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Sermon for Lord's Day June 11, 2023 Taking up the cross of Christ
You are taking notes today, and you want to put a header on your notes, you can put this Taking up the Cross of Christ and if you want to put a hyphen or a dash there, I've written A Divine Life beside this, A Divine Life.
The text is plain, the text is simple, the text is straightforward, and there is much within this text that we have to look at this morning, again just to read the text,. As they led him away, it's speaking of Jesus of course, they seized one Simon of Cyrene who was coming in from the country and laid on him the cross to carry it behind Jesus.
So we see Jesus, we see Simon of Cyrene, we see those who compelled Simon to bear the cross of Christ, and so when we are looking at this, I want to begin by quoting one of the Puritans, Richard Alleyne, and he said this, The doctrine of the gospel is the doctrine of the cross.
The preaching of the gospel is the preaching of the cross. The mysteries of a crucified Jesus and of his crucified saints do fill up the whole.
New Testament.
The cross is not only imposed upon the saints as their burden, but it is bequeathed unto them as a legacy. It is given unto them, Alleyne said, as an honor and a privilege. And I wonder, to ask the first question today, is bearing the cross of Christ an honor and a privilege for you today?
Is bearing the cross of Christ an honor and a privilege? I would say that what Alleyne said there was likely echoing the words of the Apostle Paul in his letter to Galatia in Galatians chapter 6 and verse 14.
The Apostle Paul said, But God forbid, or far be it from me, that I glory in nothing else but the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Is the cross of Christ our glory? Do we revel in the cross? The good news for us as the saints of God today, that the cross, though, is a rough, as we see our cross that hangs here, it's a rough, hewn piece of timber, no beauty in it, but as the old songwriter said, when I survey the wondrous cross on which the Prince of Glory died, my richest gains I count as loss, and I pour contempt upon all my pride.
The cross, and glorying in the cross, taking up the cross is a divine life, and might I add to what was written there, it is a blessed life. G .K. Chesterton said this, It's not that Christianity has been tried and found wanting, but rather it has been found difficult and left untried.
Biblical Christianity, biblical Christianity is what we want to think about for just a few moments here as we consider taking up the cross of Christ, and what our desire to communicate to you today is this, that Christianity, biblical Christianity, is the only religion that saves.
Christianity is, as Chesterton made reference to, not an easy religion, and therefore it is largely left untried. The brand of Christianity that is proclaimed today to a large degree in many pulpits across this land is an easy Christianity, it's a religion basically of get all you can while you can.
But I want to make a few statements here, and I want to begin by saying this, biblical Christianity is not about getting at all. Biblical Christianity is not about what you can get from God, but rather it is about giving.
Biblical Christianity is about giving. Christianity is the giving by God of His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him would not be, or shall be saved, sorry, will be saved. Biblical Christianity is about God giving His Holy Spirit to lead and guide His people in all truth and all righteousness.
The Christian religion is about you giving your sin to Christ, and Christ giving to you His righteousness. All other religion is based on what you give and what you bring to the table, when in reality that what we offer is absolutely nothing to God in exchange for the salvation of our souls.
For God gives life, and God gives breath. He gives faith, and He gives grace. He gives forgiveness of sin, and He grants, or He gives repentance unto life. Christianity is about God giving. Christianity is about God doing.
It is not about Him. Christianity is difficult, and it is left untried by many people for the simple fact that many people, bottom line, simply desire to be their own God. They desire to be their own God that is made in their own image, after their own likeness, and they want to be like B .K. Have it your way, right?
That is not Christianity. Christianity is not having it your way. It's understanding that God is sovereign. The scriptures are clear, and Jesus did not mince words when He said what He said in Matthew's.
Gospel.
He said this, A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. It is enough for the disciple to be like his teacher, and the servant to be like his master. And if they have called the master of the house Beelzebul, how much more will they malign those of his household?
So Jesus said to His disciples, Have no fear of them, for nothing is covered that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. What I tell you in the dark, say in the light, and what you hear whispered, proclaim on the housetops.
And do not fear those who kill the body, but cannot kill the soul. Rather, fear Him who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Jesus went on, Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father.
But even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not therefore, you are of more value than many sparrows. So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven.
But whoever denies me before men, I also will deny him before my Father who is in heaven. Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and the person's enemies will be those of his own household.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. This is not an easy gospel. Whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. This is not an easy gospel. And Jesus said, whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
For whoever finds his life will lose it. And whoever loses his life for my sake, the same will find that. That was Matthew chapter 10 verse 24 through 39. Samuel Rutherford, another of the old Puritans, put it this way concerning the cross.
He said, your Lord will not give you painted crosses. He does not pare all the bitterness from the cross, nor does he take the sharp edge from it. For in that case, it should be of your own selecting and not of his, which would have as little reason in it as it would have profit for us.
Another of the post-Puritans, Henry Schugel, said this in his work entitled, The Life of God in the Soul of Man. By the way, Henry Schugel, this book is an excellent work. The Life of God in the Soul of Man.
The Life of God in the Soul of Man, just as a side note, played a great role and had a great influence on the evangelist George Whitefield. George Whitefield thought himself to be somewhat of a holy man.
He was a member of a club called the Holy Club. Him and the other men in this club seemed and felt good about themselves for being very aesthetically oriented. Aesthetically, not aesthetically, but aesthetically oriented.
They prided themselves in keeping of the law. But it was one day when Whitefield read this work of Henry Schugel that God broke in on his soul, that God birthed him anew, that God made him a new creature, and that he understood that it was not by the works of the flesh that he was made righteous, but it was by the work of God on the cross.
But Henry Schugel said this, True religion is a union of the soul with God. It is a real participation of the divine nature. It is the very image of God drawn upon the soul. Or as the apostles put it, it is Christ formed in us.
The hope of glory. And Schugel said, I know not how the nature of religion could be more fully expressed than by calling it a divine life. Take up the cross and follow Christ, for it is a divine life.
It is a blessed life. With all that being said, we look and we see Simon of Cyrene. Now, Simon himself literally had a cross to bear. And Jesus also gives us a cross to bear as believers. It is a divine life.
It should not be looked upon as a burden or a drudgery. As a matter of fact, Jesus said, take my yoke upon you, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Simon had that cross to bear. Jesus gives us a cross.
It was and is still to this day a divinely ordained cross. It is a divinely directed cross. It is a divinely orchestrated cross. It is a divinely empowered life in which we live. It is a divine blessing to be able to be counted worthy to suffer and to be identified with the Lord Jesus Christ and his cross.
So, taking a look here at Simon, first thing, some may assume, some may assume that the choosing of Simon was some random act of men. It's easy when we read a text like this just to assume that this was just some random event that happened in time and took place and there was no eternal or lasting consequence or effects from this.
But, friends, I want you to know today the choosing of Simon was not a random act of men when in reality you must know it was the sovereign choice of God. For when a man, when a woman, when a boy, when a girl is saved by the grace of God, it is because God chooses that individual under salvation, that God calls that individual unto salvation itself.
And so in this choosing it was not a random act of men, but God by providence worked it sovereignly so that Simon was compelled to carry his cross. Who was Simon of Cyrene? Just a little bit of history here.
Simon is referred to as being here from where?
Cyrene.
It may be pronounced different ways, Cyreneek, however you want to say it. Cyrene, which was? Cyrene is notable here. This is very good information. Cyrene was about 10 miles from the Mediterranean coast in Libya.
And you may be thinking to yourself, so what? Well, that is about 1 ,300 miles from Jerusalem. Simon of Cyrene was 1 ,300 miles away from home.
Why?
Because he had come being a Jew to celebrate the feast.
Where at?
In Jerusalem. He traveled 1 ,300 miles, not by bullet train, not by airplane, by horse, camel, or donkey, or however else they got around then. You think it's bad sitting in a car for 12 hours driving?
Imagine traveling 1 ,300 miles. I can't imagine the length of time that that may have taken. But he came to Jerusalem for the feast days. R .C. Sproul, in his commentary about Simon of Cyrene, said this.
He said what Simon of Cyrene did in carrying the cross of Jesus earned him absolutely no merit for himself. This is important. Carrying our crosses do not earn us standing before God. Carrying our cross is the privilege that we have been given as believers to bear forth and to show in our body the dying, the marks of the dying of our Lord Jesus Christ to the world.
Sproul went on to say this. This was not a work of the law that would grant him access into the kingdom of God. Simon could not rest on the virtue of his own personal sacrifice, albeit a sacrifice that was not voluntary.
He could not look to that as a reason for getting into the kingdom of God. With all that aside, this obscure fellow from Libya, as Sproul said, is just a bystander. He's a bystander watching as Jesus struggled with his cross and being constrained to carry it.
In that, in it, he was a most blessed human being. Consider this. The only person in history that we know of that literally carried the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is set forth in the eternal word of the scriptures themselves.
Simon carried the cross of Jesus. Therefore, he was a most blessed individual. In Mark's gospel account, in chapter 15 and verse 23, or verse 21 if you would turn there. Mark chapter 15. This is just more info about Simon of Cyrene.
Mark chapter 15 and verse 21. We have it here in Mark's gospel. They compelled the passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.
Here, what do we see? A little bit more information about Simon. We see that Simon had two sons. Simon's sons are mentioned by name, Alexander and Rufus. Now, in the context of scripture themselves, we find in some places ambiguity, and in other places we find great specificity used, but this passage in Mark's account is very specific.
Matthew doesn't name Alexander and Rufus. Luke doesn't name Alexander and Rufus. John doesn't name Alexander and Rufus. However, in the synoptic account in Mark's gospel, we read that Simon had two sons, and their names were Alexander and Rufus.
Very specific. Again, do not forget this. It's very important for us to recognize that the choosing of Simon was not a random act of men, but it was the sovereign choosing and providence of Almighty God.
Sproul, in his commentary, went on to say this. Tradition indicates that Simon watched the spectacle of the crucifixion of Christ and that he listened to the words that Jesus spoke, and on that day, Simon of Cyrene became a Christian.
He could say, till the day he died, I saw what happened. I saw what took place with my own eyes. I witnessed his death. I heard his voice. I heard him saying, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.
I heard him cry from the cross, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Simon can say, I heard him say, I'm thirsty. I watched it all unfold, and I heard it. There were thousands of people, Simon might say, thousands of people that day who heard and who saw the same thing, but only Simon could say, I carried the cross of Jesus.
I'm blessed, Simon might say, I'm blessed to have participated in affliction and the great passion of Jesus Christ. Moving on, as we continue to look through the New Testament, we'll see yet another mention of Rufus, Simon's son, as well as Simon's wife.
If you would, turn over to the book of Romans, chapter 16. Romans, chapter 16. Romans 16, verse 13, we read that Paul, just to use modern vernacular, gives a shout-out, basically. He's giving shout-outs to folks in this letter here, and what he says in verse 13 is this, greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, also his mother, who has been to me a mother as well.
You may be asking yourself right now, so what, Pastor? Where are you taking us with this? What does this have to do with understanding that God's choosing of Simon was both sovereign and providential, to which I would respond to you, those are great questions.
I'm glad that you asked them. But what we see in the outworking of God's providence in time is this fact, that God chose Simon unto salvation. And as a result, his family got saved and was not only saved but was used vitally in the New Testament church.
So we go from Simon being mentioned as the one designated to carry Christ's cross. We see in another gospel account that his two sons were there with him and most likely his wife too, but his sons are mentioned there.
And then over in Romans, 30 to 40 years after the crucifixion and the resurrection, we have mention of Rufus and his mother and the wife of Simon and the father of Simon mentioned in the scriptures. This is beautiful.
So our application today is this. One person gets saved and entire families are affected forever. Not everyone will be saved, but certainly many will hear the gospel. And I think there are a lot of times, many times we read a passage like this and we do not truly understand the eternal implications that are worked out in time as we know it.
Let's go a step further in our understanding of the importance of recognizing of God's choosing of Simon that we understand, again, that we really take to heart this choosing of Simon was of eternal consequence.
Simon was a Libyan, right? Ten miles off the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, traveled 1 ,300 miles to be there in Jerusalem. Simon was in Jerusalem to observe the feast, but what he did is he found himself right smack dab in the middle of God's redemptive plan being worked out where?
Literally, directly in front of him. The scripture says he went behind Jesus carrying his cross. And so we see this taking place literally in front of him as he followed behind Jesus while Jesus was carrying that cross to Golgotha.
As well, I would be amiss if I did not communicate to you this. There's a purpose and there was a reason why the path they traveled from the mock trial to Golgotha was traveled. The journey that they used is referred to by some as the Via Dolorosa, but in any case, that particular path was chosen because it was going through the main streets of Jerusalem, and what it was, it demonstrated the dominance and the power of Rome.
Because if you did not obey Rome, this would certainly be your fate. Going on just a little bit further, the criminals were forced to make the journey through the streets of Jerusalem as an intimidation tactic used by the Romans.
And remember this.
Remember, let everyone who witnessed these brutal acts of crucifixion, what they were letting them know was this, that Rome had the power to kill and that Rome had the power to make alive.
You remember, we went through the text.
Pilate said to Jesus, do you not know that I have power to let you live or to kill you? And Jesus responded, you could have no power at all against me, except if we're giving you from above. So back to Simon.
Simon witnessed the crucifixion. Simon heard and Simon saw Jesus' exchanges with the crowds. When they were crucified there with Jesus, Simon watched the Lamb as he bore the wrath of God for our sins.
Simon saw this with his own eyes.
Simon knew.
Simon recognized the consequence for falling in with Jesus, to which I would ask this question. Have you fallen in with Christ? Are you carrying the cross of Christ? Is the cross a blessing unto you? Simon knew the consequence for falling in with Jesus.
Simon recognized that if he followed this man, that he might very well be hanged on a cross, just like Jesus was hanged on the cross. But do you think that deterred Simon? Do you think that set Simon back?
I'm going to say this. I am thankful that we do not even have to speculate or think about and wonder or worry or fret, was this the case? Because as we've demonstrated to you in the text, we know that Christ made a profound impact on the life of Simon.
And Simon's family, Simon's life was forever changed. Y 'all remember the old song? I have decided to follow Jesus. Though none go with me, still I will follow. Though none go with me, still I will follow.
Though none go with me, still I will follow.
No turning back. No turning back.
And then that next verse says my cross I'll carry till I see Jesus. No turning back. No turning back. The world behind me and the cross before me. No turning back. No turning back. I have decided to follow Jesus.
No turning back. No turning back. Many folks, many believers have sung that for years. But do you need to understand and to know the history of that song? That song is typically sung when a church will give an invitation for people to come forward.
And make a profession of faith.
That song is not a song of invitation. That song is a song of defining declaration where one individual said, you can take my home, you can take my family, and you can take my life, but I am going to follow Jesus.
Around 1904, there was a great revival in Wales referred to as the Welsh Revival. I encourage you to read up on that. That's a very interesting history. But as a result of this revival, missionaries came to northeast India to spread the gospel.
They came to the region known as the Assam region, which was comprised of hundreds of tribes of people who were primitive and who were aggressive headhunters. Into these hostile and into these aggressive communities came a group of missionaries from the American Baptist Mission spreading the message of hope in Jesus Christ.
Naturally, they were not welcomed. One missionary succeeded in converting a man, his wife, and his two children, and this man's faith proved contagious, and many villagers began to accept Christianity.
However, it was not well received by the chief of the village, and angrily the village chief summoned all the villagers to a meeting, and he called the family who had first converted to renounce their faith in public or to face execution, to be arrowed down, shot right in front of everybody.
But moved by the Holy Spirit, when called to stand before the crowd, this man, Noxine, made this statement, I have decided to follow Jesus. Enraged at the refusal of this man, the chief ordered his archers to arrow down this man's two children.
As both boys, as the story goes, both boys lay twitching on the ground, the chief asked again, will you deny your faith? You have lost both of your children, and you'll lose your wife if you do not renounce your faith.
But the man replied, though no one joins me, still I will follow. The chief, as the history says, the chief was beside himself with fury, and he ordered the man's wife to be shot down, and in a moment she joined her two children in death.
Now, the chief asked for the last time, I will give you one last opportunity to deny your faith and to live, but in the face of death, the man said these final memorable lines that we now have as this song, the cross before me and the world behind me, no turning back.
He was shot dead, just like the rest of his family. But with their death, a miracle took place. The chief who had ordered the killings was moved by the faith of this man, and he wondered why should this man and his two children die for a man who lived in a faraway land on a continent somewhere else and lived 2 ,000 years ago.
The chief thought to himself, there must be some remarkable power behind this family's faith, and I too want to taste that faith. And in a spontaneous confession of faith, he declared in front of the village, I too now belong to Jesus.
When the crowd heard this from the mouth of their chief, the whole village believed on Christ as their Savior. This song that we mentioned, this song is based on the last words of this man named Noxing, a man from the Yaro tribe of Assam, India, and today this song is the song of the Yaro people.
I have decided to follow Jesus. With the world behind me and the cross set before me, I'm going to follow Jesus, no turning back, no turning back. Why should we say no turning back? Because the scripture teaches that for God's people, we are not of them who draw back unto perdition.
We are not of them who fall away from the faith. All of these individuals who in our day and who in our time are professing to be deconstructing that faith, it is a heartbreaking thing for us to hear and to think about and to watch and to listen to.
Men and women who say they had believed in Christ had deconstructed, tore down their faith, but you must know this today, there is no tearing down the faith of God. The faith of God stands. As a matter of fact, the foundation of God stands.
Sure, having this seal, the Lord knows them that are His. And on that day, oh, let me say this. On that day, hearts and lives were changed because that man, Noxing, carried the cross of Christ. Now, we are not pressed into death in our place and in our time and in our environment, but if we are, we must say,.
I'm ready to die for Christ.
For if you are willing to live for Him, you must be willing to die for Him as well. Today, that men and women alike, boys and girls alike, our prayer is this, that you might be forced to face the reality, the reality of Jesus' death, His burial, His resurrection, and the reality of His return one day in glory.
Simon knew very well the reality of this truth, for he witnessed it, and the Scriptures themselves bear witness to the reality of his belief. In Romans 15, verse 4, I believe, that is where it says this, These things were written before time for our learning, that we, through patience and comfort of the Scriptures, might have hope.
Simon stood between Jesus and the world. Simon of Cyrene was faced with a choice in a very real sense of the word, to follow Christ or to turn back to the world. And unlike the Sanhedrin, Simon believed the Old Testament prophecies concerning the Messiah.
And you may be thinking to yourself, how can you make that assumption? To which I would respond by saying, this is not an assumption I'm making, but rather I'm simply stating the facts that we have seen in the text of Scripture.
For we see throughout both the Old and the New Testament that there are two groups of Jews, believing and unbelieving. The unbelieving Jews had Christ crucified and denied that he was the Messiah, and the believing Jews recognized Jesus as the Messiah.
Therefore, having the facts according to the Scriptures, we can be assured that Simon and his family were believers, and we know that they were followers of Jesus. We also know that from that Romans passage, that they were followers of the Apostle Paul, years after the crucifixion and the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
As a matter of fact, Simon's wife was like a mother to Paul.
They were close-knit.
So, moving to the close here, let's consider this. How may we walk with the Lord? And how may we carry his cross in the light of his word? And I want to leave you with a description, if you would have it, of the divine life.
And while I read this, we'll close with this last section of Scripture. I want to ask you to turn to 1 Peter. 1 Peter, we'll read some there in 1 Peter chapter 4, and then in 2 Peter chapter 1 some. But the one chief characteristic, and the one identifying mark of a person who has believed on Jesus Christ, is simply this, that you identify with Christ.
That you identify with Christ in his death, in his burial, and in his resurrection. And that taking up your cross is a matter of obedience to the Lord. So the application of this passage, of this text, of this sermon for us today is quite simple.
I would ask you this series of questions. One, are you identifying with Jesus? Is your identity tied to Jesus? When people watch your life, when people hear you talk, do they say, that man, that woman, that boy, or that girl is a Christian?
I know they belong to Christ. Are you being obedient to the Lord by faithfully gathering with the saints? Are you being obedient to the Lord in loving all men, and especially them that are of the household of faith?
Have you followed the Lord in believer's baptism? Are you striving for peace amongst the brethren? Are you loving one another with a fervent and a consistent love? Are you praying for those in authority?
Are you forgiving your brother's trespasses against you? And I might add this, are you discerning whether or not the trespass is an imagined trespass or an actual trespass? Are you taking up your cross?
1 Peter 4, verse 1. The apostle Peter writes,. Since therefore Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves with the same way of thinking. For whoever has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live for the rest of the time in the flesh, no longer for human passions, but for the will of God.
For the time that is past suffices for doing what the Gentiles want to do, living in sensuality, passions, drunkenness, orgies, drinking parties, and lawless idolatry. With respect to this, they are surprised when you do not join them in the same flood of debauchery, and they malign you.
But they will give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. For this is why the gospel was preached, even to those who are dead, that though judged in the flesh the way people are, they might live in the spirit the way God does.
The end of all things is at hand. Therefore, be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.
As each one has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's very grace. Whoever speaks oracles of God, whoever serves is one who serves by the strength that God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ.
To him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial which is to test you, as though some strange thing were happening to you. But rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings, that you also may rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed.
If you are insulted for the name of Christ, y 'all thought I was crazy, what does Peter say here? You are blessed, because the spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. But let none of you suffer as a murderer or a thief or an evildoer or as a meddler.
Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name. And over in 2 Peter, as we close here, 2 Peter chapter 1, these are the words of God by the apostle Peter in his second letter to the dispersion.
2 Peter chapter 1 verse 2,. May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. And he says this, His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue and virtue with knowledge and knowledge with self-control and self-control with steadfastness and steadfastness with godliness and godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love.
For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these things, whoever lacks these qualities, is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.
Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election. Make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. For in this way, there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities. Though you know them and though you are established in the truth that you have, I think it right as long as I am in this body to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.".
Peter is writing about his imminent death. He is reminding them, and we have the Word of God here to remind us, take up your cross and follow Christ.
Stand with us, if you would, this morning.