The People who were Saved
at Jesus Christ's Crucifixion
Paintings by Penny Parker
Our Lord Jesus Christ said:
“And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to
Myself. This He said, signifying by
what death He would die" (Jn. 12:32-33)
What our Savior meant is the tremendous
impact of His crucifixion on all peoples from every nation. Truly the death of Jesus at the Cross, and
by the power of the Holy Spirit, possesses an attraction for all people of the world. From civilized and savage, learned and
illiterate alike it breaks down all opposition and barriers, assimilates all to
itself surpassing glory, whose uniting principle is the adoring subjection "to Him
that loved them" and it "will draw all peoples 'TO
MYSELF'" says the Lord. This
prophecy came to life on that historic day when Jesus attracted people from
different nationalities and cultures by carrying the cross to Mount Calvary and
was crucified on it.
Simon, the Man of Cyrene
“Now as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by
name. Him they compelled to bear His cross.” (Mt. 27:32)
Condemned
prisoners had to carry their own crosses to the execution site. Jesus, weakened from the beatings He had
received and the sleepless night of trials from different places, was
physically unable to carry the cross any farther. Thus a bystander, Simon, was forced to do so.
“Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man,
Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the
cross that he might bear it after Jesus.” (Lk. 23:26)
Simon
was from Cyrene, in northern Africa, and was probably one of the thousands of
Jews visiting Jerusalem for the Passover.
From Luke’s account it is possible that Jesus carried one end of the
cross and walked in front and Simon carried the other end walking behind the
Lord.
Simon
did not know Jesus. Yet something happened on that walk. Between the gate of
Jerusalem and the hilltop Calvary, Simon of Cyrene came into contact with the
transforming sacrificial love and friendship of Jesus. Jesus would speak to one
who, even under compulsion, was doing Him a service. We do not know what was
said but we do know that God who became a Man that died for his sins would have
touched any person who had to carry the cross with Him.
God
had chosen Simon to carry the cross of Jesus for His great purpose. He wanted to save him and his family. Simon and his sons Alexander and Rufus were
also mentioned in the Gospel because they were probably well known in the Early
Church (Mk. 15:21). The apostle Paul wrote
to the Church in Rome, “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his
mother and mine.” (Rom. 16:13) If this is the same Rufus
whose father carried the cross of Jesus it can be assumed that Simon and his
family must have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ.
“Now in the Church that was in Antioch there were certain
prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,
Manaen who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.” (Acts 13:1)
The
names Simon and Simeon are the same, and the word Niger which means black comes
from the name of a river in Africa. The
country of Nigeria derived its name from Niger. Simeon and Lucius of Cyrene were prophets and teachers in the
Church at Antioch. African Christians
had eminent positions in the Early Apostolic Church.
I
heard an African-American preacher once said that the only person who had literally
carried the cross of the Lord Jesus Christ was an African. He was also the first person who ever came
into contact with the Blood of Jesus Christ.
Simon of Cyrene bore the wooden cross; Jesus Christ obeyed God and
bore all our reproach, our judgment, our sin, our guilt, and our
sickness. He bore this spiritual cross for us by the freedom of His
will. What a wonderful Savior!
The Roman
Centurion
“Then,
behold, the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom; and the
earth quaked, and the rocks were split, and the graves were opened; and many
bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised; and coming out of the
graves after His resurrection, they went into the holy city and appeared to
many. So when the centurion and those
with him, who were guarding Jesus, saw the earthquake and the things that had
happened, they feared greatly, saying, "Truly this was the Son of God!"
(Mt. 27:51-54)
There were at least four miraculous events that
accompanied the crucifixion of our Lord Jesus Christ. There was a supernatural darkness all over the land for three
hours. Then there was a tearing of the
veil that separates the Holy of holies in the temple. An earthquake occurred and the rocks were split. The fourth miracle was the resurrection of
the dead people rising from the tombs.
Jesus’ death, therefore, could not have gone unnoticed. Everyone knew something significant had happened.
Now when the centurion, the Roman military superintendent
of the execution and they that were with him watched Jesus, saw the earthquake
- or felt it and witnessed its effects, and those things that were done -
reflected upon the entire event they feared greatly - convinced of the presence
of a Divine Hand and said, "Truly this was the Son of God!" When Jesus asked His
disciples
“But who do you say that I am?” Simon
Peter answered and said, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living
God." Jesus answered and said to him, "Blessed are you, Simon
Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who
is in heaven.” (Mt. 16:15-17) We do
know that when the Roman centurion had openly confessed, "Truly this was the Son
of God!" he
had become a believer.
During the time when Jesus Christ walked the
earth the prevalent cult of emperor worship was in existence. [refer to emperor worship ] The emperor had one of his titles of “divi filius”,
Latin for “son of god”. A Roman
centurion (commander of 100 soldiers) served with the Roman legions that were the most
powerful fighting forces in the world.
He was not only a strict patriot who was absolutely loyal to Imperial
Rome but also an arduous worshiper of the emperor as a god. Any Roman who denies the deity of the
emperor could be stripped of his citizenship and right of land and property ownership. The Roman centurion who
publicly declared the Lord Jesus Christ to be the Son of God would be ostracized and
immediately dismissed from the Roman armed forces. It would not only be an end to his career as
a centurion but also the end of all his special privileges as a Roman citizen.
Under extreme circumstances
and persecution a Roman citizen would have given up everything that he owned to
become a Christian, therefore an open confession of his faith in the Lord Jesus
Christ is the minimum requirement of salvation. Hence the apostle Paul wrote to the Church in Rome thus: “But what does
it say? "The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart" (that
is, the word of faith which we preach): that if you confess with your mouth the
Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you
will be saved. For with the heart one
believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation. For the Scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be
put to shame." For there is no
distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all
who call upon Him. For "whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be
saved." (Rom. 10:8-13) The
Roman centurion who publicly confessed his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ: "Truly
this was the Son of God!" was
saved.
The Thief
on the Cross
“There were also two
others, criminals, led with Him to be put to death. And when they had come to
the place called Calvary, there they crucified Him, and the criminals, one on
the right hand and the other on the left.” (Lk. 23:32-33)
The Romans crucified the basest of criminals, slaves,
and enemies of Rome. Crucifixions were cruel. They would take heavy, wrought,
iron nails and drive them through the victim’s wrists onto the crossbeam and
the feet onto the vertical beam. And then they would lift the victim up so that
the weight caused difficulty breathing. To ease the pain, the victims would
lift with their feet, easing breathing but bringing great agony to the feet.
Sometimes the pain would prolong for days.
“Then
one of the criminals who were hanged blasphemed Him, saying, "If You are
the Christ, save Yourself and us."
But the other, answering, rebuked him, saying, "Do you not even
fear God, seeing you are under the same condemnation? And we indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds;
but this Man has done nothing wrong."
Then he said to Jesus, "Lord, remember me when You come into Your
kingdom." And Jesus said to him,
"Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise."
(Lk. 23:39-43)
One of the criminals railed at
Jesus, saying, "If You are the Christ, save
Yourself and us." But when
he had reproached Jesus, the other thief, who knew his position as a sinner,
said: "Do you not even fear God, seeing you
are under the same condemnation? And we
indeed justly, for we receive the due reward of our deeds; but this Man has
done nothing wrong." It is better that we should
seek forgiveness for our sins and salvation for our souls than to get angry
with God. When Jesus heard the thief say this, he turned his face toward him
with a look of approval. When the malefactor saw the face of Jesus turned toward
him, he mustered up his courage, fanned the flickering flame of his faith, and
said: "Lord, remember me when You come into
Your kingdom." And Jesus said to
him, "Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in
Paradise."
The Master had time amidst the pangs of mortal death to
listen to the faith confession of the believing criminal. When this thief
reached out for salvation, he found deliverance. The crucifixion, the most
cruel form of execution known to man, was given to the vilest of
criminals. The thief met Jesus at the
cross and the Son of God Himself saved him personally. He repented of his sins and believed Jesus
Christ as His only Savior and was the first person on earth that was given the
personal assurance of going to Paradise.
This Article is based on the Sermon
preached by Paul Wong
to a Congregation in Houston, Texas on
February 9, 2002
For comments please write first to: [email protected]
May God bless you.
Paul Wong is a Christian minister and the President of ARK International.
His ministry also serves as an architectural service company in Houston.
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