Turn with me if you would now
to Matthew 27. Matthew 27. Our message today will come from
verse 32. But let's begin reading in verse
26. Matthew 27, verse 26. It says,
then released he Barabbas unto them. And when he had scourged
Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers
of the governor took Jesus into the common hall and gathered
unto him the whole band of soldiers And they stripped him and put
on him a scarlet robe. And when they had plaited a crown
of thorns, they put it upon his head and a reed in his right
hand. And they bowed the knee before
him and mocked him saying, hail, king of the Jews. And they spit
upon him. and took the reed and smote him
on the head. And after that they had mocked
him, they took the robe off from him and put his own raiment on
him and led him away to crucify him. And as they came out, they
found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, him they compelled to
bear his cross. After they did all of those things
to our Lord, They led him out. We've been looking at Matthew
27 for a little while and looked at the horror and the torture
that our Lord endured. And when that was over, they
led him out of the city of Jerusalem. They led him out of the camp. Why did they do that? It's because that's where the
holy law of God said the sin offering was to be made. Without
the camp. That's what our Lord was doing
on the cross of Calvary. That's what he was doing on the
cross of Calvary. He was making a sin offering
to God. a particular sin offering for
a particular chosen elect people. In the books of Moses, it was
written of God that the sin offering was to be made without the camp. So for all of those years, they
took their bulls, their rams, their goats, and they sacrificed
them outside of the camp. But even though they did that
year after year after year, it was not possible for the blood
of bulls and goats to put away the sin of His people. So Christ came, the Lamb of God
Almighty came once in the end of the world to put away forever
all the sins of God's people. That's what He came to do and
that's what He did. And that's why they led Him out
of the city. Hold your place right here and
turn over to Hebrews 13. Hebrews 13, verse 10. It says, we have an altar, and
this is speaking of the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our altar. He's our temple, He's our priest,
He's our sacrifice, He's our lamb, He's everything. We have
an altar whereof they have no right to eat which serve the
tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts
whose blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high priest
for sin are burned without the camp. That's what the law required. Verse 12 says, wherefore Jesus
also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood suffered
without the gate. That's what he came to do. That's
where he was going. That's what he did. That's what
he did. He suffered God's wrath against
the sin of his people in himself. Even as I say that right now,
I know that that is something that I say all the time. We hear
all the time. By God's grace, we know all the
time. But how amazing is that statement? He suffered God's wrath against
the sin of his people, against our sin. in Himself. He bore the sin of
His people. Our sin was laid on Him. Our
sin was pressed into Him and He bore the judgment of His people. He bore the punishment of His
people. He bore the death of His people. He was their sin offering. He
was their sin offering and by His one offering, He put away
their sin and He satisfied God. He satisfied their God forever. He provided deliverance forever. He saved forever. It is finished. It is settled. It's done. It's done. He did it. That's what he came
to do. He came to save his people. He didn't come to try to save
his people. He came to save his people. He
didn't come to start the work of saving his people. He came
to save his people. He didn't come to open the possibility
of saving his people. He came to save his people. And
that's what he did. That's exactly what he did. All
right. Now, is that all understood?
Now, one by one. And as I write this and as I
wrote this message out, I was very excited this morning to
bring this message to you. I still am. I'm very excited.
But even this morning and even now,
as I think about this, Only the Lord our God can do this, knows
how to do this. I was just hoping and praying
that the Lord would open this to me, open it to somebody, but
it's all in the hands of God. fully understand or explain this
but okay now with all that being declared that's what Christ did
that's what God the Father purpose for Christ to do for his sinful
people he gave some sinners to Jesus Christ and he said you
save them and that's what he did and it's done and salvation
is complete period okay we got that now One by one, individually, individually,
at his appointed time, he notifies and he reveals what Jesus Christ
did to every soul that he did it
for. in a redeemed person's life. You know, all are born into this
world in sin. We were conceived in sin. Scripture
says all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. But
for every soul that Christ redeemed on the cross of Calvary, they
are born into this world a redeemed person. You ever thought about
that? They're already, I mean, He did
that. That was done in the will, mind, and purpose of God before
the foundation of the world. He was the Lamb slain before
the foundation of the world. And then He was the Lamb slain
on the cross of Calvary 2,000 years ago. And He redeemed. Like I really want to, before
we move on, let's just hound that. He redeemed. It is finished. You're complete in Him. Okay. in a redeemed person's life at
whatever point in time they're born into this world and they
live on this earth. Every person who Christ redeemed
at Calvary will be notified of his or her
redemption. They don't need to decide for
it. They don't need to make a choice for it. They are and they will
be notified. That soul will see Christ for
who He is and for what He endured to save each one of His people. And I don't know how that works
and I don't know how that happens because if I did, I would try
to make it happen every time I preach. But I stand up here
and I declare this and I have no idea if God is going to make
it effectual to anybody. I don't know if he's going to
make it effectual to me. I pray he does. I want to see Christ
again afresh today for who he is, what he did, what he accomplished
to save his people from their sins. But of God and by God,
by the doing of God, every person that Christ redeemed at Calvary
will be notified. The light bulb will come on. And that soul will see Christ. That soul won't just see religion
and won't just see the law and won't just see works. That soul
will see Christ. God manifest in the flesh. And
that soul will receive a changed mind of repentance. The message
comes, repent. That doesn't mean turn from your
sin. That means have a changed mind about God and about man's
ability and about salvation. Have a new mind on these things. Every soul Christ did that for
will receive a changed mind of repentance from the works of
the flesh to the work of Jesus Christ. Eyes of faith will be given to
see, wait a minute, it's not what I must do. It's what He
has done. That's conversion. People talk about conversion.
Okay, what is repentance? Repentance is a brand new mind. You see, God is actually God. God is not trying to be God. God is God. God doesn't do what
I let Him do. God does whatever God wants to
do because He's God. That's repentance. Wait a minute,
I can't do anything. I'm nothing but dead in trespasses
and sins. Paul said, who shall deliver
me from the body of this death? That's repentance. Salvation
is not in what I do or any decision I make. Salvation's up the Lord,
start to finish. Okay, that's repentance. Conversion happens when repentance
comes. This changed mind. It's done. It's done. God's sheep hear His
voice. This is what they hear. It is
finished. And they say, wait a minute.
I think it's finished. I don't think I have to do anything
to save myself. I think He already saved me.
That's the notification. The true conversion of salvation
comes when our eyes turn from the works of the law to the cross
of the Lord Jesus Christ. That's what we're going to see
in this message and in this verse of scripture and in this particular
man, Simon. All right, I've titled this message,
Compelled to the Cross. I thought about titling it From
Law to Grace, or I thought about titling it Irresistible Grace,
but I settled on Compelled to the Cross. Bear with me back
to Matthew 27. Verse 32, it says, As they came out, They found a man of Cyrene, Simon
by name, him they compelled to bear his cross." It was customary
for the convicted criminals who were sentenced to be crucified
to carry their own cross to the place of crucifixion, which was
Golgotha's Hill. That's what verse 33 tells us,
when they were come unto a place called Golgotha. And I read some
different accounts, different ones had different thoughts on
how far it was. The average recorded distance
was about a mile and a half. They had to carry this cross
for about a mile and a half. But our Lord was so beaten and
so mutilated, he was marred more than any other man had ever been
before. Either the soldiers were worried
that he was going to die under the weight of that cross and
they didn't want to be disappointed, they wanted to see him hang. Or he wasn't moving fast enough
for them or whatever the case may be. They laid hold of this
man, Simon, and they crammed him under that cross and said,
carry it. That word compel, they compelled
him. That word compel means they pressed
him. They forced him. And I've always had it in my
mind, I don't know why I just have, I always had it in my mind
that Simon took the place of our Lord and carried the cross
alone. I had it in my mind that it was,
you know, laid on the Lord. He started and I just envisioned
Him, I don't know, falling under it or something and so they took
it off of Him and grabbed Simon and put it on Simon and then
the Lord just walked and Simon went behind Him. That may have
been how it went. I don't know. But one of the
commentary writers said, because of how Luke's account words it,
he might have been placed behind the Lord and the two of them
carried it together. Either way, this man was compelled
to the cross. And he's a picture of how every
sinner who Christ redeemed is compelled to the cross. All of God's people are compelled
to the cross. And we're gonna see that in this
man. Let's look at some things that we know about this man,
Simon. Verse 32 says, as they came out,
they found a man of Cyrene. This man was from a city called
Cyrene. It's in the country of Libya,
which is in the northern part of Africa on the Mediterranean
Sea. There was a large Jewish colony
there. Many Jews lived there. This man, Simon, was a Jew. We know that by his name. The
name Simon is a Jewish name. By law, every year, All male
Jews had to travel to Jerusalem to observe the Passover by law. This is recorded many times in
the scripture. Turn with me over to Luke chapter
2. Luke 2, this is when our Lord
was born. If you look at verse 7, speaking
of Mary, it says, she brought forth her firstborn son and wrapped
him in swaddling clothes and laid him in a manger because
there was no room for them in the inn. And then it goes on
here to say that they did everything that had to be done concerning
his birth according to the law. And if you look at verse 39,
it says, when they had performed all things according to the law
of the Lord, they returned into Galilee to their own city, Nazareth. They did not live in Jerusalem.
They lived north in Galilee, in Nazareth, of which one man
said, can any good thing come out of Nazareth? Boy, something
did. Look at verse 41. It says, Now
his parents went to Jerusalem every year at the feast of the
Passover. You see that? According to the law, they traveled
to Jerusalem every year. All Jews did who did not already
live in Jerusalem. You know the story of Hannah
and Samuel, how she lent him to the Lord and he lived in the
temple and ministered with Eli. That all came about because her
husband, Elkanah, traveled every year to sacrifice to the Lord. Exodus 23, Exodus 34, and Deuteronomy
16 all said three times a year, shall all thy males appear before
the Lord thy God. The Feast of Passover, the Feast
of Pentecost, and the Feast of Tabernacles. And verse 41 right
here says, Mary and Joseph The earthly parents of our Lord,
his parents, went to Jerusalem every year at the Feast of the
Passover. Look with me at John 11. John
11, verse 55. And the Jews' Passover was not
at hand, and many went out of the country up to Jerusalem. They went out of the country
that they lived in up to Jerusalem before the Passover to purify
themselves. According to the law, they traveled
up. Their religion demanded it. Look at John 7, John chapter
7. John 7 verse 2, it says, Now
the Jews' feast of tabernacles was at hand. Verse 10 says, But
when his brethren were gone up, then went he also up unto the
feast, not openly, but as it were in secret. All male Jews
traveled for the feast according to the law, if they wanted to
be obedient to God and obedient to the law. Look with me at Acts
chapter 2. Verse 1 says, And when the day of Pentecost
was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place,
and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty
wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting. And
there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and
it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with
the Holy Ghost and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit
gave them utterance. They spoke with actual known
languages that they had never spoken before from other parts
of the world. Verse 5, And there were dwelling
at Jerusalem Jews, devout men, out of every nation under heaven. Now when this was noised abroad,
the multitude came together, and were confounded because that
every man heard them speak in his own language, not in gibberish,
but we would have heard them speak in English. We would have
heard these Hebrew Jews preaching in English. Verse 7, And they
were all amazed and marveled, saying one to another, Behold,
are not all these which speak Galileans? And how hear we every
man in our own tongue wherein we were born? Parthians, and
Medes, and Elamites, and the dwellers in Mesopotamia, and
in Judea, and Cappadocia, in Pontus, in Asia, Phrygia, and
Pamphylia, in Egypt, and in the parts of Libya about Cyrene. and strangers of Rome, Jews and
proselytes. So there were men there from
Cyrene. One of them, I'm quite sure,
was this man Simeon. Just like he was there at the
time of Passover. The night that our Lord was betrayed,
they were observing the Passover. And Simeon came to Jerusalem
to observe that feast according to the law. He was trying to
obey God and satisfy God according to the law. And he came to remember an event
the law commanded him to. He came there to remember an
event, but he ended up witnessing the event. Unknowingly to him, he ended
up being included in the event. He came out of law obligation
to remember a shedding of blood. You know, in the actual Passover
there in Exodus, that they slew a lamb and they put that lamb's
blood on the doorpost where they were. And the Lord said, when
I see that blood, I will pass over you. He said, I want you to remember
that blood every year. Year after year, I want you to
remember it. The reason is because that blood was a picture of the
Lord Jesus Christ. It was a picture of Christ crucified,
that blood pictured and pointed to the cross. And I could not help but think
about the fact that our Lord was so mutilated. You just enter
into this with me just for a moment, okay? Our Lord was so mutilated. His back was so mutilated. He was so marred. He was unrecognizable
almost. Don't you know that his blood
was all over that post? You just think about that. After
they literally tore him apart and then laid that cross on him, can you imagine that his blood
covered that post? And I thought about Simeon laying
hold of that blood-covered post. He was compelled and he was put under that blood-covered
cross and that blood, I can picture it being on his hands and being
on his shoulder and his neck and his head and his back. He came to remember the blood
of the Lamb and he ended up being covered in it. Simeon came for law. Isn't that why we all come at
first? He came for law. He ended up
being compelled into grace. He came for merit. He ended up
being compelled into mercy. And here's the thing about it,
he didn't have a choice in any of it. He didn't have a choice
in any of it. He was compelled into a union,
a blood covered union with Jesus Christ crucified. And can that
not be said about all of God's people? God's irresistible grace covered
that man in the blood and joined him with Jesus Christ crucified. And he represents what happened
to all of God's people individually on that cross. I was joined to Him in that cross. You were joined to Him in that
cross. Because He joined Himself to
us, we were joined to Him. We died with Him in that death. Paul said, I was crucified with
Christ. All of God's people can say that
individually. If He died for me, then in Him
I took part in the fellowship of His sufferings. I was compelled into the fellowship
of His sufferings. I was made conformable unto His
death, that in Him, with Him, I might attain the resurrection
and His righteous glory. In that moment when Simon was
compelled, he saw salvation. He saw salvation. When Jesus
Christ crucified was compelled to Him. When he was confronted with the
reality of Christ's cross as the satisfier of God's holy
justice. the Lamb of God that was slain,
the redeeming blood on the post that set God's people free. When
that was made known to the heart of Simon, he went from law to
grace. He went from his insufficient
work to Christ's all-sufficient work. Any soul who truly sees
Jesus Christ crucified Sees the gospel. Sees the gospel. And that's what Simon saw. And
I believe with all my heart that he believed on the one he was
joined to. And he went around telling everybody.
I've seen salvation. I have seen a man. You say, Gabe,
why in the world would you say that? Out of that one verse we're
reading right there? Why would you say that? How could you possibly
know that? What would make you even think
that? Let me show you two verses of scripture and I'll close.
Turn with me to Romans 16. Romans 16, the Apostle Paul here
is closing his letter to the Romans. And in verse 13, he said, Salute Rufus, chosen in the Lord
and his mother and mine. Salute Rufus and his mother. And she's like a mother to me.
Who is that? Who is Rufus? And who is Rufus's
mother? Turn over to Mark 15. This is Mark's account of our
text. Mark 15, look at verse 21, it
says, 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. Simon was Rufus's dad and Rufus's
mother's husband. And I believe that man went home
and told his wife and his boys, I have seen salvation. I have
seen salvation. I have been covered in the blood
of my Savior. You need to come see a man. They just raised him. They just
lifted him up. Come here. Come here, honey.
Come here, kids. That's Jesus Christ crucified. I believe God saved that man
and his house. May God do that for us. May God
do that for us. May the blood of Christ be on
us. May he let us leave our false works, religion, and turn to
Jesus Christ crucified. May that blood be on us like
it was on Simon. May we be compelled into that
union just like he was.