Bible Study - Mark 15:21-32 The Crucifixion of Jesus

Mark 15:21-32 : 

Mark 15:21-32 The Crucifixion of Jesus

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21 And they compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. 22 And they brought him to the place called Golgotha (which means the place of a skull). 23 And they offered him wine mingled with myrrh; but he did not take it. 24 And they crucified him, and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take. 25 And it was the third hour, when they crucified him. 26 And the inscription of the charge against him read, “The King of the Jews.” 27 And with him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. 29 And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads, and saying,

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“Aha! You who would destroy the temple and build it in three days, 30 save yourself, and come down from the cross!” 31 So also the chief priests mocked him to one another with the scribes, saying, “He saved others; he cannot save himself. 32 Let the Christ, the King of Israel, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe.” Those who were crucified with him also reviled him.

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The “wine mingled with myrrh,” was actually a sign of compassion. Bible scholars believe that the myrrh mixed in the wine was intended as a narcotic to help Him get through the pain of His death. Jesus rejected the offer for two reasons: 1. At the Last Supper Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, I shall not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” (Mk. 14:25) It was the will of the Father that Jesus suffering be whole and not diminished by a narcotic. Verse “24 And they crucified him, and divided his garments among them, casting lots for them, to decide what each should take.” Casting lots was sometimes used in the Old Testament to discover God’s will, but here it is a form of gambling used by the Roman guards.

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In the Book of Psalms we read, “They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. (Ps. 22:18) Again Psalm 22:7 tells us, “All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads. (cf. Mk. 15:29-32). We also hear Mark speak of the two “robbers” that Jesus was crucified with. In the Gospel of Luke 23:39-42 we hear how one of them repented for his past sins and Jesus said to him, “Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise.” Salvation was gained when the man was only a few breaths away from death. After all the brutality Jesus’ earthly body could no longer endure so Simon of Cyrene was forced to help Jesus carry the cross on which he would be crucified. What do we know of Simon?

Simon of Cyrene : 

Simon of Cyrene The Man That Helped Copyrighted material that appears in this article is included under the provisions of the Fair Use Clause of the National Copyright Act, which allows limited reproduction of copyrighted materials for educational and religious use when no financial charge is made for viewing.

Map : 

Map

Cyrene : 

Cyrene Cyrene was a large city in what is now known as Libya which is located in North Africa. Cyrene had a large Jewish community that no doubt included local converts; “Simon” is however, a Jewish name. Like multitudes of foreign Jews, he had come to Jerusalem for the feast.

Forced Labor : 

Forced Labor Roman officers had the privilege of “impressing” men for service, and the way they used that privilege angered the Jews (Matt. 5:41). When you consider all that our Lord had endured since His arrest, it is not surprising that His human strength failed. At that point Simon of Cyrene was randomly chosen from the crowd of onlookers to help Jesus carry the cross.

Boasting : 

Boasting In one of his folksy letters to his mother, President Harry Truman wrote, “I went to the White House to see the President and I discovered I was the President.” Both Simon of Cyrene and Harry Truman had discovered someone they hadn’t expected. We have good reason to believe that Simon believed in Jesus and went home and led his two sons to the Lord. Simon Peter boasted that he would go with Jesus to prison and to death (Mk. 14:66-72;Luke 22:33), but it was Simon of Cyrene, not Simon Peter, who came to the aid of the Master.