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.“
Mark 15:21 NIV
After Jesus was beaten and scourged, He was too weak to carry His cross, so the Roman guards randomly recruited a man named Simon out of the watching crowd.
Imagine that you are Simon from Cyrene. One Friday morning you’re heading into Jerusalem. It’s just after 8 o’clock and you’re looking forward to the day ahead of you.
But there’s something happening. There’s a hold-up near the city gate that you are trying to enter. There are three men being led out to be executed.
The Romans liked to have public executions to put fear into people. Even the lead up to executions involved intimidation. The route to the execution out of the city normally led through the busiest streets in order to make it a very public spectacle.
Simon probably would have taken another route in order to avoid such a horrible scene, but as it happened he arrived just as the execution procession was exiting the city through one of the city gates.
Simon had to wait as they came through the gate. He moved to one side and watched. It was a horrifying sight. The first two condemned men staggered past him struggling as they carried their crosses. But as the third appeared in front of him, the most abused and bloodiest man he ever saw, the man stumbled and fell at his feet. Perhaps one of the soldiers beat Jesus with a whip and another hit Him with a club shouting at Him to get up.
Even though Jesus tried to get up, He sank back under His cross and was unable to lift himself. Simon must have been nauseated at the horrific scene that was unfolding in front of him. Suddenly one of the soldiers grabbed Simon, lifted the cross off Jesus, and thrust it into Simon’s chest and ordered him to carry it. Horror of horrors.
Suddenly Simon went from merely being a spectator to this nightmarish scene to being a major participant in it. He was there, close to Jesus, watching Him walk to His What a scene it must have been. Gruesome, sickening, frightful.
Simon was from a Jewish colony in Cyrene, Libya, which is in North Africa. We learn from Acts 6:9 and 13:1, that the Cyrenian Jews had a synagogue in Jerusalem.
Mark adds that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus, which suggests that his children were well known to the church by the time the Gospel of Mark was written.
Simon played a fascinating role here because he was a Jewish pilgrim, coming to Jerusalem from 1000 miles away. Like other pilgrims who had come to Jerusalem at that time, he was there to confess his sins, ask God for forgiveness, and vow to return another year.
But he found so much more. The real pilgrimage was not to Jerusalem but to Calvary. Simon became a Messianic pilgrim as he carried the cross of the Lamb of God. Simon began as a passerby and reluctant eyewitness, but, by God’s grace and design, he became a participant and ultimately a believer.
It was something that Simon almost certainly didn’t recognize at the time, but his carrying of the cross is a vivid illustration of what we call The Great Exchange. Whether he knew it or not, the cross Simon was forced to carry was really his own, that is, the one he deserved and the one we deserve. But by God’s grace, Simon laid the cross at Calvary, and watched as Jesus, the innocent, sinless, Lamb of God was hung on it in our place.
What cross are you carrying right now? What sin or guilt is haunting you? What anger or grudge is burning a hole in your heart? What fear or anxiety is keeping you up at night? What sickness or pain is making you miserable?
Drop it here, let Jesus take it on himself. Jesus wants nothing more.
Jesus told His followers, including those of us who follow Him today, that we need to pick up our crosses and follow Him.
While Simon was forced to physically carry Jesus’ cross to Golgotha, he also apparently picked up the cross spiritually because his sons, Alexander and Rufus, were known in the Christian community Mark was addressing.
Paul also seems to have known one of the sons, Rufus, whom Paul described as one whom the Lord picked out to be his very own.
This situation with Simon and his sons is a great reminder that if we want to share our faith with our children, carrying the cross is a powerful example that helps them follow in our footsteps as we follow in Jesus’ steps. When we look at Simon of Cyrene, that man who carried Jesus’ cross, and when we put all the evidence together, there’s only one possible conclusion.
This man, this Jesus of Nazareth who was hung on a cursed tree, is the only one who fulfills all of God’s prophecies regarding the Messiah.
He is the One God had sent to sit on David’s throne as God’s Anointed One to destroy His people’s enemies and usher in an age of unprecedented peace and prosperity. A victory He would achieve as a Servant, a Servant who would suffer and die on a cross. Or, put more succinctly, here is further proof that Jesus truly is the Son of God!!!
Father, thank You for this day and for Sending Jesus as our propitiation of sin. Lord, pour out Your abundant blessings from the the floodgates of heaven over my friend and family today. Lord, please help us live as a powerful example before those in our family, maybe they clearly see that we don't just talk the talk, but that we also walk the walk. Lord, give us courage as we genuinely commit to carry the cross each day. Lord, use my friend to be the blessing someone needs today.Father, we love You. Amen !
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