A Painful Meeting
As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. Matt. 27:32, NKJV.
It all happened so quickly. Simon, a Jew from North Africa, is pushing through the crowd surging into Jerusalem for the Passover. At that same time a cohort of Roman soldiers is escorting a condemned man out of the city. Covered with blood from the usual precrucifixion flogging and staggering under the weight of the crossbeam of a cross, the man falls to the ground. Seeing the hopelessness of Jesus' situation, the soldiers grab Simon and press him into service.
It was the most important day of his life, but Simon had no way of realizing it at the time. All he knew was the splintery feel of the cross, the pushing of the soldiers as they tried to speed him through the thronging crowd, and the stares of those nearby as they mistakenly assumed that he was the condemned man. It was a shameful, unpleasant experience. But it changed his life.
But why Simon? How come the soldiers had selected him from the crowd? The Bible doesn't tell us. It may have been his strong build. Or it may be he just happened to be the nearest man when Jesus stumbled and fell. But there may have been a more attractive reason. Perhaps Simon's face and body language had shown signs of sympathy for Jesus and made him stand out from the indifferent crowd.
We don't know the "why" of Simon's selection, but we do know the "what" that came out of his short time with Jesus. In Mark's telling of the story he earmarks "Alexander and Rufus" as Simon's sons, indicating that they were known to the first readers of the second Gospel in Rome, its primary audience (Mark 15:21). In Romans 16:13 we find another tantalizing piece of information. "Greet Rufus," Paul wrote, "eminent in the Lord, also his mother and mine" (RSV).
We have no way of knowing if there is a relationship between Mark 15:21 and Romans 16:13, but we can be assured that Simon, on that fateful day on the road to Jerusalem, met Jesus as his Savior and, in turn, passed on that knowledge to his sons.
What a painful way to encounter Jesus. But what a reward. Jesus still meets men and women in painful situations--many upon beds of sickness, others in the shadow of bereavement. To all He offers a cross to carry and the honor of serving Him.
As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. Him they compelled to bear His cross. Matt. 27:32, NKJV.
It all happened so quickly. Simon, a Jew from North Africa, is pushing through the crowd surging into Jerusalem for the Passover. At that same time a cohort of Roman soldiers is escorting a condemned man out of the city. Covered with blood from the usual precrucifixion flogging and staggering under the weight of the crossbeam of a cross, the man falls to the ground. Seeing the hopelessness of Jesus' situation, the soldiers grab Simon and press him into service.
It was the most important day of his life, but Simon had no way of realizing it at the time. All he knew was the splintery feel of the cross, the pushing of the soldiers as they tried to speed him through the thronging crowd, and the stares of those nearby as they mistakenly assumed that he was the condemned man. It was a shameful, unpleasant experience. But it changed his life.
But why Simon? How come the soldiers had selected him from the crowd? The Bible doesn't tell us. It may have been his strong build. Or it may be he just happened to be the nearest man when Jesus stumbled and fell. But there may have been a more attractive reason. Perhaps Simon's face and body language had shown signs of sympathy for Jesus and made him stand out from the indifferent crowd.
We don't know the "why" of Simon's selection, but we do know the "what" that came out of his short time with Jesus. In Mark's telling of the story he earmarks "Alexander and Rufus" as Simon's sons, indicating that they were known to the first readers of the second Gospel in Rome, its primary audience (Mark 15:21). In Romans 16:13 we find another tantalizing piece of information. "Greet Rufus," Paul wrote, "eminent in the Lord, also his mother and mine" (RSV).
We have no way of knowing if there is a relationship between Mark 15:21 and Romans 16:13, but we can be assured that Simon, on that fateful day on the road to Jerusalem, met Jesus as his Savior and, in turn, passed on that knowledge to his sons.
What a painful way to encounter Jesus. But what a reward. Jesus still meets men and women in painful situations--many upon beds of sickness, others in the shadow of bereavement. To all He offers a cross to carry and the honor of serving Him.
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