Lessons from Simon the Cyrenian

The three synoptic gospels all mention the man Simon who was compelled to carry the cross of Jesus.  Matthew wrote that when they took Jesus to crucify Him, “They found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross” (Matthew 27:32).  Mark added a few more details about the man: “They compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross” (Mark 15:21).  Luke’s account uses even stronger language suggesting that the Romans really forced Simon to perform this task: “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” (Luke 23:26).  It appears that Simon was simply passing through minding his own business when the soldiers grabbed him and forced him to carry the heavy cross for Jesus up to Golgotha.  We know from the account in John that Jesus “bearing his cross went forth” to the place of crucifixion, so it must be that at some point He was no longer able to bear the cross and that’s when they grabbed a passerby to take it the rest of the way (John 19:17). 

               Does this brief account of Simon have anything to teach us?  On the one hand, perhaps there is some symbolism about carrying the cross of Christ.  Jacob in the Book of Mormon desired that “all men would believe in Christ, and view his death, and suffer his cross and bear the shame of the world” (Jacob 1:8).  Christ Himself told us, “Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:27).  As Christians we will each have at times the need to “bear his cross”, which I take to mean that we will need to do difficult things in order to defend His teachings or stand up for what is right and true.  And it may be that we have to do this without much time to prepare ourselves—like Simon we may be called upon when we are least expecting it to symbolically bear His cross. 

               Elder Maxwell suggested another lesson from the story of Simon.  The brief mention by Luke tells us that he had two sons who would have been known to the readers of his gospel, Alexander and Rufus.  Rufus, presumably the same man, was mentioned by Paul in his epistle to the Romans: “Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine” (Romans 16:13).  As Elder Talmage wrote, “It is probable that Simon’s family was prominently identified with the Primitive Church.”  Elder Maxwell suggested that this brief story helps us to understand that there is often more to life’s events than what meets the eye: “Simon, the Cyrenian, wandered into Jerusalem that very day and was pressed into service by Roman soldiers to help carry the cross of Christ (see Mark 15:21). Simon’s son, Rufus, joined the Church, and was so well thought of by the apostle Paul that the latter mentioned Rufus in his epistle to the Romans, describing him as ‘chosen in the Lord’ (Romans 16:13). Was it, therefore, a mere accident that Simon ‘who passed by, coming out of the country’ (Mark 15:21), was asked to bear the cross of Jesus?”  In other words, it would appear that after this experience of bearing the cross Simon and his family joined the Church and became followers of Jesus.  While in the moment the burden to carry the cross of Christ—with Roman soldiers and their swords pushing him on—may have seemed a difficult and undesirable experience, perhaps it was just that which proved to bring Simon and his family into the fold and faith in Christ.  Our own difficult experiences may similarly prove to be great blessings as they serve to point us to Him to truly bore all things for us.