People at the Crucifixion
Mark 15: 21-32
21 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. 22 They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 23 Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
25 It was nine in the morning when they crucified him. 26 The written notice of the charge against him read: the king of the jews.
27 They crucified two rebels with him, one on his right and one on his left. [28] [a] 29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
Today I want us to look at three different people or sets of people surrounding Jesus’ Crucifixion. Whenever I think about the reasons for people being included in the narrative, I always think about the fact that the gospel writers are called “The Evangelists.” They are heralds and promoters of the person and purpose of Jesus Christ. So, the people they include are included to encourage us to follow Jesus or to warn us against rejecting Him. In other words, folks act as positive and negative examples with the consequences being life and death! Today we will look at Simon of Sirene, the criminals on the cross and the mockers at the crucifixion. In each instance we will see a response to Jesus that we can either emulate or avoid.
Let’s begin with Simon.
- Simon Helped Jesus
- Jesus needs help
John’s gospel tells us that Jesus at first is carrying His own cross. Then at some point, the soldiers seize Simon and force him to carry Jesus’ cross for Him. The obvious implication is that because of the ill treatment of Jesus He is not able to shoulder the burden of the cross. Jesus is living as a man, as the second person of the Trinity He could manage any of these circumstances. But Jesus willingly submits to the weaknesses of humanity, and as such, His cruel treatment makes His march to Golgotha too great a hardship.
It is a base cruelty to force those being executed to carry their own cross. They carry the tool for their own suffering and death. It is an added insult to the execution. This is a time of greatest need for Jesus. And Simon is the one who serves Him in His time of greatest need.
- Simon carries Jesus’ cross
The gospels tell us that the Soldiers sieze Simon and force him to carry Jesus’ cross. Simon is not a volunteer, and yet his service to Jesus is real and meaningful! Jesus walks ahead, Simon follows Him. And then there is a crowd of people who come after. Some of those support Him, such as the women, and some insult and deride Him. There are conversations that take place during the journey that Simon would have heart. Luke’s gospel has those.
Jesus must have looked a mess at this point. A bruised and puffy face, covered in blood from the crown. A body bleeding and bruised from being beaten with rods and whipped. And the people are not letting up. It is as if the horror of the crowd is feeding on itself! This is truly a terrible event. And Simon is right in the middle of it!
- Simon’s family is mentioned
Simon’s family is known. What does that mean? I believe it means that they have decided to follow Jesus, just as Simon followed Jesus with Jesus’ cross. It must have been a shocking occurrence in Simon’s life to be sidetracked in such a way!
Jesus teaches in Matthew 5 that if someone forces you to carry their burden for a mile, to go for two. Here Simon is forced to do such a thing.
Simon follows Jesus to Golgotha. He sees the way that Jesus acts as well as the other people around Him. It must have been an incredible spectacle.
But more than that, Simon is the one person that is chosen out of the crowd to help Jesus in His hour of greatest need. (Take my yoke upon yourself and learn of me!) It was Simon who bore the cross of Jesus so Jesus could bear the sins of the world. What a great priviledge to serve the Son of God in this way!! And it is an encouragement for us to serve Jesus as a Risen Savior!!
The second set of people to consider are the criminals who are crucified along side of Jesus.
- Rebel Reactions
- One thief mocks while dying
Matthew 27: 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
Luke 23: 39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: “Aren’t you the Messiah? Save yourself and us!”
40 But the other criminal rebuked him. “Don’t you fear God,” he said, “since you are under the same sentence? 41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong.”
42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.[d]”
43 Jesus answered him, “Truly I tell you, today you will be with me in paradise.”
It is an amazing thing that a person on the cusp of death, in the throws of great suffering, acts in such a coarse and arrogant manner. And yet people do this all of the time. People hate God in the midst of their suffering. People facing death refuse to believe and trust in the One who can save them from what the Bible calls the second death. God offers an eternity of life in His presence, provision and joy. People choose to have both soul and body destroyed instead.
- One thief has humility
It is an amazing thing that one so near to death would attack Jesus as his last act in this life. The second criminal mentioned has some humility, recognizing their rightful condemnation, and Jesus’ innocense. Both men know that they are guilty. One criminal is humble and repentant, the other is arrogant and defiant.
The actions of others in the scene of the Crucifixion creates a great contrast with some in attendance.
The centurian who confesses Jesus’ divinity,
the thief here who pleads for salvation,
the women who faithfully serve.
- Salvation from the cross
What must the criminal know to say this?
“Remember me when you come into your kingdom”
This is quite a confession of faith in who Jesus is.
He treats Jesus as a king.
He treats Jesus as one who will stand before God and be honored.
He treats Jesus as one who can save!! This is remarkable understanding and faith. Perhaps he has heard Jesus teach from time to time!
Jesus’ promise to this man is one of the greatest statements in all of Scripture: Today you will be with me in Paradise.
- Today: They will both die today!
- You will be with me: Wherever Jesus goes is a good place!
- In paradise: Paradise=Garden=Heaven=Where God dwells
Those are three incredibly impactful facts!
I Thessalonians 5: 9 For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ. 10 He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.
The final set of people for us to consider are those at the Cross who mock Jesus while He is dying for their sins.
- People Insult the Son of God
We have seen two sets of folks who are receiving the value of Jesus’ saving ministry. They function as examples of how to react to Jesus in faith and be saved! But, there are obviously the negative examples as well!
- People passing by
It’s not like these people are on the way to the market, they have come to see the spectacle. They have come to add to the sentence of suffering and death.
They feel the need to add their mocking insults to the dying people.
- People passed by
They are passing by Jesus and Jesus passes them by for Salvation.
Passover and passing by!
At Passover, which is the holiday that begins at sundown this very day, if the Jewish people did not follow the instructions given by God, their firstborn children would die.
It was not the fact that they were Jewish that saved them, but that they trusted the instructions given by Moses and sacrificed the lamb and spread the blood on the doorpost of the house. The blood of the lamb on their dwelling indicated identification with the information from Moses. If they did not feel the need to identify with the sacrificial lamb, then the angel of death would not pass them by. And here they are. The reality is on the Cross, the shadow was the Old Covenant experience.
Here Jesus is shedding His blood, but unless these people repent, they will perish! They must identify with Jesus. They must embrace Him as the Christ, the Son of the Living God!
As Peter will tell them in about 50 days: Acts 2:
22 “Fellow Israelites, listen to this: Jesus of Nazareth was a man accredited by God to you by miracles, wonders and signs, which God did among you through him, as you yourselves know. 23 This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men,[d] put him to death by nailing him to the cross. 24 But God raised him from the dead, freeing him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for death to keep its hold on him.
36 “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah.”
37 When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
- Who can Jesus save?
Jesus came to save sinners. But God is opposed to the proud and gives grace to the humble.
Folks cannot be saved who demand signs that damn them!
29 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads and saying, “So! You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 come down from the cross and save yourself!” 31 In the same way the chief priests and the teachers of the law mocked him among themselves. “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! 32 Let this Messiah, this king of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.”
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