“And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.” (Luke 23:26)
This was a working man, someone that not only looked strong, but was strong, the Romans who led Jesus away to Golgotha did not want someone they were not sure could carry that cross all the way there. We don’t know why Simon was in town, or when he arrived, all we know is what is written in this short passage about him, he carried Jesus’s cross for Him, right to the spot it was to be set in.
Did he stick around, was he convicted, did he acknowledge the Lord as Savior, did Jesus look at him and say, “Thank you?” The student of the Word of God has a thousand and more questions, and the answer to each of them will need to wait. It is called contemplation, and all of those questions find their foundation, and hope, in the Lord Jesus.
“Now when the centurion, and they that were with him, watching Jesus, saw the earthquake, and those things that were done, they feared greatly, saying, Truly this was the Son of God.” (Matt. 27:54) The Holy Spirit had been working in the life of this Roman soldier I would presume for quite some time; something had been stirring in his heart long before he said those words. Was he there when they hit the Lord on the face, when they spit on Him, when the purple robe and the crown of thorns was placed on His head? What thoughts came into his mind, into his heart as he walked that path, as they drove the spikes into the Lord’s hands and feet. Was he used by the Lord to bring many others to the knowledge of the saving grace of God through Jesus Christ, other soldiers, perhaps even his family?
A thousand and more questions, all find their footing on the solid Rock.
What of the one leper out of ten that returned after being healed by the Lord, (Luke 17:12-18) what was his ministry like, was he an effectual witness, was he faithful? The man in the Gadarenes, who had Legion within him, (Mark 5:9) who wanted to follow the Lord yet was told to go and tell those where he lived how God had been gracious, had been beyond merciful to him. How many in the crowds left His side after they were healed, concerned only with the physical, the temporary, how many were not healed, but lived their lives for His glory?
So many questions, and not one of them will be answered in this life, we are to live by faith, and answered questions do not require faith, facts do not need to be tested, they are true.
These individuals and countless more had nothing to offer those that they spoke to but their personal testimony, the resurrection and redemption, and it was enough.
“Go from the presence of a foolish man, when thou perceivest not in him the lips of knowledge.” (Prov. 14:7) The majority of those that I attempt to speak to of the things of God, of Christ, are either deceived by some religious organization, or are blinded by Satan, but that is who we are commanded to reach out to, is it not? Sadly, most who profess Christ as Lord do not, they are satisfied with the small talk before and after the Sunday morning service, not seeking the lost during the week, much less confronting the evil when it enters their midst. Their minds do not revolve around the things of God, but on the praise of men, (John 12:43) even if it is only themselves they congratulate.
These men we have looked at today had a purpose for Christ, their entire lives were meant for that one moment, and from that moment on, at least as far as my imaginative mind will go, that purpose was to glorify God. The same as yours is to be.
Think here now on the man who was born blind, “Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.” (John 9:3) Fulfill your purpose.
