Our Spontaneous Cross

“And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.” (Lu 23:26 AV)

This is a fascinating study.  Much conjecture is offered as to the motive of the guards in compelling Simon to assist in the carrying of the cross.  One thing is for certain, there is no record of Jesus falling under the weight of the cross.  Check it out.  Not one of the gospels mentions that Jesus was so faint from his beating that He could not carry His own cross.  John tells us he carried it himself.  The other gospels mention Simon.  There is no contradiction.  It would not have been seen as odd for a convict to receive assistance is carrying his cross.  Some believe Simon shared the weight.  What we do know is relieving Jesus of some of the weight of the cross, if not all, was not an exercise of mercy on behalf of the guards.  Some suggest, and I would agree, Simon was compelled because the authorities were afraid Jesus would expire under the weight of the cross before they had a chance to crucify Him. Or, as another mentioned, it could be they were pressed for time and were worried under his weakened state, Christ would not have traversed the road to Golgotha with enough time to crucify him before Passover started.   Remember, Jesus is omnipotent.  Even though he limited this attribute for the sake of empathizing with us, He did not disown it.  The miracles are proof of this.  Therefore, if Jesus wanted to bear His own cross all by Himself, he could have very well accomplished it.  What we also note is that Simon was compelled.  A Jewish pilgrim from Cyrene, a city in northeastern Africa, was drafted into the service of the magistrate.  He had no choice.  He was required to assist by the authorities.  Simon was returning from the fields and was not in the congregation to witness this execution.  He was not a martyr.  He was on his way into town for the paschal sacrifice and was picked, as it would appear, randomly to bear the cross of Jesus.  There are so many ways in which to apply this particular event, yet one stands above the others.

Our cross-bearing comes at times we may not expect them.  They may come at times when we have another path of obedience already in place.  We may have made arrangements to walk in obedience and faith when Christ changes our plans and gives us a different cross to bear.  This is not a cross we saw coming.  It was not a cross which we would naturally identify with.  This cross comes as an interruption to what we had planned.  It is not that we would refuse the cross.  We would bear under the weight of it.  What we can surmise is Simon did not allow this particular cross to negatively affect him.  He could have.  He could have been resentful at the imposition of the guards on his time and also resent he would be mistakenly identified with the criminal at hand.  He could have argued and tried to avoid it.  Simon could have joined the crowd and mocked, rather than quietly submit to the cross before him.  But he didn’t.  In fact, it just might be this one event in his life radically changed him and resulted in fruit to the account of Christ, which he would never have foreseen.

Simon, according to Mark, is the father of Rufus and Alexander.  These two men were outstanding Christians of the first century.  Paul mentions them with great adoration and recognition as he closes out the letter to the Romans.  Simon’s willingness to bear the cross of Jesus resulted in salvation decisions of his own family and two sacrificial sons who will forever be memorized in the eternal word of God.  The cross that lies before us, of which we cannot see at the moment, might just be that cross that accomplishes the greatest change in ourselves and those around us.  What we consider to be an imposition and something anyone could do, just might be that which changes our world forever.