Monday, November 5, 2007
Mark 15:21-24
21A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. 22They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means The Place of the Skull). 23Then they offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. 24And they crucified him. Dividing up his clothes, they cast lots to see what each would get.
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2 comments:
Going back to my previous post about not using propaganda - what strikes me here is how simply Mark describes the crucification. Current news stories are written with more emotion. Mark does not need to add any emotion to the scene. Just the facts should be enough to convey what Jesus is going through.
The details are also striking. A specific man, a stranger minding his own business, is forced to help a weakened Jesus to carry the cross. Jesus was crucified in a specific place with a specific name. Jesus was offered anesthesia, but he chose not to dull his senses. And on top of being crucified, there was the additional insult of callous soldiers casting lots for his clothes.
These verses are simply written, but they include enough details that the veracity of the report can be verified. Readers of the time could track down Simon from Cyrene. They could visit Golgatha. They could question the soldiers. Mark could teach some of our current reporters how to write the news better.
I wonder how Matthew knew the name of this random stranger. I also wonder if he stayed through the entire crucification and accepted Christ as his savior.
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