Will You Bear the Cross of Christ?

As we continue to look at the last days of the life of the Lord Jesus, this morning we simply look at one verse.  We will consider the life of Simon of Cyrene as he bore the cross of Christ. 

 

It is Friday morning between 6-8 AM.  Late on Thursday evening, Jesus celebrated the Passover with the Twelve and instituted the Lord’s Supper. 

 

Later that evening, He was arrested in the Garden at Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives.  In the earliest hours of Friday morning, He endured His religious trial at the hands of the Jewish Religious Leaders and was found guilty of blasphemy and condemned to death.

 

However, because the Jews didn’t have the authority to carry out capital punishment, they sent Jesus to Pilate for His political trial and accused Him of treason.  Neither Pilate or Herod thought Jesus was guilty, but they didn’t want a Jewish riot on their hands.  Therefore, they allowed Jesus to be crucified. 

 

 

Main Point

Those who were sentenced to crucifixion had to carry their own crossbeam, a patibulum, to the place where the execution would happen.  This was true for Jesus. 

 

However, as you can imagine, He couldn’t physically do it.  Because of His extreme fatigue, His emotional distress, and the physical abuse, He could not carry His crossbeam from Jerusalem to the outskirts called Golgotha.  Don’t forget how He was scourged.

 

 

In what would appear to be a random act, the Roman soldiers pulled aside a man named Simon.  He was a Jew from Cyrene, which was a town in Northern Africa and is present-day Libya.  We don’t know if he was in town for the Passover or if he was passing through for some other reason, but nonetheless, he was pressed into service to carry Jesus’ crossbeam.

 

This morning, I want to ask you this question.  Even though Simon was pressed into bearing Jesus’ cross here, I believe he had done so voluntarily earlier in his life.  My question is, “Will You Bear Jesus’ Cross today?”

 

This idea of bearing Jesus’ cross is an invitation to follow Him and serve Him as your Lord and Savior.  We see this invitation multiple times on the pages of the NT.

 

Matthew 10:38

38 And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.

 

Matthew 16:24

24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

 

Mark 8:34

34 When He had called the people to Himself, with His disciples also, He said to them, “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.

 

Luke 9:23

23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.

 

Luke 14:27

27 And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.

 

In today’s single verse, Simon of Cyrene bore Jesus’ cross literally and publicly.  My invitation and challenge for you this morning is to bear Jesus’ cross figuratively and personally and specifically with your family. 

 

Simon is mentioned in Matthew’s gospel and Luke’s gospel, but Mark’s gospel includes something unique.  Only Mark’s gospel includes that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. 

What do we know about these two sons?  In the rest of the NT, the name Alexander is found in 4 places.

 

Acts 4:6

6 as well as Annas the high priest, Caiaphas, John, and Alexander, and as many as were of the family of the high priest, were gathered together at Jerusalem.

 

Acts 19:33

33 And they drew Alexander out of the multitude, the Jews putting him forward. And Alexander motioned with his hand, and wanted to make his defense to the people.

 

1 Timothy 1:20

20 of whom are Hymenaeus and Alexander, whom I delivered to Satan that they may learn not to blaspheme.

 

2 Timothy 4:14-15

14 Alexander the coppersmith did me much harm. May the Lord repay him according to his works. 15 You also must beware of him, for he has greatly resisted our words.

 

In all 4 places, these Alexander’s are not good men.  They opposed the ministry of Peter, and they opposed the ministry of Paul.  Was one of these Simon’s son?  We don’t know.

 

However, there is only one Rufus, and he is found in Romans 16:13. 

 

Romans 16:13

13 Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.

 

He was a member of the Roman Church and according to Paul was a choice man, an extraordinary follower of Christ.  Remember to whom Mark’s gospel was written.  It was written to Roman Christians.  Therefore, it is highly likely that the Rufus in Romans 16 is the son of Simon here in Mark 15:21.

 

It is certainly possible that Simon had one son that turned out great in Rufus and one that didn’t turn out so great in Alexander.  We know that to be true from our own life experiences.  Sometimes, the best Christian parents have children that followed the ways of Christ and those that strayed. 

 

So I want to be crystal clear this morning.  As for Christian parents, when it comes to parenting, you cannot be held completely responsible for how your children turn out, but you are 100% responsible for how you choose to parent them. 

 

 

1. Bearing Jesus’ cross means discipling your children.

 

Because of what we know about Rufus, I would suspect that Simon of Cyrene, being a good Jew, choose to parent his children according to Deuteronomy 6:4-9.

 

Deuteronomy 6:4-9

4 “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one! 5 You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength.  6 “And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

 

This is called the Shema and is the basic Judaism confession of faith.  It speaks to monotheism and speaks against polytheism.  The other nations in the OT were polytheists.

 

It says that the LORD, literally Elohim, or Yahweh or Jehovah is God, and He is one.  He is not many or multiple.  He is one.  Therefore, this basic confession excludes the validity of Islam and Buddhism and Hinduism because the one God is Yahweh not Allah or anyone else.

 

Furthermore, because of how Jesus used this word “LORD” in John 8:58, this basic confession renders Judaism incomplete, and it affirms the exclusivity of Christ as the only way to heaven. 

 

John 8:58

58 Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, before Abraham was, I AM.”

 

Beginning in verse 5, notice the language that is in command form, “You shall.”  This is the same type of language used in Exodus 21 and the Ten Commandments. 

 

Jewish adults and parents were to love Yahweh or Jehovah with all their heart, soul, and might.  Sometimes, we try to see too much in these three areas when really God is saying that Israel was to love God with everything they are and everything they have. 

 

Because of how Jesus interpreted this same mandate in the gospels, what was true for Jewish adults is true for followers of Christ.  We are to love Yahweh or Jehovah or Jesus with everything that we are and everything that we have, and just to make sure there is no confusion as to what it means to love Jesus, remember John 14:15.

 

John 14:15

15 If you love Me, keep My commandments.

 

Another aspect of the mandate is found in 6:5. We are to keep these words (6:4 and 6:5) on our hearts.  We are to meditate on them throughout the day.  We are to keep them before us at all times…at home and at work and at school and everywhere.

 

Who is to do this?  This is parents.  It is not a preschool.  It is not a school, public or private.  It is not the church. 

 

Also, notice again this is a mandate or a command.  It is not optional.  As parents, we err when we require our children to go to school and require our children to go to practice and require our children to go to games and allow them the option of coming to church.

 

Parents are to teach their children diligently.  Teach them what?  These words as indicated in 6:6 and spelled out in 6:4-5.  Not only are you to teach, but you are to talk about them, the things of God.  The things of God are to be regularly on your lips. 

 

Parents are to teach your sons and your daughters when you are at home and when you are outside of the home.  You are to teach your children the things of God when you go to bed at night and when you wake up in the morning. 

 

You are to teach your children the things of God by always keeping them before them.  More than anything else, the idea is that your entire house and household should be about the things of God.

 

 

2. Bearing Jesus’ cross means demonstrating your service.

 

Obviously, we see here in Mark 15:21 that Simon served others.  I believe he also demonstrated or modeled that for his family. 

 

The NLT of Romans 16:13 is interesting.  Paul doesn’t say greet Rufus’ mother and mine.  It says greet Rufus’ mother who was like a mother to me too.

 

Romans 16:13 (NLT)

13 Greet Rufus, whom the Lord picked out to be his very own; and also his dear mother, who has been a mother to me.

 

She served Paul.  Could she have seen that in her husband, Simon, who learned that from the Lord?

 

Matthew 22:39

39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

 

 

Conclusion

It is no secret that more and more Christian twentysomethings are turning away from their Christian faith when they get to college.  George Barna reported in 2006 that 61% of young adults who were somewhat active in church as a teenager now go nowhere. 

 

Certainly, the church deserves some blame, but I would say Christian parents who teach their children more about hitting balls and shooting baskets and enjoying the lake than what it means to love Jesus with everything you have deserve the majority of the blame.

 

Moms and Dads, I’m challenging you and inviting you to bear Jesus’ cross by discipling your children and demonstrating your service.