THE GOSPEL ACCORDING MATTHEW-116 THEY CRUCIFIED HIM AND DIVIDED HIS GARMENTS AMONG THEM Matthew 27:32-44 32 As they went out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; this man they compelled to carry his cross. 33 And when they came to a place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull), 34 they offered him wine to drink, mingled with gall; but when he tasted it, he would not drink it. 35 And when they had crucified him, they divided his garments among them by casting lots; 36 then they sat down and kept watch over him there. 37 And over his head they put the charge against him, which read, This is Jesus the King of the Jews. 38 Then two robbers were crucified with him, one on the right and one on the left. 39 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads 40 and saying, You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross. 41 So also the chief priests, with the scribes and elders, mocked him, saying, 42 He saved others; he cannot save himself. He is the King of Israel; let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God; let God deliver him now, if he desires him; for he said, `I am the Son of God. 44 And the robbers who were crucified with him also reviled him in the same way. Meditation: Are you prepared to die well? None of us can avoid the inevitable -- our own death. We try to avoid it, to block it from our minds, but the the truth is we will all die sooner or later. Dying is not easy for anyone. It involves mental and physical suffering, loss, and separation. We can choose to live well, and we can choose to die well. Dying well is a life-long spiritual task. Fortunately there is something stronger than death and that is love (Song of Songs 6:8). For God so loved the world that he gave us his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16). Jesus embraced the cross knowing it was the Fathers will and the Fathers way for him to die. A criminal condemned to death by Roman law was forced to carry his own cross. Soldiers made him carry it to the place of execution usually by the longest route possible. This prolonged the public humiliation and agony of carrying a weight that bowed the head and broke the back into a posture of submission. Jesus fell under the weight of his cross and could go no further. The Roman soldiers compeled another man to carry it for him. Simon had come a long distance from Cyrene (in North Africa, present-day Libya) to Jerusalem for the Passover feast. The last thing he wanted to do was to participate in the public execution of a criminal. But he had no choice since Roman authority could not be challenged without serious consequences. Mark records that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus (Mark 15:21). Since Mark wrote his gospel for the Christian community at Rome, it is likely that the two sons of Rufus were well-known to the Church there as fellow Christians. Who knows, if Simon had not been compelled to carry Jesuss cross, he may never have been challenged with the message of the cross and the meaning of the Christian faith which his two sons later embraced. Perhaps Simon became a believer and passed on his faith to his family as well. Do you take up your cross willingly to follow Jesus in his way of love and sacrifice?
Posted on: Tue, 22 Jul 2014 07:59:29 +0000
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