Mark 15:15-26
MUST JESUS BEAR HIS CROSS ALONE?
Intro: These verses give us, in glaring detail, the events
surrounding the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. We
can read in the Gospel account of the pain and agony
our Lord endured for us that night and day in which He
suffered for the sins of humanity. Often, we read this
account and our hearts are stirred to think of what He
did for us that day. Yet, too often we read these words
and fail to catch the small details that make this story
come alive for us. In this passage, one of those small
details presents itself for us to look at this evening.
In verse 21, we read of a man named Simon the
Cyrenian. He is mentioned here and Matthew and
Luke. He appears on the pages of our Bible out of
nowhere and just as quickly as he appears, he is gone
again, However, while he appears in our vision, he
teaches us a valuable lesson about the love of God and
about a man's love for the Savior. This man did for our
Savior what even His closest disciples were unable to
do. That is, he eased our Lord's suffering during one of
the darkest hours of His earthly ministry. You see, it
was Simon Peter who had said, "Lord, I am ready to
go with thee, both into prison, and to death." Luke
22:33. Yet, when the time came to follow Jesus unto
death, peter, like the rest of the disciples forsook Him
and fled, Mark 14:50.
Let's take a few minutes this evening to look into this
account of Simon the Cyrenian and ask ourselves the
question, Must Jesus Bear His Cross Alone? I
wonder if we are willing to bear the cross behind our
Savior as Simon did. Let's examine this story in its
details this evening.
I. WE SEE OUR SAVIOR CONDEMNED
A. V. 26 His Crime - According to this verse, Jesus
was accused of claiming to be the King of the
Jews. In reality, Jesus was going to the cross
because it was part of his Father's plan, Rev.
13:8. From a human standpoint, Jesus was
condemned because He was godly and because
He taught men the truth about worshiping and
serving God. The only crime that Jesus was
guilty of was the crime of loving sinners and
showing them the way to come to God.
B. V. 15-20 His Condemnation - These verses tell
us of how our Lord was abused by Pilate's
soldiers. Among other things, they scourged Him,
spit upon Him, beat Him with their hands,
crowned Him with a crown of thorns, clothed Him
in a scarlet robe, mocked Him, and beat Him over
the head with a reed. Yet, Jesus endured all
these things without uttering a word, Isa. 53:7.
(Ill. Let us never forget this evening that Jesus
endured all that He did because He did not want
you and me going to Hell. He endured the worst
that man could do to Him and He suffered it all
because He loved us more than He loved His
own life! What a glorious demonstration of the
love of God for sinners - Rom. 5:8; John 15:13.)
C. V. 22-25 His Crucifixion - After they had abused
our Lord and after He had endured an entire night
of brutal treatment, they lead Him away to be
crucified. Our modern minds cannot comprehend
the brutality of the death that Jesus endured for
us. We get our word "excruciating" from the
same word from which we get the word cross. It
was a death so harsh and so terrible that it was
reserved for the lowest of slaves. In fact, a
Roman citizen could not be crucified, except by
direct decree of Caesar himself. Therefore, we
see that Jesus Christ, a man Who had expended
His life in the service of others, a man Who "did
no sin", a man Who harmed no one, but helped
all who came to Him was condemned to die the
death of the vilest and most hated slave.
(Ill. Do I need to remind you how horrible His
death was? Isa. 52:14 tells us that "His visage
was so marred, more than any man." Imagine
the agony of having nails driven through hands
and feet. Imagine the torment of feeling nerve
against iron. Imagine the agony as His body is
wracked with spasms that slam His lacerated
back against the cross. Imagine the swelling of
His head from the thorns that were driven into His
head. Imagine Him having to push against the
nails in His feet, while He pulled against the nails
un His hands just to get a breath of air to say,
"Father, forgive them, they know not what
they do.", or "Today, shalt thou be with me in
paradise." Imagine the thirst! Imagine the
shame of His nakedness. Imagine the loneliness
of His death, as His disciples, with the exception
of John were gone and even His own Father
turned away from Him. Imagine what it would
have been like that day to see this man die this
death and know that it all happened because He
loved you and wanted to make a way for you to
be saved. Imagine that kind of love!)
(Ill. Certainly, the death of Jesus is the
centerpiece of this passage, however, there is
more for us to see here tonight. We have caught
a glimpse of Jesus, now, let's notice this man
named Simon.)
I. We See Our Savior Condemned
II. WE SEE SIMON COMPELLED
A. His Scheme - We do not know much about this
man named Simon. All we know about him is
that he was from Cyrene which was located in
Africa. We know that he was in Jerusalem at the
time of the Passover, so it stands to reason that
he must have been a Jewish proselyte. If this
were the case, he was probably traveling with his
family. This man, an African, probably a man of
color was in this place to worship. He had come
to offer a Passover Lamb and now he comes face
to face with the Lamb of God!
(Ill. What a picture of grace! Just like Simon, I
was minding my own business when I came face
to face with the Lord. I didn't know anything
about Him, but He was looking for me!)
B. His Selection - The Word of the Lord tells us that
they "compelled" Simon to carry the Lord's
Cross. This word means to "press into public
service". It seems that Roman soldiers could
enlist civilians to do certain tasks for them.
People were required by Roman law to obey, or
they could be put to death. Jesus seems to
mention this practice in Matthew 5:41.
C. His Shame - Perhaps one of the reasons the
soldiers pressed Simon into this service was the
color of his skin. You see, it was considered the
most degrading act imaginable to carry the cross
of a condemned man. No soldier would want to
do and, and the soldiers probably would not have
chosen anyone who was obviously Jewish to do
on the eve of the Passover. To have caried this
cross would have branded that person and would
have rendered then ceremonially unclean. For
Simon, the Passover was over the minute he
touched the cross. The word "compel" carries
with it the idea of force. Perhaps it was the threat
of death that caused this African to pick up that
cross and carry it. Regardless of the
circumstances, from the moment Simon touched
that cross, he was a marked man!
(Ill. What a picture for those of us who claim to be
Christians! Did you realize that the cross of
Christ is still associated with shame?, (Heb. 12:2).
Jesus said that one of the marks of His disciples
was that they had a willingness and a desire to
carry the cross, Matt. 16:24. This passage makes
it clear that those who follow Jesus must be
willing to deny themselves, take up that cross and
follow Him. Please note that the steps of Jesus
led Him to death before they led Him to glory!
The same may be true of you and me! For sure,
bearing the cross will bring the reproach of the
world, 1 Cor. 1:18, but a willingness to bear the
cross behind the Lord will bring the smile of God!
Just as a condemned criminal was forced to
carry his cross to show the world that he was
under and submissive to the rules he once
rebelled against, so the born again believer
must bear the cross of Christ, which is self-denial, to show the world that we are now
submissive to the rule of the One that we
formerly rebelled against. This may mean that
we have to walk out of step with the world.
Certainly it will mean that we must be different
from the world in our thinking, our manner of life,
in the forms of entertainment we use, in how we
conduct ourselves in our interpersonal
relationships, etc. Part of the shame of Christ is
our learning to be like Him instead of like the
world! Don't even pretend to be carrying your
cross unless you have surrendered every area of
life to the will of God. Is God pleased with
everything you do? Could you invite Jesus to
listen to your music? Could you invite Him to
watch TV with you? Could you take Him
along on a date? Could Jesus join you in
everything you do? If not, then someone needs
to change, and folks, it isn't Him!)
I. We See Our Savior Condemned
II. We See Simon Compelled
III. WE SEE A SINNER CONVERTED
A. The Providence Of God - It was no accident that
Simon and his family were passing through
Jerusalem at that precise moment. In fact, I
believe that it was the providence of the Lord that
allowed his path to cross that of the Lord Jesus
Christ. I can't understand all the workings of our
Lord, but I do know that He has a way of bringing
people to Him that need to be saved. Remember
the woman at the well, John 4:4-29? Remember
the Ethiopian Eunuch, Acts 8:26-39? Apparently,
God used this event this event to bring about the
salvation of Simon. God brought a seeker
together with the Savior!
(Ill. Remember how the providence of God
worked in your life to bring you to Jesus. It was
no accident that you were brought to Him! It was
the providence and the grace of God!)
B. The Power Of God - Mark mentions Alexander
and Rufus. These names must have been
familiar to the Christians to which he was writing.
Later, when Paul was closing His letter to the
Romans, he mentions Rufus and the mother of
Rufus. Even going so far as to adopt her as his
own mother, Rom. 16:13. It is evident that
something happened in the hearts of Simon and
his family as they watched the Lord dying at
Calvary that day. Whatever took place, God used
this event to change Simon and his family
forever! What a picture of the grace of God!
(Ill. You and I never saw Jesus die on the cross.
We were not pressed into service to carry His
cross that day. However, if you are saved, there
came a day when you, just like Simon, came face
to face with the Lord Jesus Christ. You may not
have seen Him dying, but you knew that you
needed what He had to give. When you believed
in Him by faith, you were changed just like Simon
and his family. What a difference Jesus makes in
our lives!)
Conc: As I bring these thoughts together this evening,
I need to ask you this question: Are you saved tonight?
Are you trusting in Jesus, and Jesus alone for your
salvation? Like Simon, are you bearing the Lord's cross
and following Him through life, gladly bearing the shame
and reproach of His great Name? If you are lost, you
can be saved tonight. If you are saved, but you have
allowed things to creep into your life that are not
pleasing to the Lord, you can be cleaned up tonight. If
you would be totally honest and admit that you aren't
really bearing the cross. You are just kind of sliding
through life and really aren't living for Jesus in a
serious, heart commitment, well, there's hope for you
too. Whatever your need, I invite you to come to Jesus
and get it settled forever. Must Jesus bear His cross
alone? Not if you and I will fall in with Him and join Him
in a life that is totally committed and sold out to Him.
