“The soldiers led Jesus away, and as they were going, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon who was coming into the city from the country. They seized him, put the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.” (Luke 23:26)
If you’ve ever heard or read about the crucifixion of Jesus you have heard or read about Simon and about how he helped Jesus carry the cross. The Word of God is not just a collection of history and other stories. They were hand-picked by God to be included for our instruction and correction. “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching the truth, rebuking error, correcting faults, and giving instruction for right living,” (2Timothy 3:16) So what can we learn from what Simon did?
Not too much is known about Simon. He was from Cyrene which had a synagogue and a small group of Jews. He went to Jerusalem. Mark makes special mention of his two sons, Rufus and Alexander, but not that they were with him. This gives credence to the fact that they were somehow important to the Gospel. “On the way they met a man named Simon, who was coming into the city from the country, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus' cross. (Simon was from Cyrene and was the father of Alexander and Rufus.)” (Mark 15:21) Simon may or may not have been with the crowd of people from different nations during the Pentecost event at Jerusalem when the disciples were baptized in the Holy Spirit and had received the anointing and gift of evangelism and tongues. Acts does mention that there were people from Cyrene in the crowd from different countries. Paul also mentions a Rufus in his letters to the Romans. “I send greetings to Rufus, that outstanding worker in the Lord's service, and to his mother, who has always treated me like a son.” (Romans 16:13) He may or may not be the son of Simon, but just the fact that he is singled out may give it merit. There is an Alexander that Paul mentions in his letters to Timothy, but he is not mentioned in a good way. (1 Timothy 1:20 and 2 Timothy 4:14) There is nothing in the Scripture connecting them to Simon of Cyrene. But, as we know, nothing is without value or meaning in the Bible.
Does Simon’s help in carrying the Cross have any significance to us? Jesus had to be crucified, spiritually and naturally. Spiritually, that was God’s Will and it had been prophesied that He would be crucified. In the natural, the soldiers saw that in Jesus’ weakened state, He might die before the crucifixion. The soldiers would have been reprimanded for not carrying out the edict against Jesus. We could make a connection to Simon carrying on the Cross of Jesus to the church carrying on the Cross of Jesus.
Today, the cross is a symbol for Christianity. It tops church steeples, is worn as jewelry and even tattooed by others to declare their belief in the work of Jesus on the Cross. The cross was offensive to the Romans. It was for slaves and rebels to the empire. Its purpose was to inflict as much pain as possible for the longest time. To wear a cross identifies us as part of the church, a belief in Jesus and a belief in His redemptive work. “As for us, we proclaim the crucified Christ, a message that is offensive to the Jews and nonsense to the Gentiles; but for those whom God has called, both Jews and Gentiles, this message is Christ, who is the power of God and the wisdom of God.” (1Corinthians 1:23-24) To the unbelieving world today, it’s foolishness.
To those who believe, the cross is necessary and required for service. “Then Jesus called the crowd and His disciples to Him. "If any of you want to come with me," He told them, "You must forget yourself, carry your cross, and follow Me. For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it; but if you lose your life for Me and for the gospel, you will save it. Do you gain anything if you win the whole world but lose your life? Of course not! There is nothing you can give to regain your life. If you are ashamed of Me and of My teaching in this godless and wicked day, then the Son of Man will be ashamed of you when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." (Mark 8:34-38) This speaks of self-sacrifice, not for merit or salvation. We don’t gain “points” for doing good. He saved us and gave us promises. He will not love us more for doing good, because He loves us with all of His love so much so that He gave His life for us.
Service for Jesus is a life where He is King. Where what we do, say and think is for Jesus. As people on earth, it’s difficult. It’s a life-long process of learning through the Holy Spirit. And it will never be achieved here on earth. While we have breath, we are learning to be more like Jesus. It’s a work of God. “And so I am sure that God, who began this good work in you, will carry it on until it is finished on the Day of Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 1:6) This yielding of our lives is with our consent. And in each lesson, a part of our selfish earthly world is yielded. Like Jesus gave up His life for us. We give up our earthly life with its pride, accomplishes and gains for Him. Like Simeon, we pick up the Cross and continue the work of Jesus. “God has made us what we are, and in our union with Christ Jesus He has created us for a life of good deeds, which He has already prepared for us to do.” (Ephesians 2:10) And the Lord knows from the beginning, the end of all things. There is no time for the Lord. Some denominations say that He has hand-picked His followers. “Even before the world was made, God had already chosen us to be His through our union with Christ, so that we would be holy and without fault before Him. Because of His love God had already decided that through Jesus Christ He would make us his children—this was His pleasure and purpose. Let us praise God for His glorious grace, for the free gift He gave us in His dear Son!” (Ephesians 1:4-6) The Truth is He has called all of mankind to His salvation. There is a calling for all to come to Jesus, but only a few are chosen, meaning few will choose to follow Jesus. “And Jesus concluded, "Many are invited, but few are chosen." (Matthew 22:14)
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