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42
A Call to Stand Apart
sour wine was standing there. So they put a sponge full of the wine
on a branch of hyssop and held it to his mouth. When Jesus had
received the wine, he said, “It is finished.” Then he bowed his head
and gave up his spirit.
John 19:13-30
.
As news of Jesus’ fate spread through Jerusalem, a vast crowd
gathered and followed Him along the way to Calvary. When He
passed the gate into Pilate’s court, they placed on His bruised and
bleeding shoulder the cross that had been intended for Barabbas. But
the weight of a cross was more than Jesus could carry. He hadn’t
eaten since the Passover supper with His disciples on Thursday
evening. Then He had battled with Satan in Gethsemane, suffered
the betrayal of Judas, watched His disciples desert Him and flee,
stood before Annas, Caiaphas, Pilate, and Herod, and twice endured
lashes on His back. When they put the cross on His shoulder, He
collapsed. It was more than any human being could bear.
Mary, in the company of John, saw her Son collapse. She longed
to take His wounded head in her hands and wipe the brow that had
once rested on her breast. But she could not.
At that moment a Cyrenian, Simon, arriving from the country,
found himself surrounded by the crowd. He heard the mocking cry,
“Make way for the King of the Jews!” Amazed at the unbelievable
cruelty and hostility, he stopped to express compassion for Jesus.
The soldiers seized him, placed Jesus’ cross on his shoulders, and
forced him to carry it all the way to Calvary. For the rest of his life
[52]
Simon looked back on that event as a privilege that led him to take
up the cross of Christ from choice.
The women in the crowd watched the developments with intense
interest. Some of them had seen Jesus when they’d brought loved
ones to Him for healing. They were astounded at the hatred displayed
by the angry mob, for their own hearts were breaking in sympathy
for Him. As Jesus fell fainting beneath the cross, the women gasped
and cried out in empathy. Their mournful wails were all that Jesus
noticed as He staggered along. Despite His intense suffering as He
carried the sins of the world, He looked up at these women with
compassion. They were not His disciples. They weren’t crying for
Him as God’s Son, but they openly showed their feelings of pity
for Him. Jesus noticed. Though He appreciated their sympathy,