion, he was given "wine to drink mingled with gall" (Matt.
27:34; Psa. 69:21).
In a sense, this was an act of mercy: the potion could deaden pain but it would doubtless also cloud the mind. The Lord accordingly declined it. Had he not said to Peter, "the cup which the Father hath given me, shall I not drink it?" (John 18:11). As we consider the Lord upon the cross, there can be no doubt about the clarity of his mind.
Tom Barling