Sermon Transcript Tone Analysis

Together we had a bunch of 75 people out for sunrise service this morning.

So he's our backup.

He had a cup of coffee or two in between, it's good to gather a beautiful Easter morning.

We're going to be in the gospel of Mark, this morning, chapter 15, a want to mention.

As you turned.

I want to give thanks to y'all for your generosity and giving towards the UK, crane relief.

We've given / 17000 - 17300 $500 that the deacons of giving $5,000 out of the Deacon's fund and missions.

Committee has given $5,000 out of their Surplus in this and y'all over $7,000 though.

Thank you.

It's going to rectally to Goods Food Supplies, baby, supplies going into Ukraine.

So appreciate appreciate that.

What's the weather next Sunday?

After Sunday.

School can have a picnic out back, so it'll be out in the back, 40 and games and they will be hamburgers and barbecue and so bring a chair or a blanket.

And the the meat, the beverages that deserve to be provided to just bring a side dish and a bag of chips or vegetables.

If you want.

Just a chance for us to hang out as we're getting back together.

After all the isolation of these last couple years.

I want to mention for the kids at Camp the last week of June.

So there's a colored card on the table for ages 5 to 13.

You can learn more about that at all.

So if there's something about it in the in the bulletin, But I wait until the announcement in the last couple of weeks.

We've been looking at a couple of characters who were involved in the last week of the life of Jesus ever talk about Judas who betrayed Jesus.

He's the one who was the cause of Jesus's death and that his action to that attitude a led directly to the crucifixion of Jesus, as that we saw how I do too.

And then last week we looked at for rabbits.

Who, of course, committed murder as he was trying to bring about Insurrection, but he was his, his place in execution for that murder was taken by execution, by crucifixion by Jesus in his place who was falsely accused of a resurrection of insurrection, through the resurrection falsely accused of insurrection.

This morning.

We're going to talk about Simon of Cyrene and like Barabbas.

We don't know a whole lot about him, but we're going to get a whole lot from him about Easter.

So let's listen.

And I'm going to read verses 20 through 22 of Mark, chapter 15.

You're the ward.

and when they had mocked him, Soldiers.

Mocking Jesus.

They stripped him of the purple cloak.

And they put his own clothes on him.

And they let him out to crucify him.

And they compelled a passerby Simon of Cyrene who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus to carry his cross.

And they brought him to the place called Golgotha, which means place of a skull.

The person, the Lord I pray and ask God to help us understand Easter from that father.

Become your word as you.

You cause three different gospel writers to all include this man Simon of Cyrene.

Teach us about you, teach us about Jesus, teaches by Easter, through him, your spirit included in your spirit, cause them to retain his name and to include.

Saving to Jesus.

Thank you for that.

And pray.

That's all it is named Jesus's name.

Amen.

That may sound like one of the stranger Easter passages if you've heard read, but I hope what you're going to see if it tells us a lot about Easter and especially the effect of what Easter do I did for us.

The first thing he is mentioned in Matthew, Mark and Luke as the one who carry Jesus's cross at fascinating that he was Nate.

I'm in a lot of ways, that's kind of an obscure role in their John tells us that Jesus carry the cross for the first part.

So we don't know.

We're not told exactly why the soldiers went and commandeered.

They conscripted Simon.

They just grab them out of the crowd and made him come and Carry the Cross.

It might be That Jesus because he have been flogged.

was too weak to go on the flogging was They would take straps of leather and they would have pieces of bone or or Nails in it and they would literally last ready to tear the flesh.

The Jews had a limit that you could only lasts.

Somebody Fox Ale 39 times with it.

The Romans.

However, they didn't put a cap on it, the flogging that they did kill somebody.

If so, it was severe.

And it could be the Jesus was just from the flogging he received from the soldiers and it was too much to carry.

We don't know or maybe he was just too weak and he was too slow, carrying the the cross.

And so the soldiers wanted to get things moving cuz they had to finish that day, regardless.

They conscripted they grabbed this man site.

Simon from the crowd and they pulled him out.

The Simon from Cyrene.

Cyrene was a city about 10 miles Inland from the Mediterranean Sea and what today is Libya pesos west of Egypt.

And There was actually a Jewish Community, was it was a Greek city that have been established off of Mediterranean Sea and there was a Jewish synagogue in that City that we don't know.

It may have been that Simon was the native North Africa.

Who had become a worshipper of God, than in the join with the Jews.

There may have been that he was one of the Jews in the dispersion who, who is scattered?

His name is Jewish, Simon of a week.

We don't know exactly.

But regardless, he was coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover.

And he is walked into something that he didn't write just came up by the side of the road and the soldiers Psalm and maybe you look big and muscular and I thought I can carry this cross and so they grabbed him.

He was called the particular.

It was just a crossbar, vertical bar.

Piece of wood would have already been placed in the ground and so he was carrying the cross bar.

Use either an African Converse, organic may have been a displaced Jew.

Also told that he brought two sons with it, Alexander and Rufus.

They're probably at least 12 years old at that point and they are what first connects Simon with Easter.

What what is Simon Cyrene?

Teach us about Easter speculation, but it's pretty reasonable and reasonable speculation that because of the fact that Mark, introduces him as the father of Alexander and Rufus.

Why would that be included?

You wonder why they even named Simon of Cyrene at all.

I got is just the guy that was pulled out of the crowd that carry the cross.

It wasn't like it was it was a key piece of the story writers.

There's something about his name, the fact that it's included in the fact that includes his son's name.

It suggests to us the probably Mark expected that the people who read his gospel would know.

Alexander and Rufus.

All the scholars are read this week.

Say that marks audience.

When Mark writes his gospel.

He was specifically writing to people in Rome.

And it's interesting in his letter to the Romans, the Apostle, Paul write this and chapter 16.

He says greet Rufus.

Chosen in the ward.

And also his mother who has been a mother to me, as well.