Carry the Cross

Andre Pelser

Reasons why we should consider carrying the Cross for Christ’s sake

Simon’s good deed became a memorial

Simon of Cyrene was compelled to carry the cross of Jesus. Mark 15:21 points out in his Gospel that Simon had two sons, Alexander and Rufus. Paul in Romans 16:13 makes mention of Alexander again and describes him with the epithet ‘chosen’. 2 John 1 refers to the ‘chosen lady and her two sons’ referring to the wife of Simon and her two sons. His good deed towards Jesus became a memorial for him forever.

Simon was selected to carry Jesus’ cross and because he submitted to that call his wife and sons were ‘chosen’ ones.

Simon’s deed influenced many other people

In the beginning of the book of Acts 2:10 we find many Cyrenians in Jerusalem on the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit was poured out. Then later on in Acts  11:20 we read about Cyrenian missionaries who went out and preached Jesus with signs and wonders following.

Simon was pulled out of the crowd to carry the cross of Jesus and he had no time to reflect on it. There was no time to have a church board meeting or a bored church meeting to make a decision. The Roman soldier selected him and compelled him.

‘You! Carry that cross!’

Simon was not a forgetful hearer

Simon means ‘hearing’. He heard the call and he obeyed. There was no time to see to his two sons. He had to leave them on the spot to take care of themselves. He had no time to practice carrying the pitibulum (the top bar of the wooden cross). He was simply thrust into something he had never done before.

Jesus said if you want to be His follower that you have to first deny yourself, take up your cross and only then can you follow Him.

Most Christians just start following without ever denying themselves and cause untold problems in churches!

Simon carried weight on Christ’s behalf

I am a pianist and an organist. I always have a piano wherever I live. When we lived in apartments we had to carry the old upright grand up the stairs to the second or third floor. It is heavy duty. You need at least 6 guys to carry that load. Often we could only find 4 willing men. Often just as we had to pick it up, one of them would bail out and complain: ‘oh, my back!’ Then it was up to 3 to do the job. Or sometimes the one with the bad back would try to direct the procedures by saying, ‘watch out for the corner! Mind the rail!’

If you have to pick up something as heavy as a piano and one guy gippo’s the rest of the guys can feel it. He makes the right noises as if he is carrying weight but he has relaxed his arms and he is simply going through the motions.

When David wanted the Ark of the Presence of the Lord back in Israel he sent a new cart with fresh oxen to fetch it. That was not how the Law prescribed the way in which the Ark was to be carried. So when one of the men tried to steady the Ark by stretching out his hand towards it, he was struck dead. No one was to touch it. David had to re-read the law and to study its requirements. He discovered that only the Levites were allowed to carry it with open shoulders. In other words, they were not allowed to put cloth between their flesh and the wooden pole that rested on their shoulders. In Afrikaans we can speak about ‘toeskouers’ and ‘oop skouers’. The word ‘toeskouer’ means a ‘spectator’. Spectators at rugby matches have a lot to say, but if you yank them out of the crowd and make them scrum, they will stop their running commentary of criticism!

Simon had to carry the full weight of the cross of Jesus. Jesus was already beaten up by a Roman whip and he was brutally treated by rough Roman soldiers who hit him with fists and spat in his face and placed a woven crown of thorns on his head. He stumbled underneath the heavy load of the pitibulum en route to Golgotha, the place of the Skull, where He was about to be crucified.

Simons are still being called today

Today the call goes out again: ‘You! Carry the cross!’ and those who can hear what the Spirit is saying will respond to the call.

Carrying the cross can mean different things for different people. The cross is something you have to carry for the sake of Christ.

But look at the ramifications of carrying that cross: his family got saved, his family were honoured among the early church, they were known as ‘chosen’ ones! The people of Simon’s city got saved and received the Holy Spirit on the day it was poured out! Then some of them ended up being missionaries – all from one man’s willingness to carry the cross!

Isaiah says, ‘if you are willing and obedient you will eat the good of the land.’

For 2000 years Simon of Cyrene has been famous. Everyone who reads the Bible knows who he is: he’s the guy who carried Jesus’ cross.

Cyrene, near Egypt, is just a place of ruins today, but Simon’s memorial in the Spirit still stands: he carried the cross of Jesus!

Who will respond to carry the cross of Jesus today?

The stigma of carrying the cross

When I was a kid, I was mocked all the time for being a pastor’s son. I grew up in Afrikaans schools where most of the kids were from the government church, the Dutch Reformed Church. My father was a pastor in the Pentecostal Church, the Apostolic Faith Mission. Teachers and scholars alike, would mock me in the class, on the playing fields and in the streets. They shouted and called me names, to the amusement of those around them.

I had to learn to carry the cross of the ministry at an early age.

My grandfather, Oupa Andries Pelser, had a preaching suit which he wore when he went out on the streets to preach the Gospel. It was an old suit, because people would throw him with rotten eggs and rotten tomatoes while he preached. But he got many souls saved and people healed in the process.

We are not ashamed of the Gospel of Jesus Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation. Today my oldest son and daughter are in the full time ministry with Nola and me as the 4^th generation in the service of Christ and the Gospel.

When we started our Mission Base called Harvester International Ministries with Harvester Reformational Church and Miracle Bible College, many church leaders called me a false apostle and told people that Andre has started his own cult. We were despised and rejected by men, just like Jesus, and we had to walk alone until they repented and asked forgiveness twelve years later.

But people who became part of Harvester had to carry the cross with us – they were rejected by family and friends. But Jesus called those who do the will of God with Him, his family. Sometimes spiritual family stick closer than family in the flesh.

Fulfilling the Great Commission is carrying the cross

Now that we are reaching nation after nation we need people to help to carry the cross with us. It takes a small fortune to reach a nation in such a short time. But God has opened doors where we have not even knocked! God is keen that we spread the message of Reform to every nation in the world. Those who help to carry this cross will be handsomely rewarded in ways that make sense to them.

There are those who criticise what we are doing, and those who mock and even despise what we are doing, but we know we are fulfilling the great Commission Jesus gave to His apostles: ‘Go to all the nations and make disciples, baptise them