OK, here it is!
Check it
After church service I went back home with my host family for that weekend. We ate, had several good laughs, and decided to relax by watching The Passion of the Christ - go figure! Not the relaxing type of movie, if you know what I mean..... or is it...?
So we popped in the DVD and everyone got set to watch this amazingly passionate film. Needless to say that most of the audience went to sleep, but that's not the point - sorry, I had to point that out LOL
If you have not seen The Passion of the Christ before, I strongly recommend that you see it because it is an amazing and almost accurate depiction of what the Bible says happened to Jesus. It is extremely realistic and the whole cinematography is breathtaking! (that's the film major in me talking)
As I was lost in the moving images, I found myself going through waves and waves of different emotions, not just because the movie ignites these emotions, but because, in my own little world, these events are of profound importance to me.
Here are a few things you may not know about me & I am no longer afraid to admit:
I know I am loved, but I do not feel loved - especially now
I crave being loved by someone or something - sad, I know
I don't know how to deal with those who love me more than I love them
I try to love people more than they love me, to stay in my comfort zone
Now that we've gotten all acquainted and all, shall we continue....?
So imagine what I was feeling, as I was watching the movie, thinking about the real events of what Jesus went through, just for me! And the deeper I got into the movie, the heavier the waves of emotions. And it came a point where these emotions were being produced by the thought of what Jesus endured - though he did not have to and did not deserve to - for a jerk like you, I mean, like me...
But that's not the whole point I'm trying to make.
For the first time in my christian life, I noticed something that I had not payed much attention to before. If we read the story of Jesus' crucifixion in the gospel according to Matthew, Mark, and Luke, a certain Simon of Cyrene is mentioned. I have heard of him. I have read his name in the Bible. But that was that. Even the first few times I've seen The Passion and all the other 'Jesus movies' before that, the character of Simon of Cyrene had little significance. He was just the dude whose misfortune was to help Jesus carry the cross...
I'd love to have that misfortune!
Did you catch that? Simon of Cyrene helped his savior carry the cross where his sins would be nailed to forever!
Tell me that ain't sick! So as I'm watching this event unfold on the screen, my mind began to wonder and to decipher and to break it down and wonder some more and question and wonder and imagine and recreate and extract whatever meaning is there..... And there is great meaning there!
"For the wages of sin is death" Romans 6:23 We all know that verse. Put simply, because we sin, we merit death. A friend put it in these words: wages = paycheck; therefore, when we sin [work] we die [paycheck].
Brilliant!
But check this out...
"Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins! But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed... He was oppressed and treated harshly, yet he never said a word. He was led like a lamb to the slaughter. And as a sheep is silent before the shearers, he did not open his mouth. Unjustly condemned, he was led away. No one cared that he died without descendants, that his life was cut short in midstream. But he was struck down for the rebellion of my people. He had done no wrong and had never deceived anyone. But he was buried like a criminal; he was put in a rich man’s grave." Isaiah 53: 4-5; 7-9
Jesus took our rightful due.
HUH?
Jesus takes the punishment that we deserved, you know, the paycheck... We worked for it, but that's a paycheck no one wants to cash. But it needed to be cashed. So Jesus took the initiative and he decided to do it. So in reality, Jesus should not have been the one carrying the cross, it should have been me, it should have been you. But he substituted us out and checked himself in.
But picture for one second you carrying the cross.
Severely scourged.
Tortured.
Broken.
Bloodied.
Disfigured.
Repeatedly kicked and punched and slapped.
Pierced (crown of thorns)
Weak.
Dehydrated.
Now intensify that by.... MUCHO!
And on top of that, you have to carry a cross. Impossible!
But here comes Simon of Cyrene, Jesus' savior (do not jump into conclusions & understand what I'm saying) and he takes the weight of the cross on his own shoulders and carries it.
Two things especially stood out in the film. One is that Simon not only supported the weight of the cross, but also the weight of Jesus! The other is that, in brilliant acting, the character of Jesus embraced and found comfort in the cross. In one particular scene, it is as if nothing else mattered, but he and the cross. That was his passion, sort of speak.
How does that relate?
Check me - Imma make this personal
Jesus was my substitute. But it should have been me carrying the cross after having gone through the physical abuse. In a way, that is true. Everyday we suffer the extreme and severe abuse of sin. As Jesus' body was broken and battered and crushed, sin does the same to my spiritual body, and for some, it spills over to the physical.
Still Jesus makes this invitation:
"If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, take up your cross daily, and follow me." Luke 9: 23
So as my passion grows for Jesus, I have to endure the hardships.
You think you fancy, huh?
"If the world hates you, remember that it hated me first. The world would love you as one of its own if you belonged to it, but you are no longer part of the world. I chose you to come out of the world, so it hates you. Do you remember what I told you? 'A slave is not greater than the master.' Since they persecuted me, naturally they will persecute you. And if they had listened to me, they would listen to you." John 15: 18-21
This is nothing new! Jesus told his homeboys that, and thus telling us that. So this is what he was going through as he carried the cross. And as a direct illustration and parallelism, this is what I, as a follower of Christ, am going through everyday of my christian walk.
As Jesus' body was deformed, so am I spiritually.
As Jesus was weary, so am I spiritually.
As Jesus thirst, so do I spiritually.
As Jesus fell along the way, so do I spiritually.
Get it?
So now comes in Simon of Cyrene to help Jesus carry his cross. In other words, as it pertains to me, now here comes Jesus of Nazareth to help Kelly carry his cross.
Simply beautiful...
As Jesus was in the garden of Gethsemane the night before his arrest, he experienced depression to a level I don't ever want to experience it. All of my sins were transferred on him, and sin causes depression. So to that list I can add: As Jesus was depressed in Gethsemane, so am I in my mind & spiritual life.
All of my conditions, Jesus experienced them on his way to Golgotha. But just at the right time, as Simon of Cyrene, Jesus is able to carry my weight and the weight of my cross - Amen!
And he is able to do the same for you too.
Depression.
Anxiety.
Worry.
Whatever - if you love him, pick up your cross daily, and follow him. And he will carry the cross for you, too!
Enjoy!
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