I’ve always been fond of Simon of Cyrene. He’s the guy who was commandeered by the Romans to carry Jesus’ cross (Mark 15:21). Simon’s story says a lot. In a few brief lines we learn that:
1) Even Jesus accepted help–which means that when we are staggering we should, too.
2) We don’t get to choose the cross we get to carry–it’s handed to us.
3) We don’t get to choose when a cross comes our way–it may appear out of nowhere while we’re on the way to do something else.
4) The story of the crosses we bear never centers on us, but on how we are connected to Christ. Each time we carry a cross we share, in some small way, in the death and resurrection of Jesus.
In many ways Simon of Cyrene is not a significant figure in the Bible. He doesn’t appear except on the road to Calvary, and we don’t know if he knew Jesus before then, or what he told his wife over supper that night (“Wow, what a rough day! I was heading to town when…”) Yet his name was passed down to us. I like to think it’s because Simon’s brief encounter teaches us so much about what Jesus means when He says, “Whoever wants to be My disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23).
