Once Jesus had been unjustly sentenced to death He was led away to be crucified. Jesus’ trial and subsequent sentencing had taken place within the city walls but his crucifixion would take place on a hill just outside Jerusalem. The scourging, beating, and torture he had undergone rendered his body a mass of bloody flesh, barely strong enough to stand, let alone walk to the crucifixion site. The cross on which He would be killed was formed of two wooden beams. The upright post had been left at the crucifixion site, not least as a reminder to anyone who passed by that serious misdeeds could lead to this most inhumane of deaths. Getting the horizontal cross-piece, known as the patibulum, to the place of execution formed part of the punishment as the victim was required to carry his own patibulum before being attached to it.
The Roman authorities, and Roman soldiers in general, had the right to commandeer any citizen to help them with a task. A common one was carrying a load for them and they could do this for up to a mile (see Matthew 5:41). Seeing that Jesus was too weak to carry his own load caused the soldiers to find in the crowd someone who could be forced to carry the patibulum. Seeing Simon of Cyrene, they seized him (Luke 23:26) and ‘pressed him into service’ (Mark 15:21).
We know very little about Simon. He appears in a single verse in each of Matthew, Mark and Luke’s accounts of the passion of Christ as he flits into view and then is gone. The facts are that he was from Cyrene, which is a town in modern-day Libya, and he had two sons called Rufus and Alexander (see Mark 15:21). It is highly likely he was Jewish and had made his way to Jerusalem for the Passover festival as he was ‘coming in from the country’.
And so here, in the middle of the account of Jesus laying down His life so that we could be saved, we see a picture of what it will mean to follow Jesus: ‘As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.’ (Luke 23:26)
Rightly, as we read this account our attention is captured by Jesus. He is the true hero of the story. He is the Saviour. He is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He is the One who suffered unimaginable pain and anguish in order to win our freedom.
And yet, as we zoom in on the scene, we find this picture of what it will mean to truly follow Jesus. Simon of Cyrene is there carrying a cross and following in the footsteps of Jesus. This is the calling of the true disciple. This is the path each of us must choose if we are to imitate Christ: to carry our cross behind Jesus.
Jesus had laid this out earlier in the gospel. When revealing to His disciples that He ‘must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised up on the third day’ He went on to say, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’ (Luke 9:22,23).
Simon of Cyrene didn’t provide an accidental reference point. He provides us with a stark reminder that to follow Jesus we need to be all in. There is no half measure. The true disciple must be prepared to deny himself, take up his cross – every single day – and follow Jesus.
The months which followed Jesus’ death, resurrection and ascension saw persecution hit the Early Church. The accounts in the book of Acts show Stephen, Simon Peter, John, James, Paul, Barnabas, Silas and others being imprisoned or persecuted or killed for following in Jesus’ footsteps. This was their lot, their sacrifice for their Lord. ‘In fact,’ say Paul, ‘everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted’ (2 Timothy 3:12). For every Christian, following in Jesus’ footsteps involves carrying one’s cross. It involves cost. It involves sacrifice. It involves suffering. The exact details will look different for each individual but the overall path is clear: deny yourself, take up your cross daily and follow closely behind Jesus wherever He leads.
In Luke 23:26 as Jesus heads to His death, Simon of Cyrene sums up our discipleship in the fleeting but compelling image he provides: following behind Jesus carrying a cross.
‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.’ (Luke 9:22,23).
His example lays down a challenge and an invitation to us all.
The Sharpened Sword 