Jesus' Final Moments: Mark 15:21-26
Jesus’ last moments were spent embracing the pain of life known through the omniscience of God. I’m honestly not sure I can fathom what that sentence truly encompasses. I cannot imagine the massive amount of pain involved in being crucified. I also cannot imagine going through that act with the level of understanding Jesus possessed about the people around Him.
Today is the day to which the story has been building. The soldiers lead Jesus out to be crucified. The world has its way with Him.
On His way to the cross, Jesus meets Simon of Cyrene. We don’t know much about him, but Cyrene was on the African coast. Assuming Simon came from Cyrene and wasn’t born in Cyrene and moved to the area of Jerusalem after his birth, it is likely that Simon saved up to travel to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover in the Holy City. In this case, it could have even been a once-in-a-lifetime trip.
Unfortunately for Simon, the Roman soldiers drag him out of the crowd and force him to help Jesus. Jesus had already been beaten and injured with a crown of thorns. He was likely bloody. It’s hard to believe that Simon could have avoided contact with Jesus’ blood. This would be unfortunate; encountering blood would make Simon ritually unclean and unable to celebrate the Passover. Imagine travelling to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover only to have that dream vanish before your eyes.
If speculation can be permitted, Mark mentions Simon’s sons Alexander and Rufus. There is no reason to mention the sons unless the sons were known to Mark’s audience. If they were known to the recipients of Mark’s letter, then it is likely they were followers of Jesus. Still in the land of speculation, it likely means Simon became a follower of Jesus, passed the faith along to his sons, and they were known to Mark. What started as a worst case scenario for Simon as he becomes ritually impure and unable to celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime Passover quickly becomes a once-in-a-lifetime best case scenario where he finds salvation for his entire family.
Returning our focus back to Jesus, the soldiers take his clothing and cast lots for it. Clothing was a significant commodity in Jesus day; it was common for Roman soldiers to claim the right to possess any clothing from people executed under their care. There were enough soldiers present they gambled over the clothing. As Jesus dies on the cross, one of His final exposures to humanity would be watching people care more about His clothing than His life.
Jesus was the Son of God. Jesus was also fully human. He saw everything through God’s eyes. He also felt everything through his human flesh. He knew the pain of the nails and the wood upon which He hung. He knew the lack of compassion among the Roman guards killing Him. Jesus’ last moments were spent embracing the pain of life known through the omniscience of God.
