Daily Devotion for April 4, 2006

To Jerusalem with the ComPassionate Christ
Day 35

 

Simon of Cyrene

 

A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.  Mark 15:21

 

Jesus had become so exhausted that He was not able to carry, or even to drag, the huge wooden cross prepared for His execution. This should not surprise us. Jesus had been up all night, struggling in prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane, then He had suffered the mental torment of several trials. He had been scourged, so that His back was raw, and fools, both from the Sanhedrin and from the Roman guard had abused Him. No wonder He was at the end of His physical resources.

 

Simon, a visitor from Cyrene, happened to be close by, and they pulled him from the crowd and made him help. It is likely that Simon had no idea what was going on. The text tells us that he was passing by, and that he had just come from the country. Most likely he was completely ignorant of the events of the previous twelve hours. So, a stranger carried His Cross.

 

Cyrene was a flourishing city in North Africa not far from modern Tripoli. It lay between Alexandria to the east and Carthage to the west and was officially called Cyrenacia or Pentapolitana. Following a charter that had been granted by Ptolemy I, it had become a popular resort for Jews. Today it lies in ruins, several miles inland from the Mediterranean Sea.

 

Interestingly, Simon was to be known as the father of Rufus and Alexander. Tradition equates this Rufus with the one mentioned by Paul in Romans 16: 13. If so, even on the way to Calvary, Jesus was changing hearts and minds; but the darkness was gathering.

 

Prayer
Jesus help me to use every opportunity, even those when I am at my weakest, to bear witness to You by my actions.  Help me to understand that as long as I have breath – I am to serve You and build for Your Kingdom.  Amen

 

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