Sermon Summary
Luke 23:26-37 (NIV): As Jesus is led away to be crucified, Simon of Cyrene is made to carry the cross behind Him. Jesus speaks to the grieving women of Jerusalem, is crucified between two criminals, and prays, “Father, forgive them,” while soldiers mock Him.
In “Walk in the Light of Christ,” Randy Neiswonger takes us to Friday morning, the day of the crucifixion. Jesus has been arrested, falsely accused, brought before Pilate, and condemned, not because Pilate found Him guilty, but because the crowd demanded His death. As Randy said, “They want Jesus dead, and they will be satisfied with nothing else.”
Luke tells us that as Jesus was led away, Simon of Cyrene was pulled from the crowd and made to carry the cross behind Him. Jesus had already been scourged and beaten, and His body was weakened under the weight. The cross was meant for the condemned man to carry, but Jesus had been beaten so badly that Simon was made to bear it after Him.
Along the road, a great multitude followed. Among them were women who mourned and wept for Jesus. Yet even in His suffering, Jesus turned His attention toward them. “Do not weep for me,” He told them, “but weep for yourselves and for your children.” Randy reminded us that Jesus knew what was coming for Jerusalem, and His words were full of compassion and warning.
Then Jesus came to Calvary. There He was crucified between two criminals, fulfilling what Isaiah had said, that He would be numbered with the transgressors. The physical suffering was terrible, but the words Jesus spoke from the cross reveal His heart: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.”
That forgiveness reached toward the soldiers, the religious leaders, Pilate, the crowd that cried “crucify Him,” and even those who nailed Him to the cross. Randy put it plainly: “Jesus says, Father, forgive them.” The mockers told Jesus to save Himself, but they did not understand who He was. He could have called legions of angels. He could have ended the suffering in a moment. But He stayed.
Why? Because, as Randy said, “Jesus had to die on that cross to save us from our sins.” The blood of sacrifices in the Old Testament covered sin, but the blood of Jesus takes sin away. It is gone, forgotten, and removed “as far as the east is from the west.”
The main point is this: Jesus chose the cross so we could be forgiven. This week, remember the cost of that forgiveness. Ask the Lord to search your heart, receive His mercy with gratitude, forgive others as Christ has forgiven you, and walk each day in the light of the Savior who stayed on the cross for you.
