SHARING BREAD
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene,
named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means The
Place of the Skull). 34 There
they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he
refused to drink it. 35 When
they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against
him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Matt
27:32-37 (NIV)
In our verses for today we discover a man from North Africa
– Simon from Cyrene – a city populated by many Jews – here forced to carry
Christ’s cross. I am reminded of our
Lord’s Words earlier in Matthew where He calls each of His followers to take up
their cross and follow after Him. Believers
are to turn away from the idolatry of self – self-centeredness and every
attempt to line up one’s life by the dictates of self-interest - and say yes to
God’s will and God’s way. This is not
merely a denial for denials sake; rather it is agreeing with God that His ways
are higher than ours and that He always has our best interest at heart. He Who makes known the end from the beginning
knows what is best for our lives. We can
trust Him and it is in believing that we respond. We act on what we believe to be true.
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take
up his cross and follow me.” Matt
16:24 (NIV)
“God wants to bring you into union with Himself, but unless
you are willing to give up your right to yourself, He cannot. “…..let him deny himself…..” – deny his
independent right to himself. Then the
real life – the spiritual life – is allowed the opportunity to grow.”
Oswald Chambers
Scripture also tells us that God’s will is good, pleasing
and perfect:
1 Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's
mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to
God--this is your spiritual act of worship. 2 Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this
world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able
to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing and perfect
will. Romans 12:1-2 (NIV)
The believer’s life will exhibit the evidence of this
surrender to Christ’s authority. Jesus’
disciples must demonstrate their submission to the One against Whom they have
rebelled. True discipleship involves
following our Lord and doing His will wherever that path may lead assured that
He is totally sufficient for each circumstance He allows. We are
to be instruments of His righteousness for His glory and our ultimate good.
“When the Bible
speaks of ‘following Jesus’, it is proclaiming a discipleship which will
liberate mankind from all man-made dogma, from every burden and oppression,
from every anxiety and torture which afflicts the conscience. If they follow Jesus, men escape from the
hard yoke of their own laws, and submit to the kindly yoke of Jesus
Christ. But does this mean that we can
ignore the seriousness of His command?
Far from it! We can only achieve
perfect liberty and enjoy fellowship with Jesus when His command, His call to
absolute discipleship, is appreciated in its entirety. Only the man who follows the command of Jesus
without reserve, and submits unresistingly to His yoke, finds his burden easy,
and under its gentle pressure receives the power to persevere in the right
way. The command of Jesus is
hard—unutterably hard—for those who try to resist it.” Dietrich
Bonhoeffer
They took our Lord to “The Place of the Skull” to crucify
Him - an out of the way place where bones and skulls of the dead were heaped
together so that people would not touch them and so become defiled. Here lay the “trophies” of death’s victories
over many people and interestingly, when Christ died, He destroyed death’s
victory triumphing over death on its own rubbish heap.
54 When
the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with
immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has
been swallowed up in victory." 55 "Where,
O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?" 56 The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the
law. 57 But
thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 1 Cor 15:54-57 (NIV)
Next, we see them offer our Lord even more bitterness in
death by presenting Him with wine mixed with gall – a mixture that was both
sour and bitter. It was customary for
those being put to death to be offered a cup of spiced wine yet what He
receives is something much worse which left a terrible flavor in His holy mouth
making Him taste death in its full cup of bitterness. They then stripped Him of His clothes and
divided them by casting lots as they were keeping watch over beaten body - all
this done for the correct charge of being “JESUS,
THE KING OF THE JEWS”.
What I glean from this:
· I am to
deny self and take up my cross and follow Jesus.
· God’s will
for my life is good, pleasing and perfect.
· Death has
been swallowed up in victory – Praise Jesus!
