His Cross of Peace

Hi, and welcome to another daily encouragement from Our Daily Bread. Our reading is titled His Cross of Peace, and it was written by Lisa M. Samra. Sombre eyes peered out from the paintings Simon of Cyrene by contemporary Dutch artist Ebert Moderman. Simon's eyes revealed the immense physical and emotional burden of his responsibility. In the biblical account from Mark 15, we learn that Simon was pulled from the watching crowd and forced to carry Jesus' cross. Mark tells us that Simon was from Cyrene, a big city in North Africa with a large population of Jews during Jesus' time.

Most likely, Simon had journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. There, he found himself in the middle of this unjust execution but was able to perform a small but meaningful act of assistance to Jesus. Earlier in the Gospel of Mark, Jesus tells his followers, Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow Me.

On the road to Golgotha, Simon literally did what Jesus figuratively asks his disciples to do. He took up the cross given to him and carried it for Jesus' sake. We too have crosses to bear, perhaps an illness, a challenging ministry assignment, the loss of a loved one, a persecution for our faith. As we carry these sufferings by faith, we point people to the sufferings of Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross. It was His cross that gave us peace with God and strength for our own journey.

Today's Our Daily Bread devotional scripture reading is from Mark chapter 15 verses 16 through 24. The soldiers led Jesus away into the palace. That is, the Praetorium, and called together the whole company of soldiers. They put a purple robe on Him, then twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on Him. Then they began to call out to Him, Hail, King of the Jews! Again and again they struck Him on the head with a staff and spit on Him. Falling on their knees, they paid homage to Him, and when they had mocked Him, they took off the purple robe and put His own clothes on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him. A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull. Then they offered Him wine mixed with myrrh, but He did not take it, and they crucified Him.

Dividing up His clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get. Let's pray. Jesus, thank You that You understand and sympathize with the pain we experience as we take up our crosses and follow You. Give us courage and strength, even when the journey is difficult. It's in Your name that we pray. Jesus. Amen. Thanks for listening today. My name is Toni Collier, and today's encouragement was provided by Our Daily Bread Ministries.