CRITICAL NOTES
Luke 23:26. Simon, a Cyrenian.—Rather, “of Cyrene” (R.V.). There was a colony of Jews in Cyrene, and they had a synagogue in Jerusalem (Acts 6:9; Acts 11:20). Probably he had come up to the Passover in Jerusalem. St. Mark speaks of his two sons “Alexander and Rufus,” who were evidently well known in Christian society as disciples. Probably Jesus was unable, because of being exhausted by His agony in the garden, and the scourging He had undergone, to bear the cross. This seems to be indicated by the words “laid hold upon,” or, as St. Mark says, “compelled”; Simon was impressed to assist in bearing the burden, which would scarcely have been necessary if Jesus had been able to do it. Perhaps Simon showed some sign of commiseration on meeting the procession. Coming out of the country.—This might mean coming from work, but scarcely can have that signification here. Perhaps it simply denotes his meeting the procession: he was on his way into the city; they were on their way out of it. Bear it after Jesus.—Apparently assist in carrying; Simon bearing the hinder part, Jesus the fore part.
Luke 23:27. A great company.—As is usual at an execution. Women.—Not Galilæan women (cf. Luke 23:49), but women of Jerusalem. Their sorrow was evidently that excited by sympathy with a condemned criminal; but, of course, some of them may have been disciples of Jesus.
Luke 23:28. Daughters of Jerusalem.—Inhabitants of a doomed city. For yourselves.—No doubt some of them afterwards experienced the horrors of the siege.
Luke 23:30. Begin to say, etc.—A quotation from Hosea 10:8.
Luke 23:31. Green tree.—I.e., “if these things are done to one who is innocent, what shall be done to those who are guilty?” The idea of dryness suggests “fit for burning.”
MAIN HOMILETICS OF THE PARAGRAPH.— Luke 23:26-31
Two Alleviations of Jesus’ Sufferings.
I. The strength of a man relieved His body of the burden of the cross.—Though He bore His own cross out of the palace of Pilate, He was not able to carry it far. Either He sank beneath it on the road, or He was proceeding with such slow and faltering steps that the soldiers, impatient of the delay, recognised that the burden must be removed from His shoulders. One or two of the soldiers might have relieved Him. Out of a spirit of horseplay and mischief they laid hold of a passer-by and requisitioned his services for the purpose. To the man it must have been an extreme annoyance and indignity. Doubtless he was bent on business of his own, which had to be deferred. His family or his friends might be waiting for him, but he was turned the opposite way. To touch the instrument of death was as revolting to him as it would be to us to handle the hangman’s rope; perhaps more so, because it was Passover time, and this would make him ceremonially unclean. It was a jest of the soldiers and he was their laughing-stock. As he walked by the side of the robbers, it looked as if he were on the way to execution himself. This is a lively image of the cross-bearing to which the followers of Christ are called. We are wont to speak of trouble of any kind as a cross; and doubtless any kind of trouble may be borne bravely in the name of Christ. But, properly speaking, the cross of Christ is what is borne in the act of confessing Him, or for the sake of His work. When any one makes a stand for principle, because he is a Christian, and takes the consequences in the shape of scorn or loss, this is the cross of Christ. The pain you may feel in speaking to another in Christ’s name, the sacrifice of comfort or time you may make in engaging in Christian work, the self-denial you exercise in giving of your means that the cause of Christ may spread at home or abroad, the reproach you may have to bear in identifying yourself with militant causes or with despised persons, because you believe they are on Christ’s side—in such conduct lies the cross of Christ. It involves trouble, discomfort, or sacrifice. One may fret under it, or sink under it; it is ugly, painful, shameful often, but no disciple is without it. Our Master said, “He that taketh not his cross and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me.” Apparently this rencontre issued in Simon’s salvation and in the salvation of his house. There can be little doubt that the connection of his family with the Church (noted by St. Mark), was the result of this incident in the father’s life. Is this not a significant fact, proving that nothing happens by chance? Had Simon entered the city one hour sooner or one hour later, his after history might have been entirely different. On the smallest circumstances the greatest results may hinge. A chance meeting may determine the weal or woe of a life. How much may follow when Christ is revealed to any human soul! The salvation of those yet unborn may be involved in it—of children and children’s children.
II. The pain of Christ’s soul was cooled by the sympathy of women.—It was, indeed, a surprising demonstration. It would hardly have been credited, had it not there been made manifest, that Jesus had so strong a hold upon any section of the population of Jerusalem. In the capital He had always found the soil very unreceptive. Yet now it turns out that He has touched the heart of one section, at least, even of this community. It is a great testimony to the character of Christ, on the one hand, and to that of woman on the other. Woman’s instinct told her, however dimly she at first apprehended the truth, that this was the Deliverer for her. Because, while Christ is the Saviour of all, He has been specially the Saviour of woman. At His advent, her degradation being far deeper than that of men, she needed Him more; and wherever His gospel has travelled since then, it has been the signal for her emancipation and redemption. His presence evokes all the tender and beautiful qualities which are latent in her nature; and under His influence her character experiences a transfiguration. It may be that there was no great depth in the emotion of the daughters of Jerusalem; but this response of womanhood to Christ was a beginning, and therein lay its significance. It was to Him a foretaste of the splendid devotion which He was yet to receive from the womanhood of the world. The sounds of sympathy flowed over His soul as gratefully as the gift of Mary’s love enveloped His senses, when the house was filled with the odour of the ointment. His words, in response to their sympathy,
(1) reveal Himself—they show how completely He could forget His own sufferings in care and anxiety for others;
(2) they show the depth and fervour of His patriotism;
(3) they reveal His consideration for women and children;
(4) they contain an exhortation to repentance.
The two incidents are a parable of what men and women can do for Christ still. He needs the strength of men—the strong arm, the vigorous hand, the shoulders that can bear the burden of His cause; He seeks from men the mind whose originality can plan what needs to be done, the resolute will that pushes the work on, in spite of opposition, the liberal hand that gives ungrudgingly what is required for the progress and success of the Christian enterprise. From women He seeks sympathy and tears. They can give the sensibility which keeps the heart of the world from hardening; the secret knowledge which finds out the objects of Christian compassion, and wins their confidence; the enthusiasm which burns like a fire at the heart of religious work. The influence of women is subtle and remote, but it is on this account all the more powerful; for they sit at the very fountains, where the river of human life is springing, and where a touch may determine its entire subsequent course.—Stalker.
SUGGESTIVE COMMENTS ON Luke 23:26-31
Luke 23:26-46. Outline of The Narrative.—
1. The procession to Calvary (Luke 23:26-32).
2. The crucifixion (Luke 23:33-38).
3. The time passed upon the cross (Luke 23:39-46).
Luke 23:26. “On him they laid the cross.”—The Christian’s bearing of the cross is like that of Simon.
I. The cross is not chosen willingly, but imposed.
II. It is best borne in a spirit of resignation.
III. There is a reward attached to the patient bearing of it.
Simon and Jesus.
I. The greatness of trifles: accidentally coming up at that moment; catching the eye of the centurion.
II. The blessedness and honour of helping Jesus Christ.
III. The perpetual recompense and record of the humblest Christian work.
IV. The blessed results of contact with the suffering Christ.—Maclaren.
Simon the Cross-bearer.
I. The incident.—A very singular one. A strange providence in Simon’s life.
II. Simon bore Christ’s cross.—At first by compulsion. No one was anxious for this task. But the compulsory task became to him a joy and honour. A type of the future power of the cross. Compulsion was changed into delight. The task was a brief one, but it made his name immortal.
III. The lessons.—
1. Let us do, in spirit, what Simon did literally. Let us take up our cross and follow Christ. And let us do this willingly.
2. Christ is our pattern Cross-Bearer. Let us seek, in everything, to be conformed to His image.—Hutchings.
Luke 23:27-34. Prophet, Priest, and King.—It is remarkable how, in three following sayings, the Lord appears as Prophet, Priest, and King: as Prophet, to the daughters of Jerusalem; as Priest, interceding for forgiveness; as King, acknowledged by the penitent thief, and answering his prayer.—Alford.
Luke 23:27. “Women, which bewailed.”—St. Luke, in whose Gospel the most of the women who stood in connection with Jesus are described, relates to us here how their compassion strewed yet one last flower for our Lord upon His path of thorns.—Van Oosterzee.
“Lamented Him.”—Though there were two others led with Him to execution, it was to Him alone that this sympathy was shown.
Luke 23:28. “Weep not for Me.”—He Himself wept over the city, and did not weep for Himself.
Luke 23:29. “Blessed.”—The word introduces a fearful woe. Compare for a similar thought to that here, Hosea 9:12-16.
“Say to the mountains,” etc.—It is interesting to see how often David, who frequently hid among the rocks of the wilderness from Saul, calls the Lord His Rock (Psalms 18:2; Psalms 18:46; Psalms 42:9, etc.). Those who have this defence will not need to call on the rocks to hide them.
“Cover us.”—The words found a literal fulfilment at the time of the siege of Jerusalem, for the Jews in multitudes “hid themselves in the subterranean passages and sewers under the city.”
Luke 23:31. “The green tree.”—The green tree is Jesus, whom the Jews deliver over to death by the hands of the Romans, in spite of His constant submission to pagan authority; the dry is the Jewish people, who, in consequence of their spirit of rebellion, will draw down upon themselves in a proportionately greater degree the vengeance of the Romans.—Godet.
“What shall be done in the dry?”—With these words our Lord’s teaching closes, and His high-priestly office begins. His first three sayings on the cross are for others. See Luke 23:43; John 19:26-27.