What Old Testament prophecies connect to Jesus' journey in Matthew 27:32? Matthew 27:32 – the road to Golgotha “As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.” Old Testament pictures of the burden-bearer • Isaiah 53:4, 11-12 – “Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows… He will bear their iniquities.” The Servant’s mission of carrying sin is sign-posted by Jesus first carrying (then delegating) the wooden cross. • Leviticus 16:21-22 – the scapegoat, laden with Israel’s sins, driven outside the camp. Jesus, shouldering humanity’s guilt, is led outside Jerusalem. • Numbers 19:3 – the red heifer sacrificed “outside the camp”; another atoning sacrifice moved beyond the city limits, echoed in Jesus’ procession to Golgotha. • Psalm 55:22 – “Cast your burden on the LORD, and He will sustain you.” Simon’s unexpected task pictures believers shifting their own sin-load onto Christ. The Lamb led to slaughter • Isaiah 53:7 – “He was led like a lamb to the slaughter…” The Roman escort fulfills the prophetic image of a submissive sacrifice. • Jeremiah 11:19 – “I was like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not know they had plotted against me.” The silent, unresisting victim matches Jesus’ demeanor on the road. Outside-the-camp fulfillment • Exodus 29:14; Leviticus 4:12 – sin offerings burned “outside the camp.” Hebrews 13:11-13 links these commands directly to Jesus dying outside the gate. • Psalm 69:8 – “I have become a stranger to my brothers.” Being led away from the city stresses His rejection by His own people. The cursed tree foreseen • Deuteronomy 21:22-23 – “Anyone hung on a tree is under God’s curse.” The instrument Simon helps carry identifies Jesus with this curse (cf. Galatians 3:13). Isaac’s foreshadowing • Genesis 22:6 – “Abraham took the wood for the burnt offering and placed it on his son Isaac.” Isaac, the son of promise, carries the wood for his own sacrifice; Jesus, the greater Son, does the same until another takes the load. Psalm 22 milestones on the way • Psalm 22:1, 7-8 – the derision and abandonment begin on the journey, not just at the cross. • Psalm 22:16 – “They have pierced my hands and feet” anticipates where the road ends. Micah and Zechariah’s glimpses of abuse • Micah 5:1 – “They will strike the judge of Israel with a rod on the cheek.” The beating starts before arrival at Golgotha. • Zechariah 12:10 – “They will look on Me whom they have pierced.” The prophecy presumes a journey that culminates in public piercing. Putting it together Every step from the city gate to Golgotha echoes Scripture: the burden-bearing Servant, the scapegoat led away, the cursed tree, the silent Lamb, and even Isaac’s climb up Moriah. Matthew 27:32 is far more than a logistical detail; it is the junction where these prophetic threads converge in the person of Jesus. |
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