The Roman soldiers have beaten Jesus so severely that He can't carry His own cross. Mark tells us, "A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross." (Mark 15:21) We find parallel accounts of this in Matthew 27:32 and Luke 23:26. By the time Mark writes his account of the gospel, Simon and his sons are apparently well known to the early church since he speaks of them as if his readers will immediately know who they are. It is widely believed that Simon's son Alexander is the Alexander mentioned in Acts 19:33 and that Simon's son Rufus is the Rufus of Romans 16:13.
Simon is probably on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem for Passover and the last thing he expects is for a Roman soldier to seize him and force him to carry a heavy cross behind a beaten and bloody man who is wearing a twisted crown of thorns. Simon has likely never laid eyes on Jesus before and we don't even know whether he's ever heard of Jesus. How confusing this scene must have been for him, but if his sons really are those men mentioned in the New Testament, we can conclude that Simon and his family became believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. Luke tells us that the soldiers "put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus". (Luke 23:26) On that Friday Simon literally carried a cross and followed the Lord. Sometime during that awful day or after he heard of the resurrection, Simon spiritually became a man who carried a cross and followed the Lord, fulfilling this requirement of a disciple, "Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me." (Luke 9:23)
"They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means "the place of the skull")." (Mark 15:22) There is a hill situated northwest of the old city of Jerusalem that bears a vague resemblance to a smooth skull with eye holes and a mouth. This may be the place Jesus was crucified.
"Then they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it." (Mark 15:23) This drink is intended to dull the pain, but Jesus refuses to drink it. He has committed Himself instead to drinking the bitter cup of God's wrath all the way down to the dregs and He will endure every ounce of the pain of the cross on behalf of mankind. No one will ever be able to say that Jesus does not understand or sympathize with excruciating pain, for He had the opportunity to experience a measure of relief from it and He refused it.
"And they crucified Him. Dividing up His clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get." (Mark 15:24) It was customary for the soldiers carrying out crucifixions to take for themselves any items of value the condemned men possessed. This scene was prophetically described in Psalm 22 in the voice of the One hanging on the cross, "Dogs surround Me, a pack of villains encircles Me; they pierce My hands and My feet. All My bones are on display; people stare and gloat over Me. They divide My clothes among them and cast lots for My garment." (Psalm 22:16-18)
All four of the gospel writers tell us the charge written above Jesus' head, "The written notice of the charge against Him read: THE KING OF THE JEWS." (Mark 15:26) A condemned man would have his offense written on a plaque that was nailed to the cross above his head. Jesus committed no crime and so the charge above Him is the charge upon which the Sanhedrin found Him worthy of death. They found Him guilty of blasphemy for claiming to be the Son of God, the Messiah, thereby making Himself equal with God and laying claim to the throne of Israel. These are not the charges they brought against Him before Pilate, but Pilate saw through their charade, and as a jab at the religious leaders Pilate saw to it that the charges above Jesus' head said: THE KING OF THE JEWS. The religious leaders take offense at the way the sign is worded, protesting to Pilate, "Do not write "the king of the Jews" but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews." (John 19:21) Pilate is done with these men. He wants them out of the palace and out of his sight. He refuses to make any changes, saying, "What I have written, I have written." (John 19:22)
Jesus hangs on the cross with the truth written above His head. He dies for the truth, and He dies at the hands of both Jews and Gentiles because He is giving His life for both Jews and Gentiles. Members of the children of Israel and members of the pagan world all had a hand in His death because "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God". (Romans 3:23) The Jews aren't to blame any more than the Gentiles for the death of Jesus, nor are the Gentiles more to blame for the death of Jesus than the Jews. All of mankind fell from grace. All of mankind needed redemption. Jesus gave His life to redeem all people of every nation and every language. In Christ we all have equal standing as the children of God. "There is neither Jew nor Gentile, neither slave nor free, nor is there male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus." (Galatians 3:28)
Below is our worship song link for today. It goes wonderfully with our passage today.
Blessed Redeemer
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