(Mark 15:17-21)

The road to Calvary was not an easy one for our Savior. There was not one step along the way that was easy for him. It was not easy for him to be captured by his enemies in the Garden. It was not easy for him to stand trial before the Caiaphas, the High Priest or Pontius Pilate. It certainly was not easy for him to be beaten, spit upon or mocked wherever he went. All this happens before the excruciating pain of being crucified on the cross. Yes the road to Calvary, the road to winning our Salvation, was not an easy one for our Savior. And amid all this pain and suffering, amid all the floggings and beatings, St. Mark and the other gospel writers record for us a seemingly minor detail. They say that Simon of Cyrene, a man who was just passing by, was forced to carry Jesus’ cross for him since Jesus was unable to do so. Why do the gospel writers contain this detail? That is what we will look at today. Jesus’ glory is hidden in his stumbling. We will stumble under our crosses but Christ will help us carry the weight.

Our text picks up the story after Pilate had ordered that Jesus is to be crucified. No longer is Pilate protecting Jesus or trying to let him go. Rather he has handed him over to his soldiers to carry out the execution. But first Pilate’s soldiers want to humiliate Jesus. They had heard him say that he was king. So they dress him up in a purple robe, the color of royalty. They place a crown on his head, only this crown was made of thorns. They mock him by bowing down and saying, "Hail king of the Jews!" On top of all this mockery, they also constantly beat him with a whip and spit on him.

So it is no wonder that Jesus wasn’t able to carry the beam to his own cross as criminals normally did. Even though this probably only weighed 30 to 40 pounds, Jesus was exhausted both physically and mentally. Physically he had been beaten, spit upon, and whipped all night. He probably hadn’t eaten anything since he was captured in the Garden nor had he slept. On top of all that physical torment, he was mocked and ridiculed. Plus he knew what was going to happen. He knew that he would suffer mightily on that cross, unlike any other criminal. For not only would he suffer the physical pain of a crucifixion but he would also suffer hell in our place in order that he could pay for the sins of the whole world. As a result of these physical and mental torments, Jesus was so exhausted that he collapsed under the weight of his own cross.

But wait. This is the almighty Son of God. This is the creator of the entire world. This is the one who revealed his glory throughout the Epiphany season. We saw him change water into wine, we saw him preach with authority, we saw him transfigured on the mountain. We know that he healed many people, and he even raised the dead. How could he not carry this cross, regardless of all the physical and mental pains that he was experiencing?

Jesus’ glory was hidden. He was not making full use of his divine powers. He was doing all this for us. If he made full use of his powers, he could not go the cross and die for our sins. If he didn’t die, we have no reason to be here, no reason to celebrate. It is only by Christ’s death on the cross that we hope, that we have any kind of comfort. He had to humble himself. He had to hide his glory. He had to stumble underneath the weight of his cross. He had to be like every other human. Just as any other human would have stumbled after going through all he did, so also Christ, our brother in every way, stumbled and fell to the ground.

What is surprising is that no one came to his aid. After all Jesus had large crowds follow wherever he went. At many times these people wanted to make him their king. Where were these people now? Where were those he had healed? Where were those he had raised from the dead? Where were those who welcomed him on Palm Sunday singing "Hosanna in the highest?" Where were his disciples who had been at his side for the last three years? They were all no where to be found. All had forsaken him. All had left him for fear that they too would be persecuted. No one came to his aid.

The Roman soldiers had no mercy on him and were getting impatient. Jesus was collapsing underneath the weight of the cross and they wanted to hurry up the procession. They were anxious to get the execution started. So they found a man, Simon of Cyrene, and forced him to carry Jesus’ cross so that the execution could begin more quickly.

We too have crosses, which we must carry while we are in this world. Jesus says, "Whoever comes after me, must deny himself, take up his cross and follow me." Where do these crosses come from? These crosses or burdens are from our enemies who are constantly attacking us, making our life on earth difficult, and trying to get us to doubt our faith. They do not want us to take up our cross or to follow Jesus but to look somewhere else for comfort, somewhere where there is no cross to carry.

All too often they succeed. We must confess that we stumble underneath the weight of our crosses. All too often we fall prey to the devil’s temptations and follow him. We try and take the easy way out instead of following Christ all the way to the cross. Our old sinful nature wins the battle and we worry more about what we have in this world rather than our faith, which will last forever. Whenever these things happen to us, whenever we look for an easy way out from our troubles, we stumble underneath the weight of our crosses.

There is one huge difference between our stumbling and the stumbling of Jesus. Jesus had the ability to carry his cross if he would have just used his divine powers. He hid his glory for us so that he could go all the way to the cross and die for our sins. That was the only way that we could be saved. We, on the other hand, cannot carry our crosses no matter how hard we try. We are sinful and fall flat on our face, whenever burdens come upon us. We need someone to help us carry our crosses If we are left to ourselves without any help, we would be crushed underneath the weight of our crosses forever.

Thankfully we have someone to help carry our crosses. Unlike Jesus, where no one came to his aid, and the Roman soldiers had to force Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross, someone comes to our aid and helps us willingly. And that someone of course, is none other than our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

He knows the weight of our crosses. He has been tempted just like you and me. As true man, he became like you and me in every way. He faced the same temptations that we face. He suffered under the same burdens that we suffer. He carried the same crosses that we have to carry. Only he did not collapse under their weight. Since he was without sin, he was able to carry his cross, to not succumb to the devil.

We need only to go back to the first Sunday in Lent to see that. On that Sunday, we looked at the temptations of Jesus. In those temptations, the devil was trying to get Jesus to take the easy road, to not go all the way to the cross at Calvary, to not carry his cross. But he would not listen to the devil. Rather he went all the way to the cross silently, like a lamb to the slaughter, as was prophesied in the Old Testament. By dying on the cross, he won life for us. That is the hidden glory of the cross. By his death, we gained life.

But we know that we cannot carry our cross and follow Jesus to gain this gift of life. When the devil tempts us, we fall prey to his fierce attacks and stumble. The closer we get to our goal, the heavier our cross will be; for the devil will try with all his might to get us stumble. How can we ever be strong enough to take up our cross and follow Jesus? It is only through faith. The only way that we are strong enough to carry whatever burdens may be placed upon us is through faith in Jesus Christ our Savior.

By hearing his Holy Word and receiving his Blessed Sacraments, we have been united with Christ and have followed him all the way to Calvary. At Calvary, our sinful flesh is crucified right alongside of Christ so that a new man can arise. This new man can carry our crosses since he is united with Christ. St. Paul puts it this way in his letter to the Galatians, "I have been crucified with Christ, so that I no longer live but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

Since Christ now lives in us, we can carry our crosses no matter how heavy they are. By being united with Christ, we have the strength to withstand the devil’s temptations. Therefore it is important for us to be in church so that we hear his Word and receive his Sacraments. It is only by these means that Christ can live in us and give us the strength to carry our crosses here on earth, until we go to heaven.

Once we are in heaven, we will have no more crosses to bear. Instead we will gather around the throne of our king. In heaven Jesus will be in kingly garb with a crown on his head just like he was before Pilate’s soldiers. Only, of course, we will not be mocking him, but worshipping him. We will be worshipping him for winning our Salvation and helping us carry our crosses.

This is a wonderful truth that this seemingly minor detail tells us. Just as Jesus stumbled under his cross so also we will stumble under our crosses if left to ourselves. But there is no need to worry. Through faith, our Lord Jesus will help us carry our crosses throughout our time here on earth so that we can go to heaven. All this is only possible because Jesus hid his glory and went to cross to win for us Salvation. By his death, we gained life.