목양연가(牧羊戀歌)

Luke 23:33-49  “The Cross and Those Men”

We now usher in the time of Lent.  It is the week that our Jesus suffered and died on the cross.  It is my prayer for our saints that we meditate on the Lord’s cross and give our hearts to Him for this one week.  For Jesus’ cross has great meaning for us.  It is true that without the cross Christianity would not exist.  Without the cross there is no glory of the resurrection or salvation for the human race.  Therefore the cross has great meaning for the human race.  I believe whoever understands and knows this fact correctly believes and is a blessed saint.  Therefore today we receive grace by thinking about the cross and those who were there at that time.  Those around the cross were disciples, the multitudes, Roman soldiers, and many women.  However, today we will think about three different kinds of people.

First, there are the Roman soldiers.  They are the ones who, after nailing Jesus on the cross, cast lots for all of Jesus’ garments to see who would win them (John 19:23-24).  Right then, our Jesus was hanging on the cross with blooding pouring out of His body and flowing down His head from the crown of thorns.  In front of the cross the soldiers were casting lots for Jesus’ garments.  Such tragic actions make us feel so ashamed as human beings when we see those who are low class human beings acting in such a manner.  Their acted against truth as they turned their faces from eternal life.  In other words, it is a model of the dirty conscience of human beings, with a warped and filthy conscience and eyes darkened by material things.  There is no need to give an example by making the assets of government officials public.  However the greediness of the soldiers wanting the garments, shown right in front of a person dying, represents the people who think money is everything.  They are poor people who know nothing of salvation.

Secondly, there are the religious leaders at that time.  They were standing around Jesus ridiculing and mocking Him as He suffered.  They said, “You who destroy the temple and build it in three days, save Yourself!  If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” (Matthew 27:40)  “He saved others; Himself He cannot save.  If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him.” (Matthew 27:42)  The high priest, scribes, and elders together ridiculed and mocked Him.  How foolish and upsetting were the things they said?  They were ignorant people and their spiritual sight was darkened.  They said they believe God but were a disgrace to Him.  What does this fact teach us?  It is a model of today’s backslidden people who have changed their belief.  Look!  They were the ones who said, “Hosanna, son of David, praise Him,” just a short time before, now they poured our curses and mocked Him.  Beloved saints!  Is there anyone who comes to Jesus to exalt himself and receive glory?  The Bible says those kind of people are in palaces.  The cross is the gate that we must go through before the glory of resurrection.  Today we come before Jesus and sit beneath the cross of our Lord.  However I wonder if anyone is complaining about their difficulty and trouble and using words of ridicule.  If so, what difference is this from what the religious leaders did in their time?  If you and I were sitting among them at that time would we be any different than them?  We need to think about it.

Thirdly, there is Simon, a Cyrenian, who carried the cross instead of Jesus.  We can think about two ways Simon, the Cyrenian, carried the cross.  jHe was forced to carry Jesus’ cross.  Mark 15:21 says, “Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.”  The city of Cyrene was a small city in the North Africa.  The name Simon is a particular Jewish name which means he must have been a Jew living in Cyrene.  Perhaps he was a traveler attending the Passover, the great Jewish feast.  However, this Simon of Cyrene ran into Jesus’ procession.  People were murmuring and passing by him as he stopped and watched them.  Then all of a sudden a Roman soldier came and commanded him, by force, to carry the cross which Jesus was carrying.  At that time the Jewish nation was under Roman power so he could not decline.  Consequently, he had to carry the heavy cross up the hill of Golgotha.  Everyone, think about what Simon, the Cyrenian was thinking.  How regrettable and offensive.  He came a long way to worship God and participate in the Passover Feast.  However, he had to carry this humiliating cross for this wicked sinner.  He was at a loss.  He must have been out of breath and sweating as he carried the cross.  Then, the thing that made him angry was to carry someone else’s cross by force.  In fact, for human beings, the most unpleasant and hard thing for them is for one’s free will to be taken away and be forced by someone else.  Isn’t this true?  Originally human beings hate for their free will to be taken away.  Therefore some shout out saying, “Give me liberty or give me death.”  On top of this, a person who is forced to do things has their pride hurt and it seems like hard labor.  The things a person wants to do bring him joy and is not labor, therefore giving power.  However, when forced to do something, a person has bad feelings, is tired, and has a hard time.  This day, Simon, the Cyrenian, was perhaps like this.  Simon, who was without means, carried Jesus’ cross.  kSimon became a great and blessed individual.  Later on, Simon was greatly changed and became a Christian who followed Jesus.  Not only this, he became a great worker, who helped the Apostle Paul in the gospel ministry.  The Bible mentions him becoming a great teacher who taught Bible class.  In Acts 13 we see the names of those who worked hard for the Antioch church, helping it grow and mature, listed in among the names is Simon.  Let’s read Acts 13:1 together.  “Now in the church that was at Antioch there were certain prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.”  Many theologians put their thoughts together and identify Simeon as the one who was forced to carry Jesus’ cross.  In Romans 16:13, Paul says, “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.”  In this verse, who is Rufus?  He is Simeon’s son.  So who is the mother of Rufus?  She is the wife of Simeon.  In other words, the whole family of Simeon became believers and workers for Christ, becoming a blessed home. 

Then how did Simeon and his family change so much?  This is the lesson for today that we need to learn.  To carry the cross of Jesus even if it was by force, that is a blessing.  In other words, all the good works and every sufferings for Jesus sake, even if is by force, is a blessing.  Look!  At the time when Simeon was having a hard time carrying Jesus’ cross, Jesus perhaps looked at him with compassion.  In the past there was a miracle given by just touching Jesus garments, however Jesus, Himself, looked at him.  What would have happened?  Perhaps at that moment he experienced a great feeling that all of his sins had been pulled out with their roots and melted away.  Not only that, at that moment he saw and heard Jesus say to the Roman soldier who pierced Him, “Forgive them, for they do not know what they do,” how hot his heart must have been?  He must have really understood when Jesus said, “It is finished” and saw the things happening at the time of Jesus’ death (the darkness came, the rocks opened, lightening and thunder).  As he watched all of this happen he finally understood, Ah!, the cross he was forced to carry; how blessed that cross is?

  Beloved saints!  I will finish preaching.  We too sometimes carry an unwanted cross by force.  However sometimes that can be the Lord’s consolation to us as the Lord’s comforts us.  Sometimes, we may be treated unfairly for the Lord’s sake.  Because our belief in Jesus we may experience loss.  However be patient and endure it.  I believe the Lord’s consolation will be with you.  May God’s grace fill your hearts and minds.

By Samuel Choi