ENCOUNTERING THE CROSS

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on March 9, 2022 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group: March 9, 2022 from Luke 23:26-32

Theme: One way or the other, an encounter with the cross of Jesus must impact us.

(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

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Thus far, Luke—in his Gospel—has told us about the events that preceded our Lord’s crucifixion. He has described our Lord’s agony in the garden; His betrayal by Judas; His arrest and His interrogations by the chief priests, by the Roman governor, and by King Herod; and finally, His rejection by the people of Israel—who chose a murderer and a rebel over Him. Finally, Luke tells us that Pilate delivered Jesus over to be crucified.

And as we come to Luke 23:26-32, we read these words:

Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!”” For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?” There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death (Luke 23:26-32).

The focus of this passage is, of course, our Lord—as He was made to bear His cross and was led to Golgotha to be crucified. But in this story, we find that—along the way—He met others. Those ‘others’ were made to encounter the reality of His cross in some manner. A man simply coming in from the fields was forced to carry it for Him. Women along the way saw it, and they mourned and lamented Him because of it. And two criminals were made to follow along behind it as they each bore their own crosses. Each of these encounters with the cross of Jesus impacted these different people in unique ways.

And the stories of these encounters with the cross cause us to ask, “How have I been made to encounter the cross of Jesus Christ? And what is the impact of that cross on me personally?”

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The cross of Jesus is a controversial thing. In 1 Corinthians 1, the apostle Paul wrote that

the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men (1 Corinthians 1:18-25).

When people encounter the cross, they must make a decision about it. Some decide to reject it as foolish—despising the idea that the Son of God would have to become human, take our guilt upon Himself, and die in our place. Some decide to reject it as a scandalous thing—believing that our good works, and religious faithfulness, and even our ethnic pedigree, can be sufficient to earn God’s favor and outweigh our guilt. Some embrace it as God’s provision for our sins. But a decision of some kind cannot be avoided.

Let’s look at the story of these three encounters with the cross, as our Lord made His way to His crucifixion.

First, we see …

1. THE MAN WHO CARRIED IT FOR JESUS (v. 26).

Luke tells us in verse 26, “Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus.” Our Lord—beaten and scourged—had been forced to bear His cross (John 19:17), and perhaps fell and stumbled along the way—unable to bear it any further. The Roman soldiers forced this bystander Simon to carry it the rest of the way up the hill for Him.

Simon, then, had a very unique encounter with the cross of Jesus. He came into close and intimate contact with it. He wrapped his hands around it, placed his shoulder under it, and pressed his face to it as he carried it. He would have been stained with the sweat and blood of the Savior. And perhaps he would have also remained after he had carried it up the hill to watch the crucifixion—to hear the voices of those who jeered Him and mocked Him as the Son of God and the Savior. Perhaps he would have heard the Lord Jesus forgive those who crucified Him; or heard Him pray to the Father. Perhaps he was there to see the sky darken; or to be told that the veil of the temple had torn in two at Jesus’ death; or to hear the centurion say that this was the Son of God. And when it was all over, Simon would have reflected on it all and realized that he bore that Man’s cross on his shoulders—and that He was stained with that holy Man’s blood.

How do you suppose this might have affected Simon? We’re told in Mark 15:21 that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Many believe that one of these two sons—Rufus—is mentioned at the end of the apostle Paul’s letter to the Romans; where Paul said,

Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine (Romans 16:13).

If the man that Paul sent greetings to was indeed Rufus the son of Simon of Cyrene, then he would most likely had become a believer in Jesus Christ—“chosen of the Lord.” And what’s more, his mother—who would have been Simon’s wife—had also become very dear to Paul. Could it be that they had been led to Jesus by Simon himself—and by the stories he had told them of how he bore the Savior’s cross with Him on the way up to Golgotha?

Simon’s encounter with the cross led him to draw close to it and grip hold of it personally. Could it be that this man Simon also ended up placing His trust in the Savior who died upon it?

Then, consider another encounter with the cross …

2. THE WOMEN WHO WEPT BECAUSE OF JESUS (vv. 27-31).

We’re told in verse 27, “And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him” (v. 27). Apparently, not everyone was jeering the Lord. Some were following Him in sorrow—beating their chests in grief as they went.

But amazingly, Jesus told them that their grief was somewhat misplaced. He said to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ (vv. 28-29). He was telling them that because of the events they were witnessing—because of the rejection of their promised King—judgment would come upon their people. It would be only a few years later—in 70 A.D.—that the Romans would come and destroy Jerusalem. Those would be the days that Jesus spoke of in Luke 21:20-24 when He said;

“But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation is near. Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, let those who are in the midst of her depart, and let not those who are in the country enter her. For these are the days of vengeance, that all things which are written may be fulfilled. But woe to those who are pregnant and to those who are nursing babies in those days! For there will be great distress in the land and wrath upon this people. And they will fall by the edge of the sword, and be led away captive into all nations. And Jerusalem will be trampled by Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled” (Luke 21:20-24).

Jesus went on to tell them in verse 30, “Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us!’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us!’” This would point even further into the future—to the times that would immediately precede His second coming. We’re told in Revelation 6:12-17;

I looked when He opened the sixth seal, and behold, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became like blood. And the stars of heaven fell to the earth, as a fig tree drops its late figs when it is shaken by a mighty wind. Then the sky receded as a scroll when it is rolled up, and every mountain and island was moved out of its place. And the kings of the earth, the great men, the rich men, the commanders, the mighty men, every slave and every free man, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and said to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of Him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of His wrath has come, and who is able to stand?” (Revelation 6:12-17).

Finally, Jesus told these weeping women in verse 31; “For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?” (v. 31). “Green wood” and “dry wood” describe the times in relation to the opportunities under God’s grace. If, at a ‘green wood’ time when the Son of God is among them to offer God’s grace to them, they do such things as this; then what will the ‘dry wood’ times be like when the Son of God is not among them … and the time of grace is over? This may be like what we’re told in 1 Peter 4:17-19;

For the time has come for judgment to begin at the house of God; and if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Now

“If the righteous one is scarcely saved,
Where will the ungodly and the sinner appear?” (1 Peter 4:17-18).

The encounter these women had with the cross reminds us that—if the cross teaches us anything—it teaches us that God does not ignore sin; but also that God provided atonement for that sin through His Son—who suffered the punishment on our behalf. Now is the time to receive God’s grace by trusting in Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross; because the time of grace will come to an end—and judgment most definitely will follow for those who reject that grace.

These women’s encounter with the cross teaches us about God’s just judgment for sin.

But then, let’s consider the last encounter with the cross that we find in this passage …

3. THE CRIMINALS WHO WERE CRUCIFIED NEXT TO JESUS (v. 32).

Luke tells us very simply, in verse 32, “There were also two others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death.” Their encounter with the cross of Jesus was a very personal one. They bore their own crosses; and would shortly be crucified next to His.

Amazingly, the way one of those criminals responded to an encounter with the cross of Christ was to harden his heart and curse and mock Jesus—even as that very same criminal was being justly executed upon a cross of his own for his own sins. And at first, they both mocked. But over time, one of them stopped mocking. Luke goes on to tell us in verses 39-43;

Then one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, “If You are the Christ, save Yourself and us.” But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, “Do you not even fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has done nothing wrong.” Then he said to Jesus, “Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.” And Jesus said to him, “Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise” (Luke 23:39-43).

That other criminal—who hung on his own cross next to Jesus—became convicted by the Holy Spirit. His heart was repentant; and he responded to an encounter with the cross of Jesus by believing on Jesus and trusting Him for eternal life. He is in heaven with Jesus today.

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So; as this passage illustrates to us, everyone must encounter the cross of Jesus. And everyone must respond in some way to that encounter. How will it be with you and me? Will we harden our hearts against it? Will we reject it as foolish and scandalous? Or will we draw close to it as did Simon? Will we see in it the just judgment of God upon sin as did the weeping women? Will we believe upon the One who died upon it as did the criminal … and be saved?

How have you encountered the cross of Jesus? And what will your response be?

AE