295. Help for The Lord

Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, Luke 23:26

Key Verse: As they led Him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.

Luke 23:26

Cyrene, of the country of Libya, was located in northern Africa. It was a Greek colony, and also had a Jewish community where 100,000 Judean Jews had settled during the reign of Ptolemy Soter (323-285 BC). It later became an early center of Christianity. The Cyrenian Jews had a synagogue in Jerusalem, where many went for annual feasts. Simon of Cyrene was probably an African black man, like the Ethiopian eunuch, visiting Jerusalem to observe the Passover as were so many others.

He was definitely placed in a difficult situation. He was in town to observe a festival, celebrating the release from captivity and, all of a sudden, he is forced to participate in another man's death sentence. He had no choice. Both gospels are very clear that Simon did not volunteer his services. He was a black man enslaved, if even for a moment, by powerful, Roman, white men. This was probably the last thing he ever expected to be doing on his pilgrimage. Yet, here he is, remembered for eternity as the one who helped Jesus carry His cross to Calvary.

Through fictional accounts, there has been much speculation on what may have taken place between the two as they went along. Loss of blood, and severe treatment by both the Roman and Jewish guards probably made Jesus physically weak and incapable of carrying the beam alone. It should be mentioned here that Jesus would have only been carrying the cross beam of the cross. The vertical piece would have already been firmly planted at the crucifixion sight. Even so, by some estimates this beam may have weighed up to two hundred pounds and that would be almost impossible for a man who has had no sleep for at least 36 hours and has endured what Jesus endured this past night.

So, Simon was compelled, by the soldiers, to help Jesus bear His cross. However, didn't Jesus ask us to do the same? Did He not charge those who would follow Him to take up their cross? Does He not still challenge us to take up our cross, for Him, daily? Paul says: "I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in His sufferings, becoming like Him in His death, and so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection of the dead." (Phil. 3:10-11)  When we suffer, when we bear a cross, we are standing with Simon in helping Jesus to bear His. We are not compelled to do so out of fear of the Romans as Simon was. We are compelled to do so out of love and gratitude because He bore the cross for us. As we walk along beside Him in His sufferings, we get to know Him and, through the Holy Spirit, become like Him as well.

It isn't clear what actually happened to Simon after he stepped back into the crowd on that day. Some say that Simon became an evangelist, linking his name with the "men of Cyrene" who preached the Gospel to the Greeks in Acts 11:20.  Tradition states that Simon’s sons Rufus and Alexander became missionaries. The inclusion of their names in Mark 15:21 may suggest that they were of some standing in the Early Christian community at Rome. It has also been suggested that the Rufus mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:13 is the son of Simon of Cyrene. 

While these possible connections are tantalizing, we have to acknowledge that Simon's name does not prove he was Jewish, and Alexander and Rufus were both common names and may have referred to others. What we really know is that God didn't find it necessary to put these details in the account of His Son and His work on this earth. One thing is certain though, God knows what the truth is, just as He knows the truth about us. Simon is remembered for the help he was compelled to give. What does God remember us for?

Hymn: "Must Jesus Bear the Cross Alone"  ”Watch the Lamb”