Saturday, February 28, 2015
Luke 23:26 And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.
PLACES OF THE PASSION -- CALVARY
They called it "skull place" either because it was the place of execution or because the place actually resembled a skull. In Jerusalem today there are two sites thought to be possible locations. The first is located due west of the Temple Mount. It is called the "traditional site." It is in the middle of Jerusalem today, but when Jesus was crucified the place would have been along a road leading outside the city. Today, a church has been built on the site and named "The Church of the Holy Sepulcher." The second is located north northwest of the Temple Mount. It also would have been outside the city of Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. It is sometimes called "Gordon's Calvary" because a British major general named Charles Gordon claimed to have had a dream indicating that this site was the place where Jesus was crucified. The face of Gordon's Calvary is thought to look like a skull.
The Bible wasn't written with maps, so we can't be sure which is the actual site of Calvary. But we do know that the most important event in the history of humankind took place there.
Simon of Cyrene is the only man who could be said to have helped Jesus bear the cross, but only the physical weight. Lest we give Simon more credit than he deserves, we should note that he didn't offer to help, but was compelled to carry the cross by the Roman soldiers. (Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21).
So there were two men who carried the cross used to obtain our redemption, but when we compare the two there is a striking contrast:
One was the sinless Lamb of God; the other was a sinner in no way different from any one of us.
One carried the weight of the sin and guilt of the world in addition to the cross; the other carried only the wood.
One we look to remember in the hour of our death; the other we can forget entirely.
While Simon of Cyrene had to be forced to carry the cross by Roman Soldiers, Jesus' love for us moved Him to carry it willingly. How can we not be moved and amazed by His incredible love? He knew in advance the bodily torture He would have to endure, but He was willing to endure it, to go the way of the Cross to win freedom from sin for us (cf. 1 John 4:10): "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."
It was love for the Father and for us that moved the Son of God Him to be conceived and born into the human race. It was His love for God and the things of God that compelled Him every second of every day to live in perfect obedience to God's Law. It was Jesus' love for us, not the prodding of the Roman soldiers, that caused Jesus to bear the cross. It was His desire to free us from slavery to sin and its horrid end, death. He willingly took up His cross to free us from the consequences of our sinful thoughts, hurtful words, and self-destructive deeds.
It is finished. Our debt is paid in full. We stand right with God, and our rooms in the Father's house have been bought and paid for. It happened on Calvary, and we owe it all to Christ.
