Monday after Laetare
Now as they led Him away, they
laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country,
and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus (Luke 23:26).
As Jesus begins His journey down
the Via Dolorosa, carrying the instrument of His torture and death, it is easy
to imagine the crowd that gathers to watch Him. It was certainly composed of
those who were his followers or associates, to some degree, those who opposed Him
and sought His death, and those who wanted to see the spectacle. It is probably
safe to say that Simon the Cyrenian wasn’t one of those people cheering for
Jesus to die. Perhaps he was just an interested bystander whom the soldiers
just happened to draft into their service. More likely, Simon was where he was
because he was a follower of Jesus. Mark writes that Simon is the father of
Alexander and Rufus,[1]
and St. Paul mentions a man named Rufus in Romans.[2]
It is also easy to imagine why
the Roman soldiers would have had to compel someone to carry Jesus’ cross for Him.
Jesus had just been scourged and mocked by the solders. A scourging was serious
business; it wouldn’t have been a surprise if Jesus had not even survived the
scourging. It was common for victims of scourgings to suffer broken bones,
lacerations, and significant blood loss.[3]
After such treatment he certainly had no form or comeliness and when they saw
Him there was certainly no beauty that they should desire Him: He is despised and
rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.[4]
Certainly, Jesus simply could not physically carry the cross the ½ mile down
the Way of Sorrows to Gologtha, the Place of the Skull.
Jesus the man was unable to
physically carry the cross down the road. Jesus the Messiah, God in human
flesh, however, was the only one strong enough to bear the weight of the sin of
the world on the cross. He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not
for ours only but also for the whole world.[5]
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows! He was wounded for our
transgressions! He was bruised for our iniquities! The chastisement for our
peace was upon Him and by His stripes we are healed![6]
It is tempting to understand
Isaiah’s prediction of the sin-bearing Messiah and His passion in the way our
sinful flesh wants to understand it: as a promise of protection from worldly
affliction and healing from physical illness. This is how the prosperity gospel
heretics explain these things. They ignore Jesus’ suffering and never speak of
sin, death, or the devil. They point to worldly success and prosperity as proof
of real faith and God’s approval; economic hard times and illnesses show that
faith is weak or absent. That is all a lie. The healing that Christ gives us
all goes far beyond physical health. He heals us from sin, the disease that
leads us to eternal death. Because He lives, those who share in Christ’s death
and resurrection through their baptism will also live.[7]
He has promised us that whoever believes in the Son may have everlasting life,
and He will raise them up on the last day.[8]
So, to echo Paul, for us to live is Christ and to die is gain.[9]
He has not promised us an easy existence as members of His body in this fallen,
sinful world. He has told us that in this world we have trouble. He has also
promised us that we can take heart, because He has overcome the world. And He
bids us to repent of our sin, believe the Gospel, and to take up our cross and
follow Him along the way of sorrows.
[1]
Mark 15:21
[2]
Romans 16:13
[3] Nicolotti,
Andrea. “What Do We Know about the Scourging of Jesus?” The Ancient Near East
Today. American Schools of Oriental Research, December 2018. http://www.asor.org/anetoday/2018/12/What-Do-We-Know-About-Scourging-Jesus.
[4]
Isaiah 53:3
[5] 1
John 2:2
[6]
Isaiah 53:4-5
[7]
John 14:19; Romans 6:3-5
[8]
John 6:40
[9]
Philippians 1:21
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