Simon of Cyrene

Simon of Cyrene

Scripture:-

³² As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. ³³ They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).³⁴ There they offered Jesus wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, he refused to drink it. ³⁵ When they had crucified him, they divided up his clothes by casting lots. ³⁶ And sitting down, they kept watch over him there. ³⁷ Above his head they placed the written charge against him: this is jesus, the king of the jews.

³⁸ Two rebels were crucified with him, one on his right and one on his left. ³⁹ Those who passed by hurled insults at him, shaking their heads ⁴⁰ and saying, “You who are going to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save yourself! Come down from the cross, if you are the Son of God!” ⁴¹ In the same way the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the elders mocked him. ⁴² “He saved others,” they said, “but he can’t save himself! He’s the king of Israel! Let him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in him. ⁴³ He trusts in God. Let God rescue him now if he wants him, for he said, ‘I am the Son of God.’”⁴⁴ In the same way the rebels who were crucified with him also heaped insults on him.

Observation:

After the torture session, the Lord is too weak to carry the cross, and along the way, they grab a man called Simon from Cyrene and make him carry Jesus’ cross. At the place called Golgotha, meaning the skull, they mixed wine with gall and let Jesus drink it to dull the pain. The Lord after tasting it refuses, and they proceed to drive in the nails into Jesus’ hands and feet. All who pass by hurl insults at Jesus, including the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law. Even the two thieves being crucified with Jesus insulted him, although one later repented and defended Jesus as written in other gospels. The primary insults against Jesus was that He saved others and could not save Himself and that He could rescue Himself or have God rescue Him if He really was the Son of God. No one understood that this was all part of God’s plan for humanity’s redemption, and Jesus was there wholly voluntarily.

Application:

Consider Simon of Cyrene. At that time, he could have counted ill luck in being picked on to carry the heavy cross. The blood of Jesus would have got all over him. The mocking and spitting from the people would also land upon him. After coming so far to worship at the Passover, here he was, becoming ceremonially unclean and being forced labor for the crucifixion of some notorious criminal. Finally at Golgotha, Simon was able to let go of the great burden, full of sweat, blood and pain from the weight. What happened to Simon after this? Did he leave Jerusalem in disgust? Did he stay and watch what happened to Jesus? Did he find out more about why Jesus was being crucified? Scripture does not tell us these details here.

However, later in Acts 13:1, Luke gives a list of leaders of Antioch who send Paul and Barnabas out on the first mission to the Gentiles. In that list is Simon called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene. Niger means Black, so it literally means Simon called Black and Lucius of Cyrene. So the Simon here was from Cyrene, and should quite literally be the same Simon of Cyrene that carried Jesus cross! The fact that he was dark also lends credence to the way the soldiers singled him out among others for the unpleasant task of carrying Jesus’ cross. Also, the reason Matthew recorded his name at all was probably because the church knew who Simon of Cyrene was.

So Simon of Cyrene later would realize that what seemed like incredible misfortune was actually the greatest privilege. Who else had the opportunity of carrying the cross for the Lord, upon which He would bring salvation for not only Simon of Cyrene but everyone who would believe in Jesus.

The lesson for us is that although we might face troubles or great inconveniences, we should bear it humbly and graciously. Unknown to us, it might actually be a great privilege.

Prayer:

We praise thee and worship thee O Lord for the marvelous things You have done. We thank You for the lesson of Simon of Cyrene which teaches us how we should bear hardship and trouble humbly and graciously, for behind the scenes even that could be a great privilege to us. Help us and teach us Lord, even as we seek Your face. In Jesus name, Amen.