Matthew 27:32-44
The Crucifixion of Jesus
32 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. 33 They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”). 34 There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. 35 When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. 36 And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. 37 Above his head they placed the written charge against him: THIS IS JESUS, THE KING OF THE JEWS.
38 Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. 39 Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads 40 and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” 41 In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. 42 “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. 43 He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” 44 In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.
John 11:38-44
Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead
38 Jesus, once more deeply moved, came to the tomb. It was a cave with a stone laid across the entrance. 39 “Take away the stone,” he said.
“But, Lord,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man, “by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.”
40 Then Jesus said, “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see the glory of God?”
41 So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. 42 I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.”
43 When he had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” 44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.
Jesus said to them, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”
The people who met Jesus were somehow interested in Him...They were curious about Him...But Jesus does not please everyone...But He does shock everyone...Jesus is infinitely surprising...Those He met on earth and those He meets today, either get closer to heaven or closer to hell...He was and is not common, ordinary, average, and reasonable..He got and gets people's attention, and in this sense He shocked those He met on earth...He still changes people today, after we meet Him...
Here Jesus interrupts two very different lives...And Jesus, Himself, is different...Out of the blue Simon from Cyrene, is forced to carry Jesus' cross...Simon did not know Jesus, yet...No doubt Simon as he carried Jesus' cross felt something...Yet we are not told about Simon after He left...We are not told if anyone followed up to see how he felt after his meeting with the LORD...Lazarus who had died, was a friend of Jesus...Jesus gets to Lazarus's house late and instead of finding him sick, he is dead...So Jesus does the miracle of bring Lazarus back to life....How could and would Lazarus feel, after the LORD has raised him?...
Miracles are hard to believe...So too, is believing that Jesus is the Son of God...Yet, He was born as a Baby...He was a young Child who grew up...He was a Man who preached...He was a Man who died...And He was a Man, the Son of God, who came back from His own death...Yet, in all His life on earth most thought He was just a Man...But, He was divine...He could do miracles...His life and death is for us...This is all a shock...His life is all a story, we want to believe...We want to believe because we need Him...What a beautiful story this is for man...
As Simon and Jesus carried the cross, there would be an acquaintance Simon would never forget...After Lazarus was raised from the dead, it would be something he would never forget...We are not told how these two lived out their lives, but one has to wonder...These two events would be with them, always...That is how Jesus is...He is unforgettable...He is Perfect Love, who came to earth...Perfect Love comes to a cross in our lives...Like Simon and Lazarus after we meet Him, we must decide how our lives will then be lived (after we meet Him)...