Road to the Cross Part 4 Simon and the Cross

The crowd that praised Jesus on the way into Jerusalem ends up shouting for His death, and that whiplash is where we start today. I’m still scratchy from RSV, but I couldn’t stay quiet because we’ve reached the moment that changes history forever: the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. From Pilate’s verdict to the soldiers’ abuse, we walk the Road to the Cross with clear eyes and an honest heart.

One detail keeps gripping me, and it’s easy to miss when we rush to the familiar scenes: Simon of Cyrene. He comes into the city as a passerby, and the Romans force him to carry the cross. Luke says Simon walks behind Jesus, and that means he sees what most pictures never show, the suffering on the back of our Savior. That “backside of Calvary” becomes a window into the love of God, not as a slogan but as a sacrifice that costs something real.

At Golgotha, the place of the skull, nails go in and mockery rises, yet something deeper is happening than an execution. The cross becomes redemption. Jesus speaks forgiveness, offers grace, and even answers a thief who asks to be remembered with a promise of paradise. Then we bring it home and ask the hard question: with crosses everywhere in our culture, have we stopped being moved by what the cross means for salvation, forgiveness, and hope?

If this message strengthens your faith, share it with someone who needs a reminder that the story isn’t over because Sunday’s coming. Subscribe, leave a review, and tell me what part of the cross you’re seeing differently after listening.

Transcript

Welcome And Ways To Support

SPEAKER_00 0:03

Hey, you're listening to Bible Talk with Sister Deb Osburn. Hey, go visit our website at HOR421 Show.bussprout.com. I'd like to give a thanks to all the listeners and supporters. Always keep us in your prayers as we spread the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And if you'd like to contact Sister Deb, you can email her at Osburn Deborah K at gmail.com. If you'd like to support the show, you can support it through PayPal slash HOR421 or you can go through our website at HOR421 Show.bussprout.com. Wholeness Clean Group Outreach Ministry at Kwood Church of God every two weeks at 6 p.m. on Fridays. In the group, we give support both physically and spiritually. Sometimes we just need to know that there's somebody out there that's going through the same thing that we're going through. Stronger in the fourth dimension. A substance use treatment, recovery. Tired of alcohol and other drugs controlling your life? Step into the fourth dimension of healing, clarity, and purpose. Break free from addiction, compassionate, evident-based care designed to support lasting recovery. Phone number 606-621-5007. Now I give you your host, Sister Deb.

Returning After RSV And Recap

SPEAKER_02 1:21

I'm singing and praising with my mom.

Verdict Declared And Mockery Begins

Carrying The Cross Through Jerusalem

Simon Of Cyrene Walks Behind

Golgotha Nails And Redemption

Forgiveness And Paradise Promise

Has The Cross Become Background

Taking Up Our Cross Today

Closing Prayer And Sunday’s Coming

SPEAKER_01 1:25

Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord. So glad to be here today. I had to miss last week. Uh, and it feels like I've it's been forever since I've been here. Uh I am, as you'll probably be able to tell, I'm really kind of scratchy today. I am on the upside, thank the Lord, of RSV. Can't believe I ended up with that stuff. Uh anyway, I was really down there for a while and in quarantine for about a week. And um, but praise the Lord. I'm here today. And uh uh so if I sound scratchy or uh if you hear me get a drink, there might be some extra noises on today. And I'm sorry, I apologize that for it even happens because it will probably happen because my throat is scratchy. Uh I'm gonna try not to start coughing. If I do, please, please just bear with me as I try my best and get the word of God out there. But thank you for listening and welcome to Bible Talk. Uh so friends, today, uh as you remember, uh, this past month or so, uh, we have gone on a series called The Road to the Cross. And we talked about how uh how Jesus had rolled into Jerusalem on the donkey. Uh we talked about how uh he had cleansed the temple and and did all kinds of things that week and how he uh you know had the last supper and and washed the disciples' feet and uh and then how he went over into the garden, you know, with his disciples and stuff, and uh we talked about how he had been arrested at the garden. And we we actually went step by step on the last show, uh step by step through each courtroom session, uh, if that's what you want to call it, that he went through. And so uh today we are gonna take the final steps that Jesus Christ took to the cross. Uh today is the journey that our Lord Jesus took out of love for us, the the suffering, the sacrifice, the victory that came through the cross. Today on these today is the day that we will talk about that. On the road to the cross, we have come to the moment, uh, friends, that changed history forever. We have come to the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. And so please bear with me as I uh really struggle to to talk really good. But anyway, like I said, I'm sorry if you hear any extra noises and bumping around because I'm I'm really struggling, but but praise the Lord. We rebuke Satan in the name of Jesus and we're gonna get this done today. So let's go to the cross. So people, uh the trials are finished and and the verdict is spoken. You know, in the courts of religion that we heard and talked about, uh he was called a blasphemer. Uh in the courts of Rome, uh they called him a rebel. You know, they they thought he didn't go by none of the rules. And in the streets of Jerusalem, the people shouted for his death. The very people that praised him the week before coming in on the donkey and and doing their praises with the palm leaves and and and sitting their coats down, the very people that praised him is calling for his death. And so we read after our last our last session together, we heard the the final hearing for before Pilate, and Pilate gives the order, Jesus will be crucified. Now, we remember that at least three times in that that Pilate had said, I find no fault in this man. Pilate said three times, I find him not guilty. I there's nothing that I can get him for. No matter what they scratched into the ground and up and out of the air trying to grab, to find him guilty, they found him not, they couldn't find nothing on him. And that should have stopped it right then and there. Once the governor said, That's it, I don't find no guilt in him, should have stopped it. But see, that wasn't the way. So Jesus is going to be crucified. And so the soldiers, they took him into the governor's headquarters, they stripped him, they twisted a crown of thorns together, and they pressed it into his head, and they put a robe on him, and they mocked him. You know. This is the king of the Jews. You know, they they kneel down in false worship, they um they strike him, they scourge him, they they spit on him. The word of God says they actually pulled his whiskers off of his face. Friends, the king of heaven is being humiliated by the very people he created. Now, after the beatings, Jesus is forced to carry his cross through the streets of Jerusalem. We know there's a crowd that follows. There's probably some of them shouting. I'm sure there's some of them mocking. I mean, that's just how they were going. That's the way they were going. And of course, there was a little entourage. He had a few people that was actually for him. So there probably was some weeping. But uh, week from the scourging, we know Jesus probably collapsed under the weight of the cross. We don't know this for sure. We don't know the Bible doesn't give us a whole lot of grave detail about that part. But we do know that uh the Roman soldiers ended up pulling a man called Simon from Cyrene from the crowd to carry the cross of Jesus Christ. Now I'm gonna go off to the side here for just a few minutes, and I want to talk about this man, Simon. Uh first I want to start with this. I read something one day, uh, and it made me think about, and I hope that this makes you think about more about in-depth of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ. Uh so if you ever thought about this, did you ever realize that when we see pictures of Jesus on the cross, we're always looking at his face. We're seeing him on the front, his arms are wide out, and and and and you know, he's got the crown of thorns on, he's probably sweating and blood, and there's blood coming out of his his side, and uh, you know, we see him from the front. We see the misery stuff he's going through from the front. But did you ever stop to think and realize that nearly all of those pictures are from the front? But have you ever thought to stop and think about what we might see if we had had the opportunity to walk around the back and look at the back of the cross. Look at the backside of Calvary. That couldn't have possibly been a pretty sight, you know. And we're told in the Word of God that Jesus was sentenced to both be scourged and crucified, which meant scourging meant that they were going to give him 39 lashes. And my guess it was so violent of a beating that he his back would have been probably ripped to shreds, you know, uh, probably the flesh torn away and all that stuff. And the Bible says Jesus died in just three hours on the cross. And I would say, because of the awful impact of the beating from the Roman soldiers, that you could say he was probably literally beaten to death, right? So, you know, my friends, if you ever have a doubt in your mind, or maybe you really want to know just how much Jesus Christ loved you and me, if you really want to know what he was forced to go through for your salvation and mine, all you have to do is walk around the back of the cross. Picture yourself walking around and standing at the back of the cross and looking up at it. And the beating he had received was so bad that more than likely he couldn't carry his cross. So that's it was customary, of course, for the condemned prisoners to carry their own cross to the place of execution. But could Jesus? Probably not. And this, my friends, is where there's a man called Simon of Cyrene. I hope I'm pronouncing that right. He enters the story. Or more or less, he was dragged into the story. Uh I'm sure he hadn't planned to be a part of it. Now the Bible doesn't tell us a whole lot about this man Simon, just that he was coming in from the country. Very little was known about him. Now, what is known about the little bit of it is that Cyrene was from it was an African city on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, which is in the region I think today is called Libya. Not very good on those things, but uh just some stuff I'd read. And it is also known, I read that at that point in time in Cyrene there was a very large Jewish community. And so we can probably assume that Simon of Cyrene was a Jewish pilgrim who was traveling to Jerusalem to probably more than likely participate in the Passover celebrations. Okay. And so Simon made this long journey, and I read also somewhere that it was a hundred and fifteen hundred miles. Now, was that the truth? Is that no, the Bible doesn't say that. I read that somewhere that I was looking up some information. Uh, but I can also pro we can probably guess that as he entered the city, he probably encountered the the death procession that was walking out of the city. Uh, you know, and all of a sudden, before you could probably even think about it, these Roman soldiers grabbed him and forced him to carry the cross of Jesus Christ. And I think that you can find that in maybe Mark 15. But if I want to put myself in Simon's shoes, which I'm going to ask you to do today, I can't imagine what a shocking and devastating experience uh for Simon and Sirene. And because he was forced, also I want to say this, while he was forced to carry the cross, that meant that he would be ritually, which is an instrument of death, so that meant that Simon would be ritually unclean, and he would not even be able to uh engage in any of the ceremonies of the Passover. So he walked that 1,500 miles hoping to experience this spiritualness of this, and now he can't even do it. And so Simon was made to carry the cross of Jesus Christ all the way out to Calvary. Uh but what I do want you to uh understand on this is and I want you to to dwell on this for a minute, in Luke's version, in Luke 23, that after the soldiers grabbed Simon and told him to carry the cross, he was made to carry the cross behind our Lord and Savior, Jesus. And I hope you heard that and and understand that due uh behind Jesus. So all the way to Calvary, let's say Simon would have been looking at the back of Jesus. And in no doubt, it was no accident that Simon was at that very spot at the same time where he was supposed to be. It was probably not an accident. Uh maybe if he would have entered the city five minutes earlier or five minutes later, he would have probably missed the whole possession. Uh maybe if he had to turn left and not right or right and not left when he entered the city, he might not have even uh got to have seen Jesus. Who knows? But I believe that, personally, personally, I believe that that's not what happened, though that's not the way it was written. I believe God was setting the stage, and I believe that Simon was where he was supposed to be, at that spot he was at, at that very minute. Probably no doubt that was a little bit of help that God was sending his son. I don't believe it was an accident. Uh I believe, I also believe in my heart that Simon of Sirene encountered Jesus Christ at that spot, right where God had intended, and more than likely, it probably changed his life. But you know, my friends, I was thinking about this just this morning when I was looking back over my notes. I cannot bel I can't, I don't believe that anybody at all in that point in time that was able to sit down, even today, and have a an encounter with Jesus Christ and it not changed their lives. I can't believe that all of those people he had an encounter with walking along the roads to Damascus and and in in the ships and in in and on the seas and on the lands and and every place that he talked to people and and done all this miracles, I cannot believe that it even just having a conversation, I can't believe that that did not change and have a con have a change on everybody's life. I mean look at how he's changed our lives, friends. And I believe that when Simon of Cyrene saw Jesus' back and what had happened on the way to Calvary, he probably understood exactly what Jesus was doing for him and for you and for me, and for all of God's children. Because two thousand years ago, Jesus died on a cross on a hill called Calvary, so that you and I might live. He was beaten, nailed to the cross, spit on, and everything so that you and I might live now and forever. And if you doubt any of that, my friends, I would ask you to put yourself in Simon's place and take a good look at what he saw when he walked behind our Lord and Savior that day. You know, because every step, every painful step of that road that he took led outside the city walls to a place called Golgotha, and that is interpreted the place of the skull. And when he got to Golgotha, the soldiers laid the cross on the ground, stretched out his hands, drove nails through his wrist and his feet, they raised a cross up between heaven and earth, and above his head was the charge, Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews. The religious leaders mocked him, the soldiers gambled for his clothing, and the crowd watched. I I did they enjoy what they were seeing? I mean But see, something deeper, my friends, was happening here today. At that day. Something deeper was happening. The cross was not just an execution that day. It was redemption. It was redemption. And every accusation from the courts led right here that day. Every false witness that was told led to right here, that this day, right now, what he's going through. Every unjust verdict was led to right here and right now at what was happening. You see, the purpose of Jesus was never to simply survive the cross or the trials. No. The purpose, my friends, was the cross. As it was foretold by the prophet in the book of Isaiah, 53 and 5, and the word of God says he was wounded for our transgressions, and he was bruised for our iniquities. The innocent Son of God died for the guilty. The Lamb of God took our place. Friends, from the car garden to the courtroom, from the courtroom to the cross, the Son of God walked the road and suffered so that you and I would have our salvation. And I I can't imagine the unimaginable pain. But as he hung on the cross in this pain, friends, he still showed mercy. He didn't show any anger. He offered forgiveness. He told his father, he took it to his father, and he's talking to his father, and he's saying, Father, forgive them because they don't know what they're doing. I'm paraphrasing. He's saying, Father, forgive these people, these people that we created, he they don't know what they're doing. He is telling his father to forgive everybody. He's showing mercy. He's not showing condemnation. He's offering grace. He tells that moment right there, people should remind us that the cross is about forgiveness. That should tell us that no matter where we have been or what we've done or what we've been through, that God's grace is greater. He also, at that point in time right there, offered forgiveness to the thief on the other the cross with beside of him. One of the thieves was talking, you know, stuff to him just like the rest of them. But this man said, you know, remember me in your in in your kingdom. You know? He he tells the other thief, you know what, you and I are paying for our price. We're paying for our crime. This man is innocent. And he looks at Jesus and he says, Remember me in in your kingdom. And Jesus still having mercy, still having mercy, excuse me, he says, Today you'll be with me in paradise. Friends, the cross should remind us that love sometimes comes through sacrifice. Because Jesus didn't stay on that cross because the nails were holding him there. No. He stayed on that cross because he loved me and you so. That's why he stayed on that cross. And today, if you think about the cross, I wear one around my neck every day. If you think about the cross, the cross itself has become so much a part of our culture today that sometimes I think we're not even moved by the cross anymore. Most oftentimes we don't even notice a cross. I believe sometimes we've become numb to the cross. There's crosses everywhere around us in churchyards, and people have them in their yards. Uh, you know, when I first came home years ago uh and I got on 119 headed this way from uh uh from Pineville, I mean every other mile up through there was a cross on the side of the road, and I was like, wow, and there's crosses everywhere. But does the cross move us? Do we think about what the cross is? Does it move us? You know, the cross reveals us the love of God that He had for us more than anything else in the world, that cross should show to tell us exactly what Jesus did for us. The the horror and the intensity of the cross should scream out uh to us that God loved us. You know? Or better yet, has seeing God in the flesh on the cross dying in our place, in your place, in my place, does that even move us anymore? Do we get choked up anymore at all of the idea of our Lord of all creation going through the brutality of dying on the cross out of his love for us? Do we even stop to think about what that cross means? I have got uh a sister in Christ gave me, uh bought some crosses on a little cart piece of cardboard, and she said, You you need to give these out to people. And and I'm I'm gonna start doing that. I've got them in my Bag. I just gave one to my brother James here. And I've got more. I'm going to start handing these out. Because I think, friends, every single body ought to have a little cross that when you stick your hands in your pocket and you feel that little cross, you'll be able to feel and think and say, Wow, he done that for me. He he walked that road and he and he and he was in pain and he suffered and he died on the cross for me. And that's what this little cross should make me realize. You know? Does it even bother us anymore, friends? I know thinking about Simon carrying the cross, I believe Simon, in my opinion, unwittingly, unknowingly, whatever, became the first person to even fulfill Jesus' words in Matthew 8 and 34 when he said, Take up your cross and follow me. You know. Now the Bible doesn't tell us that Jesus fell and why it was necessary for somebody to carry his cross. But the gospel writers had described the hours of suffering that our Lord Jesus Christ went through. Friends, his sweat, just uh a few hours before he had been in the garden praying so hard to his father that his sweat became his blood, they say. He and he was beaten and whipped until his back was a poppy mess. So no doubt he was weak from from you know blood loss. So I'm sure that's why Simon had to carry the cross. He wasn't on a holiday, he wasn't a sightseer. He wasn't he was a bystander, probably not even wanting to get involved. Was he at the wrong place at the wrong time? No. He was at the right place, exactly where God wanted him to be. And I'm sure that was a day that Simon of Cyrene would never forgot. I'm sure that Simon, that day, that taking up his cross and following Jesus to the place where he dies, he took Jesus' cross. And my friends, here today, if we are going to bear the cross today, then we are going to have to bear it in a way that's way different from how Simon was compelled to bear it. See, it won't be a wooden cross. It's not going to be Jesus' cross, it's going to be our cross. You see, because his cross was unique. Because his was a redeeming cross. He suffered that cross so that we all might be exempt from that cross. And our cross is going to be the trials and tribulations that's going to come upon us because of believing what Jesus said and living like he lived. That's going to be our cross. And my friends, today, I want to tell you this. If you're looking for a definition of love, don't look in the dictionary. Look at the cross of Jesus Christ. Look at the cross of Calvary. Because there was nothing that happened on that cross that he didn't plan. Every event had a purpose. Every step he took was already laid out. Because my friends, today, hear this. Without the cross of Jesus Christ, there would be no hope for any of us. Now he wasn't the first man to die on the cross. And more than likely, he probably wasn't the last one. Thousands died before him. But friends, I'm telling you here today, he was the only one to die on the cross for the sins of the world. For your sins, for my sins. Christ died on his cross for all of us. And the sad thing is that not everybody is going to be saved. And why? Because not everyone is going to listen to or take heed to the saving message of Jesus Christ dying on the cross that day. And my friends, I want to tell you something. Please listen. If you want to be the man or the woman that God wants you to be, if you want to be free from bondage, free from uh uh uh demons, free from just focusing on your own self. If you want to be healed, if you want to be made whole, if you want to be able to help and bless others, then you've got to take up your cross and follow Jesus. He said, follow me. He said, Take up your cross and follow me. And friends, where was he going? He was on his way to his cross. See, Jesus said we have to take up our cross too. He took his, and he says we have to take ours. And friends, if you think about it, we have our job description played out right in front of us in the life of Simon and Cyrene. We are to carry our crosses, we are to deny ourselves and follow behind Jesus Christ. And he makes it every every so clear that every true disciple of Jesus must take up his cross and follow him. The word of God tells us in Matthew 10, 38 and 39, tells us that whosoever does not put that does not take up his cross and follow Jesus is not worthy of him. The whosoever findeth his life shall lose it, and whosoever loses his life for Jesus' sake shall find it. My friends, we are to follow after Christ as the sheep followed after the shepherd. We are to walk as he walked. Friends, as disciples of Jesus Christ and followers, we have to deny ourselves. The only way into Christ's holiness, it's the only way. It's the small gate, it's the narrow way. We must just deny ourselves. Not admire admire our own shadow, not seek our own thing, deny ourselves completely for Christ because that's what He's done for us. Now the cross is rough, it's dirty, it's deadly, but my friends, it's effective. And when you look at the cross of Jesus Christ, think of God's love and forgiveness for you. When you're riding down the road and you look up on these hills and you see these crosses, whether they're on the side of the road, whether they're in the churchyards, whether they're in your neighbor's yard, whether you got one in your own yard. I've got I don't know how many hanging in my house. Think about Jesus' sacrifice for you. Think about Simon of Cyrene, who carried the cross, and what he saw that day. Think about that. Because taking up your cross and following Jesus is not like going on an eventful, uneventful afternoon stroll, people. It's a march into rejection and danger, and it can be even death. But it's something we have to do is take up our cross and follow Jesus Christ. Because Jesus told us in John 15 and 20, he told his disciples, if they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. And my friends, we have to accept our cross gracefully and humbly and courageously. Because we have to trust Jesus and follow him. Now we're going to be asked to bear different crosses. I mean, I I my cross is different from your cross. No one else's cross is the same. But whatever your cross is, you have to take it up and follow Jesus Christ. And trust me, when we do this, he will be with us every step of the way, leading us. He didn't ask us to do it alone. He just asked us, he told us he will make it bearable. He said he would never leave us and never forsake us. Friends, let's take up our cross and follow Jesus. And today, when you look at the cross, please be reminded that our sins are forgiven, that our past is forgotten, and that our future is filled with hope. Because friends, without the cross, there would be no salvation. Without the cross of Jesus Christ, there would be no resurrection. And without the cross, we would not know the full measure of God's love for us. So today, my friends, I want you to take a moment to reflect on what it means, what the cross means in your life. It's a symbol of sacrifice, a symbol of forgiveness. Friends, it's a symbol of victory. Please not don't ever, ever forget what our Lord and Jesus Christ did on the cross on the hill that day of Calvary. And my friends, I'm gonna close in prayer. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you, Lord, for the greatest sacrifice of your Son on the cross to die so that we could all live. We thank you for the forgiveness made possible through the shed of his blood on the cross. We ask you to help us, Lord, to live our lives to honor that sacrifice. That that sacrifice is not in vain. Remind us daily of the grace that we have received through and by his death on the cross of Jesus Christ. Lord, we ask you to go with us and lead us and guide us as we walk these steps every day and we try our best to do the things that we can do for you, Lord. And we ask these in all things in Jesus' holy name. Amen. Friends, I want to thank you for joining me today on Bible Talk. And I pray that this has blessed you as much as it's blessed me to bring it to you. And I pray this strengthens your faith and reminds you of the power of the cross. And I pray that when you're walking through the supermarket or Don's or somewhere and you walk up on me and you may not know me, but I hand you a little old brown cross on a little piece of paper. I hope and pray that you take that cross and it reminds you every day of the sacrifice, of the sacrifice of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ on the cross that day. Please never forget it. Please join me next week for the next session of Bible Talk. Because friends, the story isn't over. Because Sunday's coming. Thank you and God bless.

SPEAKER_02 33:58

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I woke up this morning with my mind. Stay the door.