"When they led Him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus."--Luke 23:26. I haven't really looked at this account for a while let alone studied it out. We have to remember that ALL SCRIPTURE is for our instruction (2 Timothy 3:16-17). From Simon of Cyrene helping carry the cross behind Jesus, we can learn two lessons.
Pulling our weight. Simon was among the men and women watching Jesus carry the cross to Golgotha. The Scripture says the authorities seized Simon. Mark 15:21, a parallel account tells us he was "pressed into service." The language implies that Simon was taken against his will and did not want to do this. Jesus needed the help because he had already been brutally beaten and would soon be drawing His last breath on Calvary in order to save us from our sins.
Pulling our weight. Jesus was brutally beaten, spat upon, mocked, and crucified for our sins. Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, and Luke 9:23 all essentially say the same thing, we must take up our cross and follow Him. Luke says we must do this DAILY. Matthew 10:38 says if we don't, we are not worthy of Him. As Christians, we must pull our weight. We can't be like Simon who was "pressed into service" by the authorities. We must make a choice. Will we obey? What was your attitude last time you were asked to serve in some area in the church, did you bear that cross willingly or did you feel like you were "pressed into service"?
Pulling our weight. There are two lessons we can glean from this passage in parallel with Mark 15:21. We must bear our cross and we must do so willingly. So the choice is yours, will you bear your cross daily and pull your weight willingly as a member of His Kingdom? Maybe you have never picked up your cross and you want to start now. It all begins by being baptized into Christ. The choice is yours. May we never stop pulling our weight.
No comments:
Post a Comment