Simon of Cyrene and the Cross Christ Bore
Simon of Cyrene and the Cross Christ Bore
Most of us are acquainted with the generally accepted
teaching that Jesus appeared before Pilate, who later had
Jesus scourged. After the scourging, the soldiers put the
heavy cross on Him to carry to Calvary. Then, as the soldiers
and Jesus approached Calvary, Jesus broke down
under the burden of the cross so the soldiers pulled Simon
of Cyrene out of the crowd and ordered him to carry the
cross. Simon then carried the cross all the way to Calvary
where the soldiers crucified Jesus. This teaching makes
for a beautiful word-picture, colorful stained glass windows
in churches and an absorbing story, but it is not true.
To discover the accuracy of The Word regarding the
cross Christ bore, let us consider separately each record
in the Gospels, beginning with the Gospel of Matthew.
We’ll pick up the account as Jesus stood in Pilate’s judgment
hall, the Praetorium.
Matthew 27:27-32:
Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the
common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band
of soldiers.
And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe.
And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they
put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and
they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him,
saying, Hail, King of the Jews!
And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote
him on the head.
And after they had mocked him, they took the robe
off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and
led him away to crucify him.
And as they came out [of the hall], they found a man
of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to
bear his cross.
As the group emerged from the judgment hall, they
found a man at the entrance, and “him they compelled to
bear his cross.” There is nothing in the Gospel of Matthew
teaching that Christ even touched the wooden cross.
Simon of Cyrene was compelled to bear the cross all
the way to Calvary.
Mark 15:16-21:
And the soldiers led him [Jesus] away into the hall,
called Praetorium; and they call together the whole
band.
And they clothed him with purple, and platted a crown
of thorns, and put it about his head,
And began to salute him, Hail, King of the Jews!
And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did
spit upon him, and bowing their knees worshipped
him.
And when they had mocked him, they took off the
purple from him, and put his own clothes on him, and
led him out to crucify him.
And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed
by. . .to bear his cross.
Passed by where? Passed by the hall. There is no record
in the Gospel of Mark that even hints that Jesus
touched a piece of wood, a tree or anything like it. The
Word is explicit, plain and simple.
Luke 23:20-26:
Pilate therefore, willing to release Jesus, spake again
to them.
But they cried, saying, Crucify him, crucify him.
And he said unto them the third time, Why, what evil
hath he done? I have found no cause of death in him:
I will therefore chastise him, and let him go.
And they were instant with loud voices, requiring
that he might be crucified. And the voices of them
and of the chief priests prevailed.
And Pilate gave sentence that it should be as they
required.
And he released unto them him that for sedition and
murder was cast into prison, whom they had desired;
but he delivered Jesus to their will.
And as they led him away, [note carefully] 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.
As they led Jesus away, right there outside the hall’s
doorway was Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country
from the region beyond the gates. On him, not on
Jesus, was laid the cross. Note the word “after.” Some say
the word “after” means he carried it after Jesus had carried
it. No, Jesus went ahead and Simon followed behind,
after, him.
John 19:13-17:
When Pilate therefore heard that saying, he brought
Jesus forth, and sat down in the judgment seat in a
place that is called the Pavement, but in the Hebrew,
Gabbatha.
And it was the preparation of the passover, and about
the sixth hour [twelve midnight]: and he saith unto
the Jews, Behold your King!
But they cried out, Away with him, away with him,
crucify him. Pilate saith unto them, Shall I crucify
your King? The chief priests answered, We have no
king but Caesar.
Then delivered he him therefore unto them to be
crucified. And they took Jesus, and led him away.
And he bearing his cross went forth into a place
called the place of the skull, which is called in the
Hebrew Golgotha.
“And he [Jesus], bearing his cross. . .” is the phrase
from which has been inferred that Jesus bore the wooden
cross. This does not agree with the clear record in the
other three Gospels. The first three Gospels state very
plainly that Simon bore the cross from the door of the
judgment hall. But, the Gospel of John states, “And he,
bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place
of a skull.” “His cross” was not wooden, but spiritual.
The cross Jesus bore was composed of our sins and
our transgressions. If it had been a wooden cross, what
good would that have accomplished? He did not bear a
piece of wood nor a tree. He bore our sins! Note that
Colossians and Isaiah tell in part, at least, about the kind
of cross Jesus bore.
Colossians 2:14:
Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was
against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out
of the way, nailing it to his [his] cross.
Isaiah 53:6:
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned
every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all.
He took all the faults that were against us—the transgressions,
the sins, the bondage, the sickness and the pain
—and made them a part of his cross.
The Orientalism in verse 14 of Colossians 2 must be
understood in the light of Isaiah 40:2, “. . .that her iniquity
is pardoned: for she hath received of the Lord’s hand
double for all her sins.” According to the Orientalism the
name of a man who was bankrupt was posted at the gate
to the city by the Elders, along with the names of his
creditors and how much he owed them. When the debts
were completely paid, not partially paid, the Elders would
double the paper over the man’s name and nail it to the
board. This signified that all which was against him was
then blotted out, doubled. There was no longer condemnation
against him. Christ our benefactor paid the debt
in full, even when we were, “dead in trespasses and sin.”
It is blotted out, for He “doubled” it for us. We received
“double” for our sins because of Christ’s payment for us.
II Corinthians 5:21:
For he [God] hath made him [Jesus] to be sin for us
. . .that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him [that we might be made as righteous as God].
Isn’t that wonderful! You ask, “Me, as righteous as
God?” Yes, you.
Galatians 5:1:
Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ
hath made us free [”Hath” is in the past tense. How
hath he made us free? By bearing that cross, the cross
of bondage, for us.], and be not entangled again with
the yoke of bondage.
Jesus bore that cross of bondage, the law, just for you
and for me that we need not live under that bondage,
“which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear,”
according to Acts 15:10.
Not only was Jesus’ cross composed of our transgressions
and sins, plus the bondage of the law, but also of
our sicknesses.
Matthew 8:16, 17:
When the even was come, they brought unto him
many that were possessed with devils: and he cast
out the spirits with his word, and healed all that were
sick [Jesus did this with his word]:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias
the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and
bare our sicknesses.
He became sickness just like He became sin. The very
last clause of Isaiah 53:5 says, “. . .and with his stripes
we are healed.”
Isaiah 53:3-5:
He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows
[pains], and acquainted with grief [sickness]: and we
hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised,
and we esteemed him not.
Surely he hath borne [carried or had put on Him] our
griefs [sicknesses], and carried our sorrows [pains]:
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted.
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was
bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our
peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are
healed.
The cross of Jesus—what was it? John says they “led
him away. And he bearing his cross. . .” The cross Jesus
bore was of sin, bondage, sickness and pain.
The unlearned man has made the cross of Jesus a
wooden cross. The Word says, and the spiritual man
knows, that Christ’s cross was sin, bondage, sickness and
pain. A wooden cross could not accomplish anything, but
the cross of Jesus did much.
I Corinthians 1:17, 18:
For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the
gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of
Christ should be made of none effect.
For the preaching of the cross [The wooden cross?
No, the cross of Christ.] is to them that perish foolishness.. . .
Why does a millionaire act like a millionaire? Because
he believes he has a million dollars. Does he have a million
dollars laying in front of him? No! All he has is the
broker’s report that says he has so much in bonds and
stocks; he has his banker’s report and balance sheet indicating
he has so much money in the bank; he has his
attorney’s record of his other properties. It is only writing
—but he believes it. And, when he wants something, what
does he do? He buys it. Why? Because He believes what
is written. He believes the legal documents which indicate
he is a millionaire.
The Bible is the legal document for us. This is our broker’s
report, the record of our bank account, our attorney’s
record. If a man of the world can walk by man’s words,
we as Sons of God can walk by His Word. We must walk
like it, talk like it, act like it. It does not matter what anyone
else may say, I am and have what The Word says.
Nothing that other people say can change what The Word
says I am and I have. I believe what God says.
We must claim the promises of God like a businessman
claims the benefits of what he has accomplished.
Why not? “God is not a man that He should lie.” The
Word is as much God as God is Himself, just as your
word is as much you as you are yourself. The Word of
God is the Will of God. It means what it says and says
what it means.
The devil and his corps of workers do not want us to
understand that this cross of Christ took care of all our
needs. No, the devil wants us to believe it was a wooden
cross—something one gets splinters from, and then Satan
beats us down with condemnation, sin, judgment, frustration,
fear and defeat. The enemies of the cross of Christ
are those who do not believe or accept what Jesus did.
God says we are free because Christ bore all that is contrary
to us, nailing it to his cross.
Stand fast, therefore, in the Lord. Jesus bore His cross
—not of wood, but of sin and all its consequences—so
that we could live the more abundant life. The wooden
cross was borne by Simon of Cyrene; the spiritual cross,
by Jesus.
When we consider the galaxies of personalities around
the cross, of whom Simon was one, we uncover a variety
of men. The soldiers were there to see that “the law was
properly enforced and that the crucifixion went off according
to schedule. The Jewish priests and rabbis, plus
the majority of the members of the Jewish court of law,
the Sanhedrin, were there to see that the Roman soldiers
did their work properly and to see that this Jesus of
Nazareth was put out of the way once and for all. A few
of the disciples and close friends of Jesus were intermingled
with the crowd to see their star of hope wane
toward death; they loved Him as the Redeemer of Israel,
but they had come to stand at a distance to see their last
ray of hope pass on.
Most of the people gathered at the cross, however, were
merely curiosity seekers. They had perhaps never heard
of the condemned man before, but because so many people
went to watch, they too followed. (Even today people
flock to see a train wreck or an automobile accident.)
Likewise these hordes of people followed the crowd. And
yet, one man was at the foot of the cross who did not want
to be there. Simon of Cyrene had no more desire to be
at the crucifixion than you or I have to be present at the
electrocution of a criminal. If you had told Simon on
Tuesday that on the next day he would be an important
character, in the crucifixion of a “criminal,” he would
have laughed—but he was there.
Matthew, Mark and Luke each give us just one verse
about this man, which is all the information we have concerning
him.
Matthew 27:32:
And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene,
Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
Mark 15:21:
And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed
by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander
and Rufus, to bear his cross.
Luke 23:26:
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.
Yes, the man who did not want to be there, ended up
being one of the central personalities around the cross:
Simon, from the city of Cyrene. All he wanted was to be
left alone—to be allowed to go his way. He was coming
out of the country from the region beyond the gates; and,
evidently, he was coming to Jerusalem to celebrate the
Passover, when all at once his whole life took on a different
perspective.
To this man, the bearing of the cross must have been
an extreme annoyance and indignity. He had business of
his own to take care of. His family or his friends might
have been waiting for him; but suddenly his own plans
were dissolved. To touch the instrument of death, the
cross, was as revolting to him as it would be for us to
handle the hangman’s rope or to press the button in the
electrocution chamber—perhaps more so, because it was
Passover time and this act would make him ceremonially
unclean. Had Simon entered the city one hour sooner or
one hour later, his life’s history might have been entirely
different.
Sometimes when we want to be alone, when we don’t
want to be interfered with, it is just then that an interference
may make all the difference in the world; the greatest
change may hinge on the smallest circumstances. To
Simon, this encounter undoubtedly seemed at the moment
the most unfortunate incident that could have befallen
him—an interruption, an annoyance and a humiliation—
yet it turned out to be the gateway of life.
Are you spiritually in the condition that you just want
to be left alone? The interruption of Christ into your life
right now will make all the difference in the world for
you, for your children and for your children’s children.
It made a great difference for Simon.
“Simon a Cyrenian . . . the father of Alexander and
Rufus.” Evidently the two sons of Simon were wellknown
to those to whom Mark was writing. Compelling
Simon to bear the cross may have resulted in his salvation
and in the salvation of his house. Let me ask you this
question and then be honest with yourself:
Are you the kind of parent that your children can be proud of ? Will
they twenty-five years from now, remember you because
of the heritage you extended to them? Are you setting a
good example for your children? Are you leading your
children to Christ or away from him? The Bible says,
“So then every one of us shall give account of himself
to God.” Some day you and I as parents must give an
account of our lives. Do we instruct them in what we
would like to have them do, and then do we continue to
live in a haphazard way? Look at your child this moment,
are you a real parent to him? Are you a Christian?
The Apostle Paul tells us of our ultimate responsibility.
Ephesians 4:1:
I. . .beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation
wherewith ye are called.
Our Christian vocation is a responsibility of pure delight.
Our joyous cross is to live to carry forth the good
news of his accomplishments. Jesus Christ suffered and
died so that we can live with power.
We are inclined to speak of trouble as a kind of cross.
But properly speaking, Christ bore the real cross on our
behalf. The scorn, loss and censure is the cross Christ bore
that we might have joy in speaking to another in Christ’s
name. The time we give in Christian work, the giving of
our means that the gospel of Christ may be spread at
home and abroad, and manifesting the power of God in
our lives—yes, this is the living, joyous cross we bear.