Luke 23:26 - Portrait of a disciple

By this time Jesus had already gone through much torture. Firstly from His personal anguish, then the belting and punching of the guards. The whips that were delivered to His back must have exposed the bone and cartilage. He truly suffered intensely. Now carrying the horizontal bar of the cross, known as the patibulum, Jesus was on the way to Golgotha. Doubtless to say, blood must be dripping from the wounds caused by the inflictions. Ordinarily, it would be no issue for Jesus to bear the weight of the patibulum which was about 45-50 kg.  He was well accustomed to carrying wooden beam in His work as a carpenter. But with the heavy injuries inflicted on his body, His strength must be almost drained. So He felt the weight of the heavy wood on His shoulder.

Luke in this verse, very matter-of-factly mentioned a North African man, a Jew from the city of Cyrene, by the name of Simon. He was in Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. They seized him and forced him to bear the cross and follow after Jesus. Simon must have borne the crossbeam with much grudge and anger. Luke's inclusion of this verse was intentional. Isn't this a perfect picture of what a disciple should be? Jesus said," If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me," (Luke 9:23). This is the most perfect image of what a disciple must do. Minus the grudge and the anger, of course! This is the first task that Simon of Cyrene portrayed for us as a disciple. 

There is also a second reason why Simon was mentioned. It would require a bit of deduction. It's the fact that Simon of Cyrene became a Christian and followed Christ after this experience. Mark 21:15 mentioned the names of Alexander and Rufus, both the sons of Simon. And the Apostle Paul, writing in Romans16:13, said, "Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine." Did Simon go back to Rome trusting the Lord and became a pillar in that church? After seeing the Son of God died on man’s behalf, he most probably did, and he even influenced his family, his son Rufus in particular.

Simon was caught by surprise. He came to celebrate the Passover but ended up carrying the crossbeam for Jesus. So close was he to Jesus that he saw every bit of the humiliation, and heard every word He uttered as He stumbled before him. Could anyone who was exposed to such an amazing grace remain untouched? On that day or the day after, Simon gave His life to Christ.

What could be some thoughts that went through Simon's mind while bearing the cross? Why me? Why did they make me bear the cross for Jesus? "But Simon," the Lord would say, "I have need of you." Today, the Lord is saying the same to us, "I have need of you." What a privilege it is to bear the cross of Christ. Like Simon, we may not understand why we are going through our hardship. Take heart, through them Christ is revealing Himself to us. This Simon, though long gone, still speaks eloquently. He is saying to us, let's deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow after Jesus. Willingly.