“Truly this was(is) the Son of God!”

Matthew 27:32-54 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

³² As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross.

³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, ³⁴ they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

³⁵ And when they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments among themselves by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they began to keep watch over Him there. ³⁷ And above His head they put up the charge against Him which read, “THIS IS JESUS THE KING OF THE JEWS.”

³⁸ At that time two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and one on the left. ³⁹ And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross.” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests also, along with the scribes and elders, were mocking Him and saying, ⁴² “He saved others; He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel; let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe in Him. ⁴³ He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” ⁴⁴ The robbers who had been crucified with Him were also insulting Him with the same words.

⁴⁵ Now from the sixth hour darkness fell upon all the land until the ninth hour. ⁴⁶ About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” ⁴⁷ And some of those who were standing there, when they heard it, began saying, “This man is calling for Elijah.” ⁴⁸ Immediately one of them ran, and taking a sponge, he filled it with sour wine and put it on a reed, and gave Him a drink. ⁴⁹ But the rest of them said, “Let us see whether Elijah will come to save Him.” ⁵⁰ And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. ⁵¹ And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many. ⁵⁴ Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

Jesus had been beaten nearly to death, the Romans were masters of flogging and torture, knowing how to push their victims to the limit then stop long enough to keep them conscious so their punishment could be extended. In this weakened condition, Jesus did not have the physical strength to carry His cross to the place where He would be executed. Today’ text says:   As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross. ³³ And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, ³⁴ they gave Him wine to drink mixed with gall; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink.

³⁵ And when they had crucified Him…  There is an important lesson for us in this brief mention of Simon of Cyrene. We don’t hear anything else about him. I can only imagine that he probably was pressed into this service reluctantly. He probably didn’t realize the privilege he had to bear the cross of Christ, to have a part in the work that would make the way for the salvation of all who would believe.

As believers, we too are encouraged to come along side others who are weak and weary. Galatians 6:2 says: Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ.     We do this, bear other’s burdens through physical actions, works of service and acts of kindness toward those who need help and also spiritually, when we come along side and carry their burdens in prayer and intercession.  It is important for us to learn and know the lesson of Simon of Cyrene as we minister to others and intercede and pray for them. Simon could only bear the cross to the place where Christ would be crucified, there Jesus was the only one who could finish the work of the cross. He alone could bear the weight of the sins of all mankind. He alone could complete the work of redemption, reconciliation and restoration. Jesus was and is the only one, there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)  

Simon could only bear the cross to Calvary, there,  Jesus was crucified, He paid the price and there on the cross Jesus said: “It is finished.”(John 19:30)   Jesus completed the work of redemption, reconciliation and restoration. When we bear the burdens of others we must be careful to bear them only to the place of Calvary. There, like Simon, we must lay them down and turn those burdens over to Jesus. He alone can do the work. In truth, He already has. When we pray and intercede for others we should not continue to carry their burdens. We must learn to lay them down at the cross, submitting them to the finished work.    “It is finished”     Every need of every person, every burden borne, it is finished in Christ. It is done in the heavenly realm. Pray then, Your kingdom come, Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.  

“On earth as it is in heaven”  That leads us to another powerful truth in today’s text. It says:  And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and yielded up His spirit. ⁵¹ And behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the earth shook and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; ⁵³ and coming out of the tombs after His resurrection they entered the holy city and appeared to many.          The veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The temple veil was in place to separate sinful man from the holy presence of God. When Jesus cried out, “It is finished” , the work of the cross was complete. Jesus had finished the work of redemption, reconciliation and restoration. Through the finished work of the cross man was now reconciled to God. Sin no longer separates those in Christ from the presence of God.   The finished work is confirmed in that:  the earth shook and the rocks were split. ⁵² The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised         Even before Jesus Himself was raised, was resurrected, the power of resurrection was released with the finished work. In John 11, just before He raised Lazarus from the grave, Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, ²⁶ and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?”  Martha answered Jesus saying:  “Yes, Lord; I have believed that You are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”    In today’s text it says:   Now the centurion, and those who were with him keeping guard over Jesus, when they saw the earthquake and the things that were happening, became very frightened and said, “Truly this was the Son of God!”

“It is finished”  All the work of the cross, the redemption, the reconciliation and the restoration of man and creation is complete, it is finished in heaven. Jesus asks: “Do you believe this?”  Martha said yes Lord; I have believed… the centurion said: “Truly this was the Son of God!” The evidence is in. The work is complete. Do you believe? Will you lay every burden down at the cross of Christ, submitting it to the finished work? Do you believe?

Yes Lord, I believe, You are the Christ, my Redeemer, my Savior, the one who reconciles me to God. In You I have all that I need. Your kingdom come, Your will be done, may it be finished here on earth as it is in heaven.     Amen.