Holy Week: The Cross

 

Cristo Camino del Calvario, Titian

The Sanhedrin had the power to convict Jesus of Nazareth of crimes against Jewish law, but they didn't have the authority to execute anyone. As an occupied nation of Rome, only the rulers installed by Rome could enact capital punishment. This they did through Pontius Pilate, who ordered for Jesus Christ to be scourged and, at the insistence of those who gathered to witness his humiliation, crucified him. From John 19:

1 Then Pilate therefore took Jesus, and scourged him.

2 And the soldiers plaited a crown of thorns, and put it on his head, and they put on him a purple robe,

3 And said, Hail, King of the Jews! and they smote him with their hands.

Scourging was a brutal punishment that involved a whip, possibly with bits of metal, bones, and pebbles threaded onto the fibers. The victim would receive lashes with this whip, lacerating the flesh of the back so completely that to move in any way was agony. Unlike in Jewish law, which limited the maximum number of lashes at forty in Deuteronomy 25:3, there was no limit to the number of lashes the Romans would give during a scourging. The only protections in Roman law against scourging and crucifixion were against Roman citizens, of which Jesus was not.

Those who were sentenced to crucifixion were required to carry their own crosses to where they would be crucified. The humiliation was part of the punishment. With his lacerated back, Jesus of Nazareth was incapable of carrying his cross to Golgotha. So the Romans found someone to do it for him, as detailed in Mark 15.

21 And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.

22 And they bring him unto the place Golgotha, which is, being interpreted, The place of a skull.

23 And they gave him to drink wine mingled with myrrh: but he received it not.

24 And when they had crucified him, they parted his garments, casting lots upon them, what every man should take.

25 And it was the third hour, and they crucified him.

Carrying his cross to Golgotha was the only portion of the Atonement of Jesus Christ that the Savior didn't do for himself. Simon the Cyrenian carried his cross for him. It becomes the living embodiment of what Jesus taught to his disciples in Matthew 16:

24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

On the surface, this verse could appear to be talking about self-sacrifice and martyrdom, but the Joseph Smith Translation clarifies and expounds upon this meaning to correct that misinterpretation.

26 And now for a man to take up his cross, is to deny himself all ungodliness, and every worldly lust, and keep my commandments.

27 Break not my commandments for to save your lives; for whosoever will save his life in this world, shall lose it in the world to come.

28 And whosoever will lose his life in this world, for my sake, shall find it in the world to come.

29 Therefore, forsake the world, and save your souls; for what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Carrying a cross is a question of motivation: ridding ourselves of desires to do evil and to choose instead to keep the commandments. And in the theology of Jesus Christ, there two great commandments that matter: to love God with all your heart, and to love your neighbor as yourself.

To be with someone in the most miserable moments of their life, to alleviate the suffering that comes from injustice, is what Simon the Cyrenian did. He demonstrated love and compassion for Jesus through his pain and sorrow, helping him to accomplish the work of the Father. Carrying the cross was how Simon demonstrated his love for God and love for his neighbor. It became the greatest reflection of his discipleship.

There are two ways to be compelled to carry someone else's cross. By force and obligation under the threat of violence, or through love and compassion so profound that the desire to alleviate suffering cannot be contained. This is how I interpret what compelled Simon the Cyrenian to carry the cross of the Savior to his final moments in mortality. It was a generosity of spirit, the refusal to accept cruelty because it was happening to someone else.

It's easy to develop a myth of safety around refusing to get involved when injustice comes for our neighbors. As long as it isn't happening to us, we think, all is still well. Forsaking the world means hiding away from the evils and discomforts of the world, doesn't it? There's safety in being sheltered, isn't there?

In reality, Jesus taught the exact opposite of that "everyone for himself" mentality in word and deed. Subscribing to it is the fastest way to get a little safety in exchange for your soul. The only way we survive that kind of cruelty is in community, where we love and value our neighbors' lives just as much as we value our own. That commandment doesn't cease to be a commandment when oppression appears in the world around us.

The truest measure of our Christianity is what we do when that oppression arrives. Simon the Cyrenian shows us an example of kindness and defiance in the face of inhumanity.