On the Way to Calvary, Part 1

Pray with me, would you please? Father, we thank you for today. We thank you for the cross, for everything about the history of man points to the cross, because everything about the cross brings salvation to man. And today as we journey once again to Calvary, our prayer is that Lord you'd open the hearts and minds of all of us to see the glory of the cross, that surely we would worship you in all of your splendor and be able to see the sovereign hand of God move in and among those who would one day give their life to Christ and follow in your footsteps to the cross.

We pray in Jesus name, amen. Over the last several years, we have followed in the footsteps of Jesus. We began in Luke chapter 1 verse number 1, and have slowly but surely made our way through the great gospel of Luke, looking at the life of Jesus Christ our Lord. We have not been in a hurry to finish the that is obvious, seeing as though this is year number nine in Luke's gospel. And so we won't be in any hurry to follow in the footsteps of Jesus as he makes his way from the Antonio Fortress to Skull Hill, or as some call it, Calvary's Mount.

We will take you step by step through a journey that Jesus himself would take to help you understand the road of sorrows, the Via Dolorosa. And as we journey in the footsteps of Jesus, we are able to see the glory and splendor of the cross of Jesus Christ our Lord. What we will see and have seen is a fulfillment of John's gospel chapter 1 verse number 11, which states these words, that he came unto his own and those who were his own did not receive him. This is the rejection of his own. He came into his own.

He was the true light that came into the world, and he is the true light that enlightens every man. And yet we see in Luke's gospel that those he came to his own, they would reject him. There would be a few, and we will see them on the Via Dolorosa, who will truly receive the Redeemer. There will be a few at the foot of the cross who will truly receive their Redeemer. And then we will see after the cross and after the resurrection others who will receive Christ as their Redeemer. But for the most part, he was rejected.

He was rejected because what they wanted, he did not give them. And what they needed, they did not want. And that is always the story when it comes to the gospel, believe it or not. What man wants, Jesus doesn't give. But what man needs, Jesus gives, but man does not want. Jesus told us about that in a parable that he gave, about the parable of the sower and the soil. He told us about how the word of God would be received in the kingdom age. How it would be received when he preached it, and how it would be received on down through the ages as others would preach it.

The word of God would be sown on hard soil, and Satan will come and and take it away. But others will be sown on thorny soil and rocky soil. And those kind of hearts will receive the word with joy. But, he says, when affliction and persecution come, or when the deceitfulness of riches and the desires of this world take over, they choke out the word, and therefore there is no fruit that's produced. And there were many people during the life of Jesus that received the word with joy. They did. But because of the deceitfulness of riches, and because of the desires of this world, because of affliction, and because of persecution, they would fall away and prove themselves not true followers of Christ.

And so Christ warned us that that would happen. He tried to explain it to his men. And they had a hard time believing that the majority of people would not get on board with Jesus and and follow him. And Jesus warned them because what he wanted to give them, they did not want to receive. There was a time in the ministry of Jesus, and it really happened throughout the three years of his ministry, that he would go about from village to village, from town to town, and that he would heal everybody. And so the word went out, and people would come to be healed, and he would heal them.

And there came a time in Matthew's gospel early on in the ministry when there were scores of people coming to be healed, and he did heal them, knowing that that's not what they needed. But he healed them because it would be in fulfillment of his messianic credentials, as the Old Testament prophets had spoken. And yet he said these words in Matthew's gospel, Matthew chapter 5, and when he saw the multitudes, he went up to the mountain, and after he sat down, his disciples came to him, and opening his mouth, he began to teach them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the gentle, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. And blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. And blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the sons of God. Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Jesus would say to them, I'm glad that you're here, and I'm glad that you're healed, but I want to let you know, true blessing does not come through physical healing. True blessing and true contentment doesn't come because your physical needs are satisfied. True blessing and true contentment comes because of poverty of spirit, because you mourn over your sin, because you hunger and thirst for righteousness, because you're a peacemaker, and because you are persecuted for righteousness sake. That's where true blessing comes, because he needed them to understand what you need, I freely give, but you don't want this.

You want something else. And you'll find that that's the same truth today. People come to church, and they want Jesus to do something for them. They want Jesus to heal their marriage. They want Jesus to heal their relationships. They want Jesus to heal their financial stress. They want Jesus to heal their anxiety. They want Jesus to do for them, only to realize that Jesus came to save them from their sin. And when people realize that Jesus doesn't do what they want, they turn and they fall away wanting nothing to do with him.

That's why Peter said over in first Peter chapter two, these words, this precious value is for you who believe, but for those who disbelieve, the stone which the builders rejected, this became the very cornerstone.

Because in verse six, he says this, behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious cornerstone, and he who believes in him shall not be disappointed. Those who truly believe in him are never disappointed. Because as the prophet Haggai said, the Messiah will be the desire of the nations. Man's supreme desire is what Messiah is and what Messiah does. And Peter says, when you believe in that Messiah, the true God of the universe, he quotes from Isaiah 28, which says, those who believe in him shall never be in a hurry.

Hurry to do what? To leave, but to always stay. And Peter says that's because they're never disappointed. And so Jesus would continue to preach and teach, heal, perform miracle after miracle. But when it was all said and done, there was a supreme rejection of that king. We will not have this king rule over us. We have no king, but Caesar. That's what they cried. So that last time, as we looked at the trial before Pilate, Pilate. And so Jesus is going to begin this journey from the Antonio fortress out the Damascus gate to a place called Skull Hill.

It's not a long journey, but it is a journey. And there is much that happens here. And this journey, this road of sorrows truly began in eternity because the Bible says that he is the lamb slain before the foundation of the world.

Before there was a creation of this earth in which we live in this universe in which we observe before there was anything, there was God in the beginning, God. And the triune God had a conversation with himself about the redemption of a bride for a son in an eternity past. He would be the lamb that would be slain. That earthly journey began on Christmas day in Bethlehem, some 2000 years ago, some 33 years before this journey to Mount Calvary. And it would begin in a lowly village, not too far from Jerusalem.

And people like you and me gather every Christmas to celebrate and talk about and sing about, oh, little town of Bethlehem. And eternity would intersect with time and the infinite would become finite. And the one who was created or was the creator allowed himself to be created. And thus we have the incarnation of God, the enfleshment of God. And the angel would say, the angel would say, I bring you good news of great joy. For unto you this day in the city of David has been born a savior who is Christ the Lord.

And those shepherds who were tending their flock, tending their sheep, their lambs knew exactly what was happening. And thus the road of sorrows that began in eternity was begun here on earth. And we don't know much about the life of Christ before his ministry. We do know that on the eighth day, they brought him to the temple to be dedicated. And there was a man that was there named Simeon. And Simeon had been given a promise that he would not die until he saw the Lord's Christ, the Lord's Messiah.

So he lived every day in anticipation of seeing and beholding the Messiah of Israel. And finally, one day, Joseph and Mary appear in the temple.

And the spirit of God reveals to him that they are holding in their hands. The son of God. In Luke chapter two, this is what is said by Simeon. He says, as his father and mother were amazed, verse 33, at the things which were being said about him. And they were amazed because he said, the Lord. Now, Lord, thou dost let thy bond servant depart in peace, according to thy word, for my eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of thy people, Israel.

Simeon is rejoicing and quoting the Old Testament to talk about how the Messiah would be a light of revelation to the Gentiles and to the people of Israel themselves. And Mary and Joseph stood amazed. And then it says, Simeon blessed them, said to Mary, his mother, behold, this child is appointed for the fall and rise of many in Israel and for a sign to be opposed. And a sword will pierce even your own soul to the end that thoughts from many hearts may be revealed. This took place at the dedication of their son.

Simeon tells Mary, the mother of Jesus, that this child is going to cause the rise and fall of many. And not only that, this child, this Messiah, this son of yours is a sign of rejection and opposition. So much so that you're going to have your soul pierced through. There is going to be many sorrow that's going to come upon you as his mother. This was his dedication service. And so we know that about Jesus after his birth. What else do we know? We know that after this event, the angel came to Joseph in a dream and said, you must flee to Egypt.

And so they did. They fled to Egypt because Herod was killing all the children two years and younger. You read about it in Matthew's gospel, Matthew chapter two. And when that was over and Herod had died, it says that the angel appeared to Joseph in a dream in Egypt, arise and take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel. And I remember the prophet had said in Numbers 24, Hosea chapter 11, as quoted in Matthew chapter two, verse number 15 out of Egypt. Did I call my son? So it was a fulfillment of prophecy that the Messiah would go to Egypt and then would come back out of Egypt again, because that's the way the prophets had designed it.

And so now he's coming back into the land of Israel. In verse 21. And he arose and took the child and his mother and came to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea and the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. And being warned by God in a dream, he departed for the regions of Galilee and came and resided in a city called Nazareth. That which was spoken to the prophets might be fulfilled. He should be called a Nazarene. Now, the remarkable thing about that is that you can't read about that anywhere in the Old Testament.

Because it's not there. So wait a minute. It just said, it just said that what was spoken to the prophets might be fulfilled, that he should be called a Nazarene. So now you're going to tell me that I come to church, a Bible believing church, and that which Matthew states is nowhere recorded in the Old Testament. And the answer is yes. Matthew must be wrong. No. No, Matthew's not wrong. As Jude was not wrong. For Jude said these words. Verse 14. And about these also Enoch in the seventh generation from Adam prophesied, saying, Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of his holy ones to execute judgment upon all and to convict all the ungodly of all their ungodly deeds, which they have done in an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.

And you go back to the Old Testament and nowhere will you find those words of prophecy by Enoch. So wait a minute. Then how do you know they were prophesied? Because under the inspiration of Scripture, Jude tells us they were prophesied. And under the inspiration of Scripture, Matthew tells us that's what the prophet said. Remember, everything the prophet said was not written down. But Matthew confirms the fact that this is what the prophet said. As Jude confirms the fact that this was a prophecy given by Enoch.

And the prophecy was about not the first coming of the Messiah, but the second coming of the Messiah.

And so we realize that Isaiah 53 does tell us that he will be despised and rejected. And the book of Acts does tell us that the Apostle Paul was condemned because he was of the sect of the Nazarene, a term of derision. And so we know that what Matthew tells us is true because Christ was despised and rejected. And when they came to get him in the garden of John chapter 18, he says, whom do you seek? They see, they say, Jesus, the Nazarene. Interesting because he's never called Jesus of Bethlehem and he was born in Bethlehem.

He was always called Jesus of Nazareth because that's what the prophets had said. So Pilate would write the inscription of Jesus that would hang above the cross, Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews. And the ironic thing about that is that it's all true. It's all true. And the Jews would come to Pilate and they would argue with him and say, no, take that down. Say that he said he was the King of the Jews. And Pilate said, what I have written, I have written. They wanted him to say that Jesus said he was the King, but he truly was the King.

That was also important because on the Via Dolorosa, there were two convicts, two criminals who would journey with Jesus to Calvary. And one of them would be converted. And one of them would say to him, which we will look at in great detail in a few weeks from now, remember me when you come into your what?

Kingdom. Only Kings have kingdoms. How would he know that Jesus was the King? You'll have to come back to hear that one. But that's the truth, see? And so you have this story about Jesus, this journey that began in Bethlehem on earth. And we know very little about the journey of Jesus up to the age of around 30 years. All we know is that he was brought to the temple at eight days. He was dedicated in what Simeon tells us about him to his mother. We know that he went to Egypt and came back because the prophet said, you can read about it in Numbers 24 and Hosea chapter 11, that my son should be called out of Egypt, but also they should be called Nazarene.

And so they would stay in Nazareth. We also know the very first words that Jesus spoke in Luke chapter two, when his mother and father had left him behind at Passover, came back three days later, found him in the temple.

And you have the first of seven divine musts in Luke's gospel. The first of seven, I've given them to you over our journey through Luke's gospel.

Don't you know that I must be about my father's business? And what was his father's business? What was the father's plan? What was the father's will? He was demonstrating to his mother that he was the son of his father in heaven, declaring that he is the true son of God who came to die for the sins of man. From the age 12, we know nothing, nothing, until he burst on the scene of the heels of John the Baptist, the forerunner to the Messiah. And it begins with his baptism and a voice from heaven. This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased.

He journeys into the wilderness for 40, 40 days is tempted by the devil. And the very first act of Jesus recorded in John's gospel is that he goes and cleanses the temple at that first Passover.

And the last act of Jesus is he cleanses the temple at his last Passover. Because his ministry is bracketed by cleansing, because that's what he came to do. It was bracketed by cleansing because he came to wash away man's sins. It was bracketed by cleansing because everything about his ministry would create in you a clean heart, a new heart. But the only way that can happen is to die on Calvary's cross. And so he would make this journey. And we will follow the footsteps of Jesus as he leaves the Antonio Fortress, walks the road of sorrows and encounters, and encounters the different people on that road.

We will see the Christ. We will see the conspirators against the Christ. We will see the Cyrenian, Simon the Cyrene. We will then see the crowd. And from the crowd, we will see the criers. And then we will see the criminals. And then we will see firsthand the crucifixion. Because you need to understand the details of this journey. And what Jesus says, because he's the only one who speaks.

He's the only one who speaks. And what he has to say is all about judgment, but he speaks. And Luke records to us what he says. Luke gives us the details of the journey. And so he will leave. He will move to a place called Calvary. And we know exactly where that place is. And there will be some who will tell you, no, you can't be 100% sure. To them, I say you can. There will be others who will say no. That it's not Gordon's Calvary where Jesus was crucified. But it's a place in Jerusalem called the place of the holy sepulcher.

And when you go to Jerusalem, they will tell you that the majority of Christians believe that it's at the church of the holy sepulcher that Jesus was crucified, died, and was buried. My answer to that is, that is absolutely impossible. Absolutely impossible and absolutely wrong. They say, well, how do you know that? Because I read it right here. Because there is no hill where the church of the holy sepulcher is. The church of the holy sepulcher, while outside the city during the time of Christ, was located in a residential area.

And never, let me emphasize that, never did Rome crucify in a residential area. They always crucified in the most populated areas. So that everybody could see and fear what would happen. That's important. Also, we know that where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden. And in that garden was a brand new tomb. Well, where the church of the holy sepulcher is, there was and is no garden. But what's most important is that the church of the holy sepulcher is not on Mount Moriah. But Calvary is Mount Moriah.

Which is the ironclad evidence as to where we know for certain that Jesus was crucified. We know that because that's what the Bible tells us. Genesis chapter 22. Remember Abraham taking his son Isaac to a place where the Lord would tell him. They would journey for three days and find that place. And the Lord God says, take now your son, your only son, the one whom you love.

First time the word love is mentioned in the Bible. Genesis chapter 22. It's Abraham's love for his son Isaac. Takes him, says verse 18, when they go up with the fire and the wood. And Isaac asked that wonderful question. Yeah, but what about the lamb? And Abraham says, verse 8, God will provide himself as lamb for the burnt offering my son. And he would tie his son. He would begin to sacrifice his son. And all this took place on a place called Mount Moriah. Okay, we know that from Genesis chapter 22, verse number two.

Taken to Moriah, which means foreseen by God. Take your son to a place foreseen by God. When was it seen by God? He was the lamb slain before the foundation of the world. He would be slain in a place foreseen by God. And Abraham tells his son on Mount Moriah that God will provide himself as lamb. And when he goes to sacrifice his son, the angel of the Lord stops him. And Abraham says these words in verse number 14. Abraham called the name of that place. The Lord will provide as it is said to this day in the mount of the Lord.

It will be provided. The word Yireh is a word of vision that means to be seen. And it says the Lord will be seen. Where will the Lord be seen? Where would the Lord provide himself as lamb on the place foreseen by God? Mount Moriah is where the Temple Mount is today. And if you sit at the base of Mount Calvary and look to your right, you will see that Mount Calvary is associated with Mount Moriah. The only difference is, is that it's all been cut out because it was a rock quarry. And Herod would use that rock quarry to build the stones around Jerusalem, the walls around the city of Jerusalem.

And if you look to your right, you can see how the Mount would continue on across because it was Mount Moriah, the place foreseen by God that all this would take place. And that's where Jesus was going. This is all introduction to the journey of Jesus from the Antonio Fortress to Mount Calvary. But it sets the scene. It helps you understand that as you follow in the footsteps of Jesus, we are now at the end of his journey. We are now at the end of his earthly journey. There's just a few hours left.

It's not quite nine o'clock in the morning yet because he will be crucified on the cross by nine. He will die by three. He will be buried before the sun goes down. He will rise again on Sunday because he is the victor over sin and death. And all that's going to happen, but not till we walk with Jesus to Mount Calvary and then stand on Mount Calvary with him and talk about all the events surrounding those six hours that he hung on Calvary's tree. Oh, it's an important study. You need to understand it because this is where all of redemption, a redemptive history points to this day, to this time, and to these events.

Having said that, let me read to you the verses of our study in Luke chapter 23, verses 26 to 33. And when they led him away, they laid hold of one Simon of Cyrene coming in from the country and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus. And there were following him a great multitude of the people and of women who were mourning and lamenting him. But Jesus turning to them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For behold, the days are coming when they will say blessed are the barren and the wombs that never bore and the breasts that never nursed.

Then they will begin to say to the mountains, fall on us and to the hills, cover us. For if they do these things in the green tree, what will happen in the dry? And two others also who were criminals were being led away to be put to death with him. And when they came to the place called the skull, there they crucified him. And the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left. On the journey from the Antonio Fortress to Calvary or to the place of the skull, it's called that some would say, because in years past, the side of the hill would look like a skull.

And if you go there, you can see the pictures that were taken years ago. And yes, it does look like a skull. But that's not why it's called the skull. It's called that way because it was a place of execution. And there would be the skulls of those who had been executed, whose flesh had been eaten away by birds of prey that would gather at the base of the hill. That's why it's called Skull Hill. The place of the skull. And that's where they would go to crucify Jesus. Outside the Damascus Gate, the busiest thoroughfare outside of Jerusalem.

And it would not be on top of the mountain they would crucify him, but it would be on the busiest street that they would crucify him so that all who passed by could see him and mock him and scorn him. And they did. But we'll talk about that when we get to the crucifixion. But let's first look of all at the Christ, because he is the central figure in all that takes place.

He is the only one who speaks. He speaks of judgment. He gives a warning to those who are around him. And the most amazing thing about this is that this all takes place after he has been beaten beyond recognition. If you were with us during the trials of Jesus, which we covered two trials, three phases, that's six sermons on the trials of Jesus. We talked to you about the beatings he faced. He faced them first at the house of Caiaphas.

He went to the house of Annas first, then across the courtyard to Caiaphas. And there they would begin to spit in his face. And Mark's account would tell us that they would slap him in the face, beat him in the face. His face would begin to swell at that time. It was at that time that the cock would crow, and he would turn and look at Peter, and his face was already beginning to swell.

He would leave that place. He would go to Pilate. Pilate would send him to Herod. He'd go back to Pilate, and there he would be scourged, scourged. We talked to you about that last time, that leather whip that was intertwined with pieces of lead, and brass, and bone that were sharpened to actually shred open the skin so that you could begin to see the bones and the inner organs of a man. And most men, according to Josephus, would die because of the whipping they would receive. 39 lashes, 29 in the back, 10 on the front, to completely fillet the man to open him up.

And here was Jesus already been beaten, already been whipped. And then they would play the king's game. They would play that game with him. They would take the dice, and they would roll the dice, and they would clothe them with a purple robe, and they would put a crown of thorns on his head, and they would take turns beating him with a reed, and they would slap him across his face, only to cause it to swell all the more. And that's when Jesus would be brought out by Pilate, and he would say, Behold the man, stand amazed, you can't believe it, but it is a man, even though you can't be recognized as a man, in fulfillment of Isaiah 52, verse number 14, that he'd be marred beyond any recognition as a man.

This is the Christ. And this is his condition. And now he begins the journey. They heard the words, crucify him, crucify him. We have no king but Caesar. Pilate would write on that placard with chalk, Jesus of Nazareth, the king of Jews. He'd be forced to carry, as all criminals would, his cross or cross beam. The Bible doesn't tell us that it was necessarily the cross beam, but we deduce from history that that would be the case. Some of them would weigh as much as a hundred pounds. They were heavy, they weren't sticks, they were beams.

So a man in Jesus' condition would have a very difficult time carrying a hundred pound beam from the Antonio Fortress to Calvary's Mountain. Listen, I'm a healthy, studly looking guy, and I'd have a hard time carrying a hundred pound beam that far, let alone Jesus, who was beaten beyond recognition. Having been flayed in fulfillment of the psalmist, he could count his bones. That's how much he had bled. This is not even counting what took place in Gethsemane, when he said that his soul was grieved to the point of death, and he would sweat great drops of blood, and his garment would be soaked with bloodstains.

That was way before there was any beating of Jesus. So you need to understand what is happening. You need to understand the whole picture. You need to understand the background. You need to understand the trials. You need to understand the ministry of Christ. You need to understand that it was on Monday that they hailed him as their king, and now it's Friday. He is beaten beyond recognition, and they don't want that king to rule over him. They don't even want that king. They want Caesar as king. And now he makes his way to Calvary, the Christ, the Savior of man, the Redeemer of man.

For this, he was born. For this, he came. And thus the journey begins. He takes those steps. And the Bible tells us these words, and when they led him away, who is the they? These are the conspirators. So you have the Christ, and then you have the conspirators. You have the Sanhedrin. You have the Sadducees. You have the Pharisees. You have all those that had been summoned to Pilate in verse 13 of chapter 23, which would include the crowd that came with him, and the crowd that they had manipulated to cry for Barabbas and to cry for the crucifixion of Jesus.

It's the same they as in verse number 33. And when they came to the place called the Skull, there they crucified him. So there you have also the Roman soldiers as well. There were four who would lead the prisoner, two in the front, two in the back. And they would move him through the longest route through the city so that the majority of the people could see this individual, and thus they would fear Rome. And so you have the conspirators, those who did not receive Jesus as their Messiah, those who did not want him to rule over them, those who said that he had blasphemed by calling himself the son of God, those who in turn blaspheme God because they didn't believe that Jesus was the son of God.

These are the conspirators that would be with Jesus as they would move through the streets of Jerusalem. And then you come to point number three, the Cyrenian, Simon.

And this is an incredible event. Listen to what Luke says. And when they led him away, they had hold of one Simon of Cyrene coming in from the country and placed on him the cross to carry behind Jesus. Now, we don't know, we can only assume that Jesus was unable to continue on carrying this cross, this cross beam. We can assume that because of the condition he was in physically. The Bible doesn't tell us that. We can deduce that based on his beating. But it could be that he could still carry it. He was just moving too slow.

And because he was moving too slow, they would compel this man to come out of the crowd and carry it for Jesus because it was taking too long. We don't know exactly why, but we do know this man and his name. Now, there is a centurion who believes in Jesus, but we don't know his name. This man in the crowd at Passover crowds had already begun to gather because of the yelling and screaming outside the Antonio Fortress. But now it was Passover, the streets were teeming with people. And there is this man that is just compelled out of the crowd to carry the cross.

That's how Mark says it in Mark's gospel, Mark 15. And they pressed into service a passerby coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus to bear the cross. So not only do we know his name, now we know his son's names. He is a family man. He is a husband. He is a father. He is from Cyrene. This is remarkable. Because the Bible says in Mark's account, he was a passerby.

In Luke's account, it tells us he was coming in from the country. That means he didn't live in Jerusalem. He was from Cyrene. Simon's a good Jewish name. He was a devout Jew who lived in Cyrene. Chances are he had no idea who Jesus was. Chances are he comes into Jerusalem. He is arriving in Jerusalem about the time of Jesus and his Via Dolorosa, the road of sorrows. And he is passing by. And all of a sudden, he is grabbed and taken out of the crowd and commanded, pressed to bear the cross. By chance, by accident.

Oh, no, this is all divine appointment. This is one of the most remarkable stories in all of Scripture. Because there was a synagogue in Jerusalem, specifically for those from Cyrene. Because there was such a large group of Jews from Cyrene that would come to Jerusalem for Passover. It's modern day Libya today. That's where it was located. And so there was a huge synagogue. On the day of Pentecost, the Bible tells us that when the apostles would speak in tongues, one of the tongues they spoke was the Cyrenian language.

So those who were from Cyrene would understand the gospel. But it goes way beyond that. Way beyond that. Listen to Romans chapter 16. Romans chapter 16, verse number 13. Paul says, greet Rufus. Who's Rufus? Who names their kid Rufus? Simon of Cyrene did. Remember that? Mark 15. A choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine. So now we have another twist to the story. Evidently, this man, Simon of Cyrene, comes to know Jesus. Leads his sons to Jesus. Leads his wife to Jesus. So much so that the apostle Paul says that his wife, Simon's wife, is like my mother.

And that his son, Rufus, was a choice individual of the Lord. This is remarkable. But it even goes beyond that. Because if you go to Acts chapter 11, it says in verse number 19, it said, then those who were scattered because of the persecution that rose in connection with Stephen made their way to Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except to Jews alone. But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and, listen, Cyrene, men of Cyrene, who came to Antioch and began speaking to the Greeks also, preaching the Lord Jesus.

And the hand of the Lord was with them. And a large number who believed turned to the Lord. Not only was this man compelled out of the crowd, this man followed Jesus to Calvary's Mount and somewhere along the line, believed in Jesus as the Messiah, led his sons to the Lord, led his wife to the Lord, and began a Bible preaching church in Cyrene. So now there are men being sent out from Cyrene who preach the word of the Lord in Antioch. But it gets even better than that. You gotta go to Acts chapter 13.

Verse one, now there were at Antioch in the church that were there prophets and teachers, Bartimaeus and Simon, who was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene. So now, because of a church in Cyrene, there's a man named Lucius. He is evidently one of those sent out from that church who is now in Antioch. And do you know what they do? They set aside Saul and Bartimaeus to be missionaries. And they are sent out from the church of Antioch because there was a man named Lucius of Cyrene who was there, who was a preacher and teacher of the word of God, who had been instrumental in the development of Paul, at that time Saul and Bartimaeus, who somehow came to know Christ because there was a man named Simon of Cyrene who had been compelled out of the crowd to carry the crossbeam, somehow coming to realize who Jesus is, giving his life to Christ.

His son comes to Christ, so much so that Paul says that he's a choice servant of the Lord and whose wife was a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. And he became such a, or she became a mother to the apostle Paul. And it was Lucius who was part of the assembly who sent Paul out to preach the gospel to the Gentile world. And don't think for one moment that someone's conversion doesn't matter. It does. And you have no idea the impact of someone who gives their life to Christ and leads their family to Christ and begins to live for Christ, the impact it will have.

And it just so happens that because this man by the sovereign plan of almighty God happened to be passing by on this day was compelled out of the crowd to carry the crossbeam. And was instrumental in not only leading his family to Christ, but many in Cyrene to Christ. So they would go and preach the gospel in Antioch. So people would believe and start a church in Antioch. And Paul would be sent out to preach the gospel to the Gentile world. This is an amazing story. But that is not even what is most amazing about the story.

And to find that out, you got to come back next week. Let me pray with you. Father, we thank you, Lord, for today. You are sovereign. You rule over all. You have a plan. It cannot be thwarted, altered, changed, manipulated. It is a perfect plan. It runs right on schedule. And Lord, every event that happens that took place on this, your last day on this earth was all orchestrated by you. And we thank you that you're in charge. And we thank Lord of Simon of Cyrene and his son, Alexander and Rufus, his wife, we don't even know her name, but she was so important to the Apostle Paul.

Lord, you are amazing at what you do. I would pray that every person here would recognize that when they've been called by God, chosen by God, compelled to come to faith, that you have a magnificent plan for their lives. We thank you. In Jesus' name, amen.