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Tuesday, April 15, 2025
"Simon of Cyrene"
Message
summary:
Simon
of Cyrene
carried the
cross to
Golgotha, the
place of the
crucifixion,
and nothing
more is
written of
him. How did
this change
his life?
Listen to our message on your audio player.
"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). "And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14).The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street
But the crowd pressed in to see
The Man condemned to die on Calvary
This week we consider those who witnessed one of the greatest events of all time. I write "one of" because I consider various times and settings in the life of Christ that could all be counted among the greatest. There are those who were present at the time of His birth, His teaching, His resurrection and His ascension.
Simon was likely coming into the city as a Jew to participate in the Passover. He was from Cyrene in Africa (now in Libya) and many have conjectured that he may have been a black man. The Jewish people had been dispersed and many were living in colonies throughout the world. One colony goes all the way back to the message that the Queen of Sheba took back to Ethiopia at the time of Solomon in about 1000 BC. In Acts 8 we have the record of the Ethiopian eunuch. This colony survived to our own day and many were brought back to Israel in a remarkable airlift known as Operation Solomon.*
Simon
was on his way
in from the
country when
he was forced
to carry the
cross. All
three synoptic
gospels
emphasize his
forced
conscription.
Matthew states
he was "pressed
into service"
and Luke
states "they
seized a man,
Simon of
Cyrene".
His direction
was turned 180
degrees.
Coming in from
the country to
the city he
was now going
out from the
city to the
country. This
day was surely
not going as
he had planned
when he
awakened that
morning to
attend the
Passover
celebration!Only Mark points out an interesting detail that he was the father of two sons, Alexander and Rufus, possibly known personally to the initial readers. A Rufus is mentioned by Paul in Romans 16 and many Bible students feel this refers to one of these boys. If so that makes it even more interesting!
On the Vía Dolorosa (Way of Suffering) Simon carried the cross to Golgotha, the place of the crucifixion, and nothing more is written of him. I consider that he likely stayed and witnessed the crucifixion, perhaps along with his sons. What was he thinking as he carried the blood stained cross? Did Jesus say anything to him along the way? How did he react when he saw the crucifixion begin? What did he tell his sons? How did he live the rest of his life? These are surely some of the questions I will ask when I get to heaven!
Our first verse portion may initially seem to have nothing to do with today's account. It concerns Esther at a critical point in Jewish history. Mordecai called her to action in doing her part to save the Jews with these words, "And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" Mordecai realized that God had providentially placed Esther where she was for a greater purpose than she initially thought. This sense of divinely ordained purpose has been called "Esther moments".
Likewise Simon of Cyrene was where he was for a greater purpose than simply attending the Passover Celebration when he was enlisted to carry the cross which was essentially his "Esther moment". We all do well to discover our "Esther moments" in life.
Be encouraged today! Hebrews 3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Daily
prayer:
Father, when
we survey the
wondrous
cross; the
events that
led up to this
most important
time period in
history, our
hearts are
stirred with a
contemplative
blend of
contrition and
joyful
gratitude for
the sin debt
You paid on
our behalf.
The weight of
the cross, so
heavy that our
beaten Savior
fell beneath
its heavy
load, is
symbolic of
the crushing
debt load of
sin He carried
on our behalf.
So heavy in
fact that You,
our Father
God, turned
away from Your
beloved Son as
He alone bore
the sin of the
world. That
supremely dark
hour was
cringing for
the loving
onlookers as
their beloved
breathed His
last. Christ's
dead body lay
in a tomb
while His
followers were
grievous,
fearful,
questioning,
filled with
confusion,
doubt, regret
and without
direction. But
that would
soon change
and their
lives, along
with millions
throughout the
centuries -
ours included
- were forever
changed and
eternally
secured
through the
blood bought
Lamb's
sacrificial
death. Thank
You, Father,
for Jesus in
whose name we
pray. Amen.
Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental
Resources
"Via Dolorosa" Watch on YouTube Acoustic
"Simon
of Cyrene"
Watch
on YouTube
Daniel
Beck I
had never
heard this
song before
this morning
but it tells
the story from
Simon of
Cyrene's
perspective.
This powerful video tells the story of Simon of Cyrene in a dramatic and personal monologue, It presents a moving perspective while setting the scene in modern times.
Sight
& Sound's
production of
JESUS
will be
streaming for
free over
Easter
Weekend. Go to
this site.
Here's the sample
trailer.
Sight and
Sound is
located right
here in
Lancaster
County.
*
Operation
Solomon
The operation
set a world
record for
most
passengers on
an aircraft
when an El Al
747 carried
well over
1,000 people
to Israel. The
record itself
is
uncontested,
but the exact
number of
passengers is
unclear:
Guinness World
Records put
the number at
1,088,
including two
babies who
were born on
the flight. It
noted that
contemporary
reports cite
numbers as low
as 1,078 and
as high as
1,122.
Major Events of the Passion Week
An
astounding 30
of the 89
accumulative
chapters in
the four
gospels cover
the period
beginning with
Christ's
triumphal
entry through
His
resurrection
and
post-resurrection
appearances.
Mathematically
this means
that
approximately
33% of the
written
material in
the Gospels
deals with a
mere .05%
period of His
life! In the
providence of
God we have a
much greater
proportion of
Scriptural
revelation
dealing with
God's greatest
act of mercy
in providing
our
redemption.
Here's an
interesting
chart from a
Study Bible
that may be
helpful as you
study the
Bible this
week. It sure
helps me to
have a sense
of when the
events took
place and is
inspiring to
read these
Scriptures in
the daily
sequence
leading up to
Easter.
Sunday
Triumphant
Entry into
Jerusalem:
Matthew
21:1-11; Mark
11:1-10; Luke
19:29-40; John
12:12-19
Monday
Jesus Clears
the Temple:
Mt. 21:12,13;
Mk. 11:15-17;
Lk. 19:45,46
Tuesday/Wednesday
Jesus'
authority
challenged in
the temple:
Mt. 21:23-27;
Mk. 11:27-33;
Lk. 20:1-8
Jesus teaches
stories and
confronts the
Jewish
leaders: Mt.
21:28-23:36;
Mk. 12:1-40;
Lk. 20:9-47
Greeks ask to
see Jesus: Jn.
12:20-26
The Olivet
Discourse: Mt.
24; Mk. 13;
Lk. 21:5-38
Judas agrees
to betray
Jesus: Mt.
26:14-16; Mk.
14:10,11; Lk.
22:3-6
Thursday
The Last
Supper:
Mt. 26:26-29;
Mk. 14:22-25;
Lk. 22:14-20
Jesus speaks
to the
disciples in
the upper
room: Jn
13-17
Jesus
struggles in
Garden of
Gethsemane:
Mt. 26:36-46;
Mk. 14:32-42;
Lk. 22:39-46;
Jn. 18:1
Jesus is
betrayed and
arrested: Mt.
26:47-56; Mk.
14:43-52; Lk.
22:47-53; Jn.
18:2-12
Friday
Jesus is tried
by Jewish and
Roman
authorities
and disowned
by Peter: Mt
26:57-27:2,
11-31; Mk
14:53-15:20;
Lk
22:54-23:25;
Jn 18:13-19:16
Jesus is
crucified and
buried: Mt
27:31-56; Mk
15:20-41; Lk
23:26-49; Jn
19:17-30
Saturday
Disciples in
despair
Sunday
The glorious
resurrection:
Mt. 28:1-10;
Mk 16:1-11; Lk
24:1-12; Jn
20:1-18
(This material
is developed
from an
outline in the
Life
Application
Bible)
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Scripture references are from The Holy Bible: New International Version. © 1984 by International Bible Society; NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1995 by The Lockman Foundation, New King James Version (NKJV) Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. and the King James Version and a variety of other versions.
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