Lent Midweek III
Luke 23:26-31
March 11, 2026
Though we can’t say from Scripture, we can imagine that Simon of Cyrene is not happy that he has to carry the heavy cross throughout the streets of Jerusalem. We can imagine because it’s not something any of us would be excited to do.
The cross is a heavy burden. It’s made from thick wood and, depending on how often the Romans reuse the crosses to save time, may be stained with the blood of many murderers and thieves and insurrectionists.
Some movies and depictions of this cross-bearing show the bearer only carrying a part of the cross and not the whole thing, but we can’t say for sure if this is how it went, so it’s best to go by what Scripture says, that Simon carries the whole cross for Jesus, and he carries it at least part of the way.
And this is nothing new. The Roman soldiers are authorized by law to force a member of the crowd to carry the cross of the condemned should the condemned be unable to carry it himself. After all, Jesus was flogged and beaten and carrying a 75 pound and awkward execution device on His back in the state He’s in would take a long time, so to expediate the crucifixion, Simon is compelled.
He follows Jesus closely behind, laboring under the weight of the wooden beams and feeling some of the scorns and mockery of the onlookers. There is an ancient tradition which says that Simon and his family were well known in the early church and that he himself shared the Gospel in north Africa. There is another tradition which states that Simon was martyred in 100 AD by being cut in half with a saw as a tree might be cut in half.
Surely this isn’t a great day in the life of Simon of Cyrene, but his burden is nothing compared to the weight Jesus is about to face. He is moments away from being borne on the same cross, exhibited for all to see as He die an agonizing death, not only for Simon, but for the whole world. For inasmuch as Simon of Cyrene is a sinner, burdened down by his own sins and transgressions and in need of His Lord to suffer for him, so too is every person in this room a sinner for which Jesus came to die. He bore the true burden; Simon was permitted by God to feel a taste of the suffering that comes from following Christ.
God permits suffering in the lives of the people He loves. It does not matter what the false prophets say and what floods the airwaves and fills the shelves of many of the so-called “Christian” bookstores of our day. Christianity is not an escape from this life’s suffering. Christianity is not an endeavor for great earthly wealth and prosperity. We do flee from bearing our crosses or reject the suffering that comes. No self-help books or “your best life now” preaching will ever lead you to Golgotha, to the Place of the Skull where you must go and witness the death of the innocent; the death of God on account of your sins.
Taking up your cross and following Christ through a wilderness of wild and fierce enemies of the truth – if anyone told you it would be easy, if anyone told you it would be fun, if anyone told you it would be trouble-free and bring an endless stream of earthly “blessings” and all your wants and desires will be granted…they lied, just as the serpent lied to Adam, so too have they lied to you.
The Christian life is not easy. We suffer in this life from degrading bodies, bodies that, everyday inch closer and closer to death. We suffer in this life from our own sins where temptation gets the best of us and we, in our thoughts or words or actions, let sin devour us, thinking or saying or doing the very things we once said we would never do. We suffer in this life from the dark and vicious attacks of the world around us, from friends or family, from work or school each pining for all our attention so that we have no time to give attention to God.
Think about how easily and how nonchalantly we put down our crosses. We know we’re to bear them, but we buy the self-help book anyway. We know we are each called to take up our cross and follow our Lord, but we’d rather fit in and follow the crowd and do what the “cool people” do. We go to the party, we drink the drink, we sell our dignity for a one-night stand, we sell our soul for the brand-name jeans or the fast and loud car…and by all this, we think we’re something, we think we’re important…we think we’re fulfilled.
Sadly, even churches of late sell themselves to the pull of the crowd in order to make a name for themselves or be noticed. They strip the sacredness, the holiness, the reverence away and being in the presence of a holy God no longer means exhibiting holiness and reverence before Him. Now it’s just a feel-good, therapeutic experience and even suffering for sound theology, for right and faithful teaching, is sold away for experiences and soul-stirring encounters, creature comforts, ease, and low-bar worship. This is not cross-bearing.
People leave churches because, “It’s too traditional” or “It’s too boring,” or “It’s too strict,” but really, it’s because they’re looking for a religion of ease and comfort where no expectations or lifestyle change or calls for a right confession of the faith are required. They don’t want to be Simon or chance having to bear a cross like Simon, and so they don’t follow. They blend in with the crowd or look the other way. They’re like the disciples who scattered when Jesus was arrested.
And Jesus, He has every right to stop and put an end to the whole charade. He’s no sinner and did not deserve what stood before Him on Calvary. He can snap His fingers and say, “Enough, I’m not dying for these people for they won’t follow me anyway. They’ll let their comfort seeking and their fears and their sins rule them, and will I even find a single righteous one when I return?” But this is not what He does.
Instead, Jesus looks to the weeping women who follow Him and Simon and He says, “Don’t weep for me. I need to do this; I WANT to do this for you. I want to set you free, and my death will set you free because sin will be no more and death will be no more. Don’t weep for me, dear daughters of Zion, instead be ready. Trouble is coming. If you believe in me and trust in me and abide in me as your Savior and Redeemer, then trouble WILL come. But I will be here to help you and cover you so that even if your life is taken from you, you will yet live forever with Me, free from sin and death.”
Brothers and sisters in Christ, bear your crosses. Don’t listen to the lies of the false prophets who say the faith will be easy and fun and you’ll gain great wealth and prosperity in this life, provided you give them some seed money, a minimum of 10%. Bear your crosses, because it’s worth it. If bearing your cross means that you can’t be so caught up and distracted in school with activity after activity after activity, or with work where you chance miss the blessed Word and Sacrament far too much, or if it means you must leave those friends in your life who drag you down and put you in sinful situations where you all but deny Christ or willfully break His commandments, If bearing your cross means that you need to prayerfully consider a church work calling such as pastor or deaconess or Christian school teacher, knowing that you won’t make as much money, knowing that it may mean having to go to a different college, then do it. Lose those unchristian friends, change that job, hold back on so many secular activities…because it’s worth it. If bearing your cross means repentance of a sin you’ve loved and cherished for years, then repent daily and seek the Lord’s help to overcome those sins in your life which keep you from God and His gifts, from His Word and Sacraments, and threaten your salvation.
Bear your cross, for Jesus has bore the cross for you and has won eternity for you and has given it to you without cost. Amen.
