Guiding Light!
Simon's Cross!
"...they forced him to carry the cross." Mark 15:21
Good Friday is a time when we look to the cross, while Easter Sunday is a time when we look to the empty tomb. On Good Friday, we see the mangled body of Jesus hanging lifeless on a tree. On Easter Sunday, we see the empty grave clothes that couldn't hold back the power of the risen Christ.
If we've been Christians for any period of time, we've heard the stories about the resurrection of Jesus Christ and how it impacted the lives of those who knew him. We all know the stories about weak-kneed Peter, guilt-striken Judas Iscariot, and doubting Thomas. But we don't hear much about Simon of Cyrene, the man from North Africa who helped Jesus carry the cross-beam to Golgotha.
Simon didn't volunteer for the job. The Bible says he was "forced" to carry the cross. In all likelihood, he was visiting Jerusalem for Passover and was standing in the wrong place at the wrong time. As Mark says, he was just "passing by" when the soldiers put him to work.
We can't be absolutely sure, but Christian tradition says that Simon became a Christian sometime after carrying Jesus' cross. We don't know when, but he may have been one of those from North Africa who heard Peter's sermon at Pentecost (Acts 2:10). We do know that another Cyrenean, Lucius, became a teacher at the church in Antioch (Acts 13:1).
Mark mentions Simon's sons, Alexander and Rufus, along with Simon, as if the Christians Mark was writing to would know of them. If Mark was writing to Christians in Rome, then Rufus may have been the same man who was described by Paul as "chosen in the Lord" (Rom. 16:13). Notice, too, that Paul also mentions the mother of Rufus, "who has been a mother to" Paul.
Putting the evidence together, it seems that Simon and his wife became Christians and raised two godly sons. At some point they arrived in Rome, where they did the work of Christ.
And to think it all started when Simon picked up the heavy cross and got a closer look at the Christ, an innocent man limping his way to a death reserved only for the vilest criminals. As we gaze upon Christ this Easter, I hope we will see him as the man who changes lives, beginning with our own.
Matt Donnelly
In Christ's Service,
Kenny Millhouse
kenny@guidinglightministry.com
http://guidinglightministry.com
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