Mark 15:21-22
"And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means Place of a Skull)."
I find it interesting here in chapter fifteen all these "passerby's" having some influence on the narrative. We begin with Simon who is called the father of Alexander and Rufus. In Romans chapter sixteen there's a man named Rufus. Maybe Simon's son? We don't know. If Simon and his sons are well known among the early church communities in Rome, it's likely that Simon would be a person of interest having been so closely involved in the crucifixion of The Lord.
We know he was from what today we would call Libya, but we don't know much else. Was he a visiting traveler on business in Jerusalem or possibly a pilgrimage. Was he a resident there? We don't know. Probably visiting or pilgrimage since he was coming in from the country.
What do we know?
In Luke's gospel account we know that Simon carried the cross for Jesus from behind him, which is interesting in light of Jesus' words about picking up our crosses and following him.
Luke 23:26
"And when they led Him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus."
So, this man of mystery is conscripted by the Roman soldiers to carry Jesus' cross. And he carries it for Jesus up to the place called Golgotha which is also a mount in the land called Moriah, the place that Abraham brought his son Isaac when the Lord told him to sacrifice him there on an altar.
Genesis 22:2
He [God] said, "Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you."
And as we know, Abraham did as he was instructed, but ultimately God prevented him from going through with the sacrificing of Isaac. Abraham made the offer as he was instructed, but God provided a different offering.
Genesis 22:13-14
And Abraham lifted up his eyes and looked, and behold, behind him was a ram, caught in a thicket by his horns. And Abraham went and took the ram and offered it up as a burnt offering instead of his son. So Abraham called the name of that place, "The Lord will provide"; as it is said to this day, "On the mount of the Lord it shall be provided."
This place called "The Lord will provide" is consummated by this previous offering that was the foundation of the Hebrew faith since before being Hebrew was a thing. On that mount called Golgotha and "The Lord will provide", they crucified Jesus. And they mocked him and gambled for his clothing there.
They crucified him there between two thieves who also mocked him. All the passersby's mocked him and called for him to call down angels from heaven, to call down God himself. And of course they didn't believe God would come, they were merely mocking and deriding him.
But God did come.
Did he come in his Shekinah glory?
No.
Did he show up with his angel armies?
No.
But he did show up.
In darkness and in judgement.
Not unlike other instances in the Bible.
Genesis 15:12-15
"As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then the Lord said to Abram, "Know for certain that your offspring will be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they shall come out with great possessions."
Exodus 10:21-22
Then the Lord said to Moses, "Stretch out your hand toward heaven, that there may be darkness over the land of Egypt, a darkness to be felt. So Moses stretched out his hand toward heaven, and there was pitch darkness in all the land of Egypt three days."
Exodus 20:20-21
"Moses said to the people, "Do not fear, for God has come to test you, that the fear of him may be before you, that you may not sin." The people stood far off, while Moses drew near to the thick darkness where God was."
God is often associated in the Bible with a manifested darkness. He's the God of light when he comes to bring life, truth, provision and hope. And when he comes to bring testing and judgment, he is manifested in "thick darkness".
This theme is true also in instances referred to as "The day of the Lord". The earth quakes, the heavens tremble and the heavenly bodies lose their brightness. Wonders in the sky, the sun goes dark, the moon turns to blood...and so on and so on. God revealed in darkness.
Amos 5:20
"Is not the day of the Lord darkness, and not light, and gloom with no brightness in it?"
Thick darkness.
As prophesied, it certainly was a dark day in history.
Amos 8:9
"And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day"
Q: In what day does the Lord do that?
A: In the day of divine judgment.
So, the LORD shows up for Jesus' crucifixion. He shows up to judge him. It's the day of wrath for Jesus who did no wrong. It's truly a dark day.
I want you to really get what's going on here. This is hell on earth. Darkness is The LORD'S divine judgment. Grave darkness. This is hell. The place where all who have been judged unrighteous are to one day be for all eternity. So called "outer darkness". This is the darkness of God's presence that comes to Golgotha, the mount in the land called Moriah. This is the cup Jesus accepted for you and me. Hell on earth and a dark grave for three days.
So, darkness is not the absence of God, it's his wrath, his judgment, his curse.
In the ninth hour it was ending. God's wrath was ending. The full fury of God's punishment was ending. And God left him. And Jesus cried out from that darkness.
Mark 15:34
And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”).
Here Jesus refers to his Father for the first time in the scriptures as "My God". In a desperate effort to find his light of hope he cries out in the darkness to God.
The full wrath and darkness of hell was on Jesus now. Alone he must bear it. God is no longer there.
Mark 15:37
"With a loud cry, Jesus breathed his last."
And they continued to mock him. And many continue to mock him even today. Many reject his sacrifice and especially his resurrection from the dead. Even some carry on this comedy from Christian church pulpits preaching in his name but rejecting his gospel, his sacrifice and his resurrection.
For instance:
A leftist female Episcopal bishop, Mariann Edgar Budde, at the Washington D.C. National Cathedral, made big news recently for scolding the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump. She used the words of Jesus to castigate President Trumps immigration policies. In the same way the passersby's used Jesus' words to mock him about Elijah coming to help him.
Her sermon comments should be viewed in light of her worldview which is shared by too many. Budde often treats Scripture as a dynamic, evolving text that she interprets in light of contemporary values and social contexts that are important to her ideology. She sees the scriptures as valuable for wisdom and guidance, but not as a divine source and authority, they're like a really good fortune cookie message. Jesus' words are convincing when he speaks on social justice issues, but his words having to do with divinity and judgement are more or less superstition. Budde tends to emphasize a universalist perspective on salvation while promoting activism as a matter of faith expression. She argues that traditional teachings on sexuality and marriage are outdated and inconsistent with her modern understandings. She preaches pluralism and interfaith traditions, mingling many aspects of pagan spirituality into her pulpit messages. Her approach is to emphasize political activism and a reinterpretation of Scripture in light of modern cultural values. She's preaching worldly darkness in the name of Jesus Christ.
And they continued to mock him everyday. They continue to reinvent his word to fit their agendas. They continue to crucify him with their false gospel and moralism. They continue to mock him when they strip him of his name and faith in the God who provides both light and darkness.
Their reward will be outer darkness. The Lord will provide that darkness.
Genesis 1:26-28
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth."
So, God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them. And God blessed them.
The first time that our Creator God said that something WASN'T good, was in the garden of Eden. There is his perfect creation he found something that wasn't good. Up until then everything was some form of what he determined WAS good.
God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. And God saw that the light was good.
God created the earth, the waters, the dry land, and God saw that it was good.
God created all the growing things. The plants that bore seeds and fruits, and God saw that it was good.
God created the heavenly lights and bodies. He separated the dark from the light. He created the seasons and established time, and God saw that it was good.
God created the living creatures in the waters, on the dry ...
Mark 12:10-11
Have you not read this Scripture:
"‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?"
The vineyard, Jesus tells the temple leaders, is the house of Israel. God had promised the Messiah for Israel, and Israel rejected the Messiah.
Jesus said in Matthew 15:24, "I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel."
From the OT book Exodus to the NT book of Hebrews. The term "house of Israel" occurs about 150 times. The phrase refers to the nation of Israel, which was brought out of slavery in Egypt. Rachel and Leah "built the house of Israel"
Ruth 4:11
All the people who were in the court, and the elders, said, "We are witnesses. May the Lord make the woman who is coming into your home like Rachel and Leah, both of whom built the house of Israel; and may you achieve wealth in Ephrathah and become famous in Bethlehem."
The Lord made his covenant with this bloodline. As Jesus points out...
Mark 12:1
"A man planted a vineyard and put a fence around it and dug a pit for ...
Matthew 24:6-8 "You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of labor pains."
There has been thirteen years of war for every one year of peace since the time of Christ. Mankind loves war.
"Many will fall away, betray one another, and hate one another." (v.10)
Love grows cold. Lawlessness spreads faster than the gospel. But through endurance the kingdom of God will be preached. And the angels will fulfill this mission:
Revelation 14:6 "Then I saw another angel flying in midair, and he had the eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation, tribe, language and people. He said in a loud voice, 'Fear God and give him glory, because the hour of his judgment has come. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.'"
And just as a side note, for all ...
Mark 16:1-2
"When the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, so that they might go and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, when the sun had risen, they went to the tomb."
They had been disturbed about how they might remove the stone that closed up the new tomb where Jesus' dead body had been laid. According to the story, the women expected no resurrection. They went there fully prepared to anoint his dead body which had been hastily placed there because of the Sabbath. The women come up to the sepulcher and find the stone already rolled away. And they encounter a young man who announces to them that "he is risen". He was there in the tomb sitting on the right side and dressed in a white robe.
I don't think the stone was rolled away to let the risen Jesus out. He no doubt could have passed right through it. He certainly does later in rooms and through walls. I think the stone was rolled away because the women were worrying about that.
Mark 16:3
And they were saying to one another, "Who will roll away the stone for us from the entrance of the ...
Mark 15:12-15
And Pilate again said to them, “Then what shall I do with the man you call the King of the Jews?" And they cried out again, "Crucify him." And Pilate said to them, "Why? What evil has he done?" But they shouted all the more, "Crucify him." So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified."
Under pressure Pilate caved into the demands of the crowd. Under Pilates authority Jesus was judged by the Jews to have committed crimes against God and his law, and against Rome. The primary charge was a crime against the Roman emperor. They said he was a tax cheat. They said he was assuming the position of king. Jesus was being treated like an insurrectionist. They scourged Jesus to get him to confess these crimes. He did not say a word. They accused him of many things, and he never said a word.
Luke 23:7
"And when he [Pilate] learned that he [Jesus] belonged to Herod's jurisdiction, he sent him over to Herod, who was himself in Jerusalem at that time."
...
Jeremiah 3:15-16
"‘And I will give you shepherds after my own heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding. And when you have multiplied and been fruitful in the land, in those days, declares the Lord, they shall no more say, "The ark of the covenant of the Lord." It shall not come to mind or be remembered or missed; it shall not be made again."
God is our Father, Abba and Adonai [Lord]. And he sees mankind, and especially those whom he has called his people. He sees them as a rebellious people who are polluting the land. They've made the land unclean in their disobedience, and disregard for the Law. They've played the harlot with many unclean lovers. Yet in his great mercy and love, he longs for them to return to him.
God's prophet describes the depths of their sin. He draws a picture of a lawless people who are acting like whores. But worse than that they are polluting the whole land with their garbage spiritualized with pagan energy. And there is no place that is not touched by their religion.
"Lift up your eyes to the...
