Introduction: Jesus suffered much before His death on the cross. He suffered betrayal, capture and arrest. He was bound and beaten. He was flogged. He had a crown of thorns put on his head, and he was mocked and slapped around by the soldiers. He was rejected by His nation. He was forced to carry His own cross to Golgotha, and he was nailed to it. The Bible tells us that Jesus was "a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."

I. Jesus calls on us to carry the cross, too. His commandment to do this is found in all three "synoptic" gospels, but let me just quote the version in Luke:

Luke 9:23 Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. Luke 9:24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it. Luke 9:25 What good is it for a man to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit his very self? Luke 9:26 If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels."

A. Becoming a Christian is not necessarily the path to a comfortable and delightful life! Jesus not only said, "Take up your cross." He also said, "I send you out as sheep among wolves..."

B. It is a fact of life that Christians suffer nearly all the sorrows of this life, in this fallen world, that everyone else suffers. We get sick. We lose loved ones. We get robbed by thieves. We get caught in wars. We get fired at work. We get gossiped about. We are betrayed by friends. We have accidents and injuries. We finally get mortally ill and die.

C. To have a meaningful spiritual life, you must learn to practice your faith daily, in spite of opposition, obstacles, problems, lack of energy, and whatever tends to discourage you. It is hard! That's why Jesus called it a "cross."

II. It may encourage you to know that even Jesus needed help and encouragement in His hour of trial.

A. Help to carry His cross (Simon of Cyrene). Mark 15:20 And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him out to crucify him. Mark 15:21 A 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.

B. He also was encouraged by:

• 1. The thief on the cross Luke 23:39 One of the criminals who hung there hurled insults at him: "Aren't you the Christ? Save yourself and us!" Luke 23:40 But the other criminal rebuked him. "Don't you fear God," he said, "since you are under the same sentence? Luke 23:41 We are punished justly, for we are getting what our deeds deserve. But this man has done nothing wrong." Luke 23:42 Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom." Luke 23:43 Jesus answered him, "I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."
• 2. Someone who gave him a drink. John 19:28 Later, knowing that all was now completed, and so that the Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." John 19:29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. John 19:30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.
• 3. Friends at the foot of the cross. John 19:25 Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. John 19:26 When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," John 19:27 and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

III. Each of us needs help, even as Jesus did, and God wants us to help each other. Look at all these Bible verses encouraging us to be helpers:

A. Eccl 4:9-10: Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their work: If one falls down, his friend can help him up. But pity the man who falls and has no one to help him up!

B. Gen 2: The LORD God said, "It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him... So the LORD God caused the man to fall into a deep sleep; and while he was sleeping, he took one of the man's ribs and closed up the place with flesh. Then the LORD God made a woman from the rib he had taken out of the man, and he brought her to the man. The man said, "This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called 'woman,' for she was taken out of man." For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and they will become one flesh.

C. Exo 23:4 "If you come across your enemy's ox or donkey wandering off, be sure to take it back to him. If you see the donkey of someone who hates you fallen down under its load, do not leave it there; be sure you help him with it."

D. Acts 16:9-10: During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.

Conclusion: Jesus suffered and died for us. He carried His cross, and He died for us on His cross. He challenges us to follow in His footsteps. When we suffer, God will help us. But remember, we are the arms and legs of God in this world. God has called us to help one another as we seek a deeper spiritual life. May God bless us as we try to be like Jesus. Amen.