Simon of Cyrene


	Simon of Cyrene by Charles Ludwig May 25, 2003 After Pontius Pilate had ceremoniously washed his hands and declared, "I am innocent of the blood of this just person: see ye to it," the crowd shouted back almost gleefully, "His blood be on us, and on our children." (Matthew 27:24-25) The only thing left for the mob to do then, was to rejoice over the success of their freshly-washed robes of self-declared righteousness. Had the Jews put Jesus to death in their own way, He would have been stoned; but since they were doing it the legal way, ("the Roman way") He was crucified. The history of death by crucifixion is an old one. Alexander the Great borrowed it from the Persians. Then it was copied by the Carthaginians. And finally it was adopted by the Romans, who used it to execute slaves, thieves and prisoners of war. But the Romans considered death on a cross far too cruel for their own citizens. It was because of this that, according to rather firm tradition, Paul was beheaded by a sword instead of being crucified as was Simon Peter. As the mob faced Jesus, they faced a man who was utterly worn out. After His hours of agonized praying in Gethsemane He had gone from one weary trial to another, and He had not had a bite of food or a drop of water since the Last Supper the night before. There had been the trial before Annas, the three trials before Joseph Caiaphas, (the preliminary trial, the regular trial, and the repeat trial) the one early in the morning to make everything legal and within the letter of the law. There had been the trial before Pilate and the trial before Herod. And there was the final trial before Pilate. In addition to this, Jesus had gone through endless mental and physical torture. There had been the pain of three times finding Peter, James and John asleep, while having Judas betray Him with a kiss. There had been the pain of seeing Peter slash off a man's ear with a sword. There had been the pain of seeing His disciples flee. There had been the pain of being bound and having His hands pulled high between His shoulders. There had been the pain of being before Caiaphas. There had been the pain of being scourged by the order of Pilate. The man delivered by the procurator to the mob was already half dead. He was a pitiful sight with the crown of thorns on His head and His raw back and swollen face. Presently an order was given, and two criminals were brought up out of their dungeon and placed with Jesus. Then each was given a cross on which he would be nailed. At a signal a platoon of legionnaires armed with spears formed a box around them so that they could not escape. Then a man appeared with a sign painted on thin pine board. The large black letters read: "THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS." The inscription was written in Latin, Hebrew and Greek. A Roman officer on a horse led the legionnaires, and the man with the sign stood immediately in front. When everything was ready the centurion on the horse shouted, "Forward march," and the solemn procession headed for the skull-shaped hill, Calvary. The road at the beginning of the Via Dolorosa was about twelve feet wide and led up a straight incline before it sloped toward the Damascus Gate. Jesus, with the heavy cross on His shoulders, did not walk as fast now as He had the day before when He led the Twelve into the Upper Room, the eleven to the Garden of Gethsemane and the three into the edge of the Garden. The cross on His shoulders was heavy enough, but added to that weight were the past sins, the present sins, and the future sins of the entire world. No one else but the Son of God could have carried that load! *** For those who would like to read the rest of this article---here's the URL: Simon of Cyrene back to main page