They Found a Man
Matthew 27:32
Wrong place, wrong time? It surely seemed so to Simon of Cyrene the moment he was seized by a Roman soldier and conscripted into cross-bearing service. We can confidently assume there were good reasons Simon was chosen from among the people who crowded the narrow streets of Jerusalem that morning.
It is not a given that Simon was there to watch the gory spectacle of crucifixion. He, like so many others, had come to Jerusalem for Passover. His presence on that street at that time was most likely a coincidental happening. He was a decent man. Decent men don’t bring their two young sons out to watch other men brutalized by the occupying force of Rome.
But there he was and as Jesus, having been physically weakened by the brutal torture he had just endured, stumbled under the weight of the cross, the soldiers’ eyes began to scan the crowd for someone to carry His cross. Women, children, old men, the infirm – all eliminated from contention with barely a glance. They weren’t looking for someone who would struggle with the work of cross-bearing.
That fact alone tells us something about Simon. He was a young man whose physical strength was real and obvious. His broad shoulders, straight back, and sinewy muscles stood out.
We also know that Simon wasn’t a willing volunteer. He wasn’t stepping forward to offer his services. He was, as the Scripture says, compelled to carry Jesus’ cross.
The other Synoptic Gospels add details Matthew excludes. Mark, for example, is the one who tells us that Simon had two sons named Rufus and Alexander.
It seems to be a reasonable inference – one that many scholars have suggested – that Simon and his family became believers – followers of Jesus, the Man whose cross Simon carried. While it is not definitive proof, the naming of his two sons suggests that this is a correct assumption. The logic is that if Simon were just a guy who was employed in this task and then went on about his life afterward, if he got the cross to Golgotha and then walked away and disappeared into the crowd, we wouldn’t know his name and we certainly wouldn’t know the names of his sons. The record of their names suggests that they had a continuing relationship with the Christian community.
This idea is further bolstered by Paul’s greetings in Romans 16. In verse 13 Paul sends greetings to a man named Rufus and to Rufus’ mother. Was this the same Rufus that was the son of Simon of Cyrene who carried Jesus’ cross? It is quite possible.
Some things are thrust on us in this life. Burdens that come to us as unwelcome guests. Like Simon, we weren’t volunteering for more work to do. We simply found ourselves at the wrong place, at the wrong time, and circumstances lined up in such a way that we were thrust into doing something we had no intention of doing. We were, for varying reasons, the best available option and the burden was put on us.
Is it possible that weight you have been forced to carry is a blessing disguised as a burden? What if that cross you are forced to carry would, in a good way, change the trajectory of your life and your family’s life forever? Would you be bitter about the burden? Or would you be grateful for it?
Simon had no idea where this unwelcome responsibility was leading him the moment the Roman soldier grabbed his arm and pulled him from the crowd. He probably thought, “I’m going to get this over as fast as possible and get myself and my sons away from all this madness,” not realizing that the humiliation of carrying a cross was going to become the greatest honor of his life.
We need not go around searching for burdens to bear, but when they are thrust upon us, we also need not become bitter and resentful. God is sovereign and even when we are forced by unfortunate circumstances or unkind people to carry a weight not our own, we should realize that God, not people or circumstances, is in control. And maybe He has good intentions for the weight that has been put upon your shoulders.
