Bethlehem and Calvary

THE talented wood-carver Caryll Houselander entitled one of his books, Wood of the Cradle, Wood of the Cross.

That title got me thinking about the parallels between Bethlehem and Calvary – Mary kneeling at the cradle and some thirty years later kneeling at the Cross, the swaddling clothes in which the baby Jesus was wrapped and the burial clothes that wrapped his body after the crucifixion. The wise men’s gift of myrrh, and the myrrh used to anoint his crucified body. Both Jesus’ birth-place and tomb were borrowed spaces. Well known are the three Wise Men who honoured Jesus at Bethlehem. In this my final article, I want to think with you about three lesser known men who honoured Jesus the day of his crucifixion – Simon, the Roman centurion and Nicodemus.

Like the Wise Men, Simon had travelled from afar, from Cyrene, the present day Libya. He and his family were probably on a pilgrimage to Jerusalem, to celebrate the Passover and explore the source of their ancient faith. As they walked the “Via Dolorosa”, the soldiers responsible for carrying out the Crucifixion, ordered him to carry Jesus’ heavy Cross. Realising he had no choice, Simon walked beside Jesus up the skull-shaped hillside called Golgotha.

Simon seems to have realised there was something different about Jesus. Though his face was blood-stained, it was such a kind face. He could not understand why the religious leaders were heaping such abuse on him. That day something seems to have changed forever in Simon’s life. Two Biblical passages give the impression that Simon and his family became well known in the early church. Mark identifies him as the father of Alexander and Rufus. (15v21). Paul closes his letter to the Romans by saying: “Give my greetings to Rufus and his mother, whom I call mother too” (Romans 16v13). As Simon carried Jesus’ Cross, conscription seems to have been transformed into commitment, embarrassing duty into an incomparable honour.

The second man to honour Jesus that day was the Roman Centurion. He too seems to have concluded that Jesus was no ordinary man. He had crucified many prisoners, but none had spoken or acted like this man, or prayed for those crucifying them. On hearing Jesus pray: “Father forgive them, they know not what they do”, the Centurion sensed he was standing on holy ground. We are told “he glorified God saying, certainly this was a righteous man.”

The third man who honoured Jesus that awful Friday was Nicodemus, a member of an elite Jewish religious class, well schooled in theological and religious matters. Though he had kept the strict Jewish rules all his life, Nicodemus obviously did not care for the person he had become. Though, he never became a recognised follower of Jesus, he remained a great admirer. His late-night conversation with Jesus had obviously started Nicodemus thinking along fresh lines.

John tells us how Nicodemus, brokenhearted by the arrest and crucifixion of Jesus, brought “a mixture of ointments, about a hundred-weight” to anoint his body – ten times the customary amount. He obviously regretted not having done more for Jesus while he was alive. But now, let his fellow Pharisees think what they liked, he wanted it to be clearly known that he believed there had been a terrible miscarriage of justice.

He was not prepared to hide any longer his love and admiration for Jesus.

For over 10 years I have had the immense honour of writing monthly articles for Life and Work. What a privilege it has been to share with readers some conclusions I have reached during a life-time of continuous education that Jesus is the best starting point for learning who God is, who we are and what life is all about – that our high calling as Christians is to practise caring love, and that often to care effectively we must act collectively, Now in my eighties I have decided it is time to retire. I wish the magazine well in the years ahead. Of this I am certain, my successor will greatly enjoy working with Lynne, our most able and likeable editor.

This article appears in the April 2017 Issue of Life and Work

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