Carry Your Cross

Simon of Cyrene, the man who helped carry Jesus’ cross on the way to Golgotha, is nondescript. I, for one, took him for granted.

Then a friend uploaded this photo on social media:

And suddenly, Simon of Cyrene loomed large in my head. Why is he mentioned in three of the gospels? (NLT) 

He appears in Mark 15: 20-22: “When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the purple robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified. A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross . . .”  

Matthew names him in chapter 27:31-33, “When they were finally tired of mocking him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him again. Then they led him away to be crucified. Along the way, they came across a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross . . .” 

Luke’s narrative in chapter 23:26 reads, “As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.” 

Only John makes no mention of the man. Why? By faith, I leave it all as written.

Carrying our cross, however, is the calling of Christians. We associate it with problems (emotional distress, health issues, or unexpected tragedies) that we are to endure—to strengthen our faith.

In Mark 8:34, Jesus Himself says to the crowd and His disciples, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.”

In taking up our cross, we ask for grace because we cannot go it alone. But Jesus can, so why would Simon of Cyrene even help Him?

All we know is that Simon is from Cyrene and had just come from a long trip when he was forced to help carry the cross of Jesus, a condemned man. How did he feel?

• honored?  
• humiliated?  
• annoyed?  
• reluctant? 
• special?  

There are no answers.

But I believe that helping Jesus with the cross and being a part of the greatest tableau of all time was a privilege—the same privilege given to us: not only to carry our cross, but to help others carry theirs.