Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, August 11, 2024

The Cross That Carries You. Today, Michael is talking of denial and carrying your cross.  Simon’s (not Simon Peter) story is fascinating.  At this point in the story, Jesus has been arrested, had a false trial, beaten until his back was shredded, and after all of this, they (the Romans) make Him carry the cross to the hill, Golgotha, the place of skulls.  Jesus, though God, took on the fullness of humanity so that He could feel things like pain and exhaustion.   At some point, He stumbles; the Roman soldiers pull a man out of the crowd, and his name is Simon.  Simon was in Jerusalem at the time of the feast of Passover.  Simon is the father of Alexander and Rufus, who were known to Mark’s Roman audience.  Simon’s family was impacted by this for generations, by his carrying Jesus’ cross to the hill of execution.  Simon was the first to take up the cross.  For him it was literal, but it became spiritual.  Some believe that Simon became a Christian through this, but certainly his sons did.  “When you carry the cross, the cross carries you,” is our core message today.  (CSB Bible Notes) Condemned prisoners customarily carried the crossbeam, or patibulum, to the site of their execution, where it was attached to the vertical beam. The Greek biographer Plutarch wrote: “Every criminal condemned to death bears his cross on his back” (Moralia, 554 A/B). Apparently Jesus was too weak from being flogged and beaten to carry it all the way. Roman soldiers had the right to press citizens of subject nations into compulsory service (Mt 5:41), so they forced Simon to carry Jesus’s cross. Simon was a Jewish Cyrenian from the north coast of Africa. He was the father of Alexander and Rufus, indicating that readers in Rome probably knew these men (Rm 16:13). Today’s verses can be found in Matthew 16: 24, Mark 15: 21, and Romans 16:13. Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.