Mark wrote how, “Pilate, willing to content the people, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified. And the soldiers led him away into the hall, called Praetorium; and they call together the whole band. And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown of thorns, and put it about his head, And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews! And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshiped him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and led him out to crucify him”, and in chapter fifteen and verse twenty-one of his book, Mark shared how, “they compel one Simon a Cyrenian … to bear his cross” where we read:
And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country,
the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
The verse reads, “And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, ...”. Mark began with the words, “and they compel” which means “and the Roman soldiers employed, dispatched and pressed as a courier and mounted messenger” “one Simon” or “a certain man whose name was Simon which means a little rock or stone” “a Cyrenian” which means “a native or inhabitant of Cyrene”, “who passed by” or “that lead past and aside of the Roman soldiers and Jesus”, “coming out of the country” which means “appearing and arising from the territory, region, country seat and hamlet”. Mark shared how the Roman soldiers “obligated” “Simon” from Cyrene who was arriving in the area where Jesus was being led to be crucified.
The verse goes on to say, “... the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.” Mark continued with the words, “the father” which means “the ancestor and progenitor” “of Alexander and Rufus” or “to men named Alexander which means man defender and Rufus which means red” “to bear” which means “to raise, lift and elevate” “his cross” or “Jesus' well known instrument of most cruel and ignominious punishment, borrowed by the Greeks and Romans from the Phoenicians, and to it were affixed among the Romans, down to the time of Constantine the Great, the guiltiest criminals, particularly the basest slaves, robbers, the authors and abetters of insurrections, and occasionally in the provinces, at the arbitrary pleasure of the governors, upright and peaceable men also, and even Roman citizens themselves”. Mark shared how “Simon” was the “father” of two other men named “Alexander and Rufus”, and “Simon” was “compelled” to “carry” Jesus' “cross”.
When we meditate upon Mark's words in this verse, we learn what happened as Jesus was being “led to be crucified”. The beatings Jesus took, and the suffering He endured made His body weak, and He was unable to carry His cross any further. The Roman solders made “Simon” who was from “Cyrene” and the father of “Alexander and Rufus” to “bear” Jesus' cross for Him. We can only imagine the pain and weakness within Jesus' body as He was beaten, whipped and hit upon and made to “carry” His own cross, and when His body failed, “Simon” was made to carry it. God's love for people allowed His Son Jesus to go through this painful process because people needed to be “saved” from their sins so they could live with God forever. Those who are wise will know and understand what Jesus did for them, and yield their lives to Him as their personal “Savior and Lord”.
Next time Mark shares how the Roman soldiers brought, “him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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