Luke 23:26
Simon from Cyrene
26 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.
Mark 15:21
Simon from Cyrene
21 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.
Matthew 27:33
Simon from Cyrene
33 As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross.
Luke 9:23
Carrying Jesus' Cross
23 Then he said to them all: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.
Mark 8:34
Carrying Jesus' Cross
34 Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Matthew 16:24
Carrying Jesus' Cross
24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me.
Three of the authors of the Gospels tell us that on Good Friday, Simon from Cyrene was seized by Roman Soldiers and was forced to help Jesus carry His cross on the way to His crucifixion...Could it be true that the moment we take up His cross and follow Him we are a disciple of His?...Simon from Cyrene would literally do this on the first Good Friday...Simon was helping Jesus, and would become well known for helping Jesus carry His cross...But in the circumstances of that day, I bet Simon was afraid because he was chosen to help one to His death...Yet, when we reflect on this, Simon had an honor to help the Messiah carrying His cross
Jesus earlier had told what it takes take up and carry His cross...Carrying His cross is a very difficult task...It seems that Jesus, His cross, can bring on some humiliation and controversy when we stand behind Him and help Him...Can you imagine looking into the eyes of Jesus as He tried to carry the cross by Himself?...I imagine it was a look that Simon never would forget...I expect and would venture to guess, that Simon was converted that day by the eyes of Jesus...And we cannot forget that Simon may or may not have known Jesus...Simon would have seen a bloodied Messiah, after being flogged by Pilate...Did Simon feel humiliated at helping a criminal, or had he heard about Him and some of His teachings and felt some mercy?...Would he feel, why do I have to help this Guy?...Would he feel I am on my way to an execution, how do I get out of this and get out of here and back to my safe home in Cyrene?...Or would Simon (later) look back on this and think it a blessing?...
I think Jesus wants us to think about carrying His cross...It maybe that we are all partners of the cross and as we go through life with our own troubles, our own sufferings, our daily work, and our daily routines -Jesus is right there with us...Jesus is with us in our good moments, our great moments, and also in our sad and suffering moments...And He is there to help us...
It's possible that Jesus was, in fact, helping Simon that day Simon thought he was the one helping...I wonder that day, if Simon from Cyrene would reflect and realize that it was the best day of his life...He got to be close to our LORD...He was in the LORD's Presence...He met our LORD...And in a sense, He helped the LORD...Or did he?...Or was Jesus really helping him learn about the passion of the cross?...