Where were you that Day?

This morning we are going to walk with Jesus those last steps He took as He prepared to give His life up for us.

However instead of looking through his eyes we are going to try to look through the eyes of the people who were their that day.

First lets look at Simon of Cyrene...

Talk about being at passover with his two sons, Alexander and Rufus....

very little is known about Simon, we know he was not from Jerusalem, we know that he most likely is Jewish, but why chose him?

why allow Jesus to be unburdened from His cross.

Can you imagine being Simon as they grab you and strap this cross to your back, what about his sons what do you think they were thinking..... where they going to punish him if he stumbled… beat him? crucify him?

what about when they got to Golgotha; would they stay there and watch the Crucifixion? what would he tell his sons where they asked who this Jesus guy was?

regardless of all this he becomes the first person to pick up their cross and follow Jesus, notice that he has to walk behind Jesus, this is no accident.

Luke 9:23 NIV

Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.

Simon is the first one to follow Him.

What about the women.. those who are behind Him wailing and crying.

The interesting thing is they may not have known Jesus at all or even cared about him. They may have belonged to a group of women who mourned for those who ad been convicted to die by the roman government.

these crucifixions where common place.

can you imagine their surprise when Jesus turns and confronts them. He does not say thank you for caring, tank you for crying for me… instead He rebukes them.

Not only does He rebuke them, He does it with strong words. He tells them that a time is coming when it would be better for them to be shamed and cursed.

being barren was shameful in this time, and considered a curse from God.

then He quotes a scripture to them from the Old testament, and not just any scripture but a passage from Hosea where God has compared Israel to an unfaithful wife, and has denounced her.

Hosea 10:7–9 NIV

Samaria’s king will be destroyed, swept away like a twig on the surface of the waters. The high places of wickedness will be destroyed— it is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!” “Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel, and there you have remained. Will not war again overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?

Hosea 10:8–9 NIV

The high places of wickedness will be destroyed— it is the sin of Israel. Thorns and thistles will grow up and cover their altars. Then they will say to the mountains, “Cover us!” and to the hills, “Fall on us!” “Since the days of Gibeah, you have sinned, Israel, and there you have remained. Will not war again overtake the evildoers in Gibeah?

Then he warns them that if they will do this to the Son of God who is innocent what will they do to those who are truly guilty?

This is not what these ladies bargained for or what they signed up for.

next lets look at the two criminals who are crucified with him.

This is interesting because we can see how they react.

but why do does the one begin to Mock Jesus?

what about the reaction of the second one?