Mark 15:21-22
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. (Simon was the father of
Alexander and Rufus). And they brought Jesus to a place called Golgotha (which
means "Place of the Skull").
Who was Simon of Cyrene? We do
not know for certain, but we can make some pretty good guesses. Mark tells us
that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus. (Mark 15:21, Acts 13:1.) And
since the gospel of Mark was directed to the Romans, it is evident that the
sons were well known in the church at Rome.
But how unexpected the honor
was! When Simon left home he had no idea that he was going to play such an
important part in history! And perhaps as you read this the Lord will honor you
and ask you to shoulder a burden. Maybe right now He's saying, "I want you
in Burma, Africa, India, Mexico. Or maybe in a voice that is soft and low He is
saying, "I need you in the Sunday school. I need you to do regular church
visitation. I need your money."
If He is saying these things we
should answer, "Yes, Lord," and feel honoured in doing so!
Now we often hear that a cross
is something that we voluntarily pick up; but this is not always so. The text
tells us that Simon was compelled to carry it. Please remember that real
Christians are obedient Christians and that if we are to obey, we must pick up
the burdens Jesus hands us and be thankful to carry them!
I do not know what kind of
cross the Lord may present to you. But whatever it is, carry it! The
cross-bearer carries something that Jesus cannot carry in order to enable Jesus
to do what the cross-bearer cannot do!
The task Simon was asked to
complete was not a very spectacular one. His job was simply to carry a cross a
few hundred feet; tradition tells us that Jesus Himself had already carried the
cross most of the distance. Although the job looked insignificant at the
moment, it turned out to be extremely important!
It is easy enough to get people
to assume big crosses with publicity attached to them, crosses that the
multitude can see. But it is very difficult to get them to assume the little
crosses that are unnoticed by the crowd. Yet, frequently it is the little cross
that does the most good!
Teaching a Sunday school class
is not always an easy thing. To some teachers it is a very heavy cross. To work
on a lesson for a class with its quota of rowdies is not always easy. Many a
teacher goes home and weeps over the happenings of the day. And yet it so
happens that here and there a screaming toddler, a paper-throwing junior hears
something from or sees something in the teacher that brings about a great
change.
Do not despise the seemingly
little things! Simon's burden was not unusually heavy. His task was not drawn
out. But it was very necessary! And his name is written large in history as a
result.
You may be asked to assume a
cross for the simple reason that no one else will carry it. Simon was not
chosen because he was pious, strong or faithful. He was chosen because no one
else could be had!
And when he picked up the
cross, without doubt he was met with jeers and boos. One can imagine the abuse
that was heaped on him as he stood to his feet with the cross over his
shoulder.
Then I think somebody must have
gone right up to him and snarled, "Now you're defiled. You can't partake
of the Passover. You are the most ignorant ignoramus I ever met!" His ears
must have tingled with the abuse. But I do not think he really minded. For I
think the Master must have put a wearied arm around him for support, and I
think He must have whispered some wonderful words of cheer into Simon's ears!
Jesus had instituted the Lord's
Supper the night before. But on this gloriously terrible day He continued a
custom that He has never stopped. This wonderful custom is that He always walks
with the one who is carrying a cross!
Are you weary of your burden?
Look at Jesus by your side. He is carrying the heaviest end of the loadãthe end
with the rough edges. And if He isn't, it is because you will not let Him!
Are you weary of the scorn of
the crowd? Look at Jesus, more of the scorn is being heaped on Him than on you!
Are you weary of your tired,
aching and diseased faltering body? Look at Jesus. He was so weary He fell. And
His body was covered with wounds, spittle and blood!
When Simon took hold of the
cross, Jesus was so faint that He had fallen to the ground. But now that He had
Simon to lean on, He gathered strength. In the crowd that day there was a large
number of women who were weeping and lamenting over Jesus. Presently Jesus
spoke to them: "Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for me, but weep for
yourselves, and for your children. For, behold, the days are coming, in the
which they shall say, Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bare,
and the paps which never gave suck. Then shall they begin to say to the
mountains, Fall on us; and to the hills, Cover us. For if they do these things
in a green tree, what shall be done in the dry?" Luke 23:28-31.
This was a very remarkable
prophecy concerning what was to come. I wonder if Jesus would have had the
strength to utter these words without the help of Simon? Perhaps not! Carrying
a wooden cross a short distance may have seemed insignificant to Simon, and yet
it enabled Jesus Christ to preach!
What you are doing for the
Master may seem very trivial and insignificant, but it enables Him to carry on
His work, for we are yokefellows with Him. Listen to what Jesus had to say on
this matter, "And whosoever shall give to drink unto one of these little
ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you,
he shall in no wise lose his reward." Matthew 10:42.
That day Simon had to give up
taking the Passover because he had carried the cross and thus defiled himself.
But whenever we give up something for Jesus Christ, we always receive far more
in return. Remember the Master said, "And every one that hath forsaken
houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or
lands, for my name's sake, shall receive an hundredfold, and shall inherit
everlasting life." Matthew 19:29.
Simon of Cyrene gave up the
Passover, but in its place he received the "peace that passeth
understanding." It was an excellent bargain!
Mark tells us that Simon was
the father of Alexander and Rufus, but he does not tell us anything about
Alexander and Rufus. Why? It just was not necessary! We believe these two sons
were well known and loved by the readers of Mark's gospel in Rome! They were
pillars in the Church! Indeed, it is thought by some that Rufus traveled with
Peter and Andrew on evangelistic trips. We do know that he was well known to
Paul, for at the conclusion of his Epistle to the Romans he wrote, "Salute
Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine" (16:13). It seems that
the whole family was saved!
But now let us indulge our
imaginations, move the clock ahead some thirty years from the time Simon
carried the cross, and go into an obscure part of the city of Rome. Nero has
been on the throne since A.D. 54. Because of him many Christians have been put
to death. Peter has been crucified. Paul has been beheaded. Others have been
burned to death, some of them as flaming torches.
But the Christians, the brave
Christians, continued to worship. Let us slip into one of their meetings. A
letter of Paul's is read, prayer is offered, communion is taken, a song is
sung. Then a leader asks volunteers to rise and tell how they met Christ.
Timothy gets to his feet and
tells how he found the Nazarene through the preaching of Paul in Lystra in A.D.
48.
Then John Mark stands up. He
tells how he saw the arrest of Jesus and how he had to flee home naked. Then he
tells how he found Him as his personal Savior.
"But Father didn't come
back for a long time, and when he did I noticed something had happened to him.
There was a new light in his eyes. His worries and anxieties were gone. But I
also noticed blood on his gown, and so I asked him what it was. "Then he
told us the story of the cross. At first we could not believe that it was
actually the Messiah. But we saw the change in Father and learned about the
Resurrection, and so we knew that it was true.
"And that is how our
entire family became followers of the Lord Jesus Christ!" Simon of Cyrene
bore the cross patiently, and as a result his sons, Alexander and Rufus, became
Christians. And perhaps even Paul heard the gospel first through their mother.
Bearing one's cross pays!
