Simon of Cyrene in the bible is only mentioned in three of the four Gospels of the bible as the man who was imposed by the Roman soldiers to carry the cross of Jesus outside of Jerusalem. He this was the father of Rufus and Alejandro. As can be seen in the Holy Scriptures:
“And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming from the country, to bring him the cross. And they took him to a place called Golgotha, which translated is: Place of the Skull. (Mark 15:21-22)
In this sense, Rufus is considered to be the same character that Paul greets in his letter to Rome, to whom he assigns him as the “chosen in the Lord” and whose mother “She has also been a mother to me” (Romans 16:13). This indicates that Paul knew about his family, which indicates that they lived further east.
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It is known of Simon of Cyrene that it is very likely that he was Jewish, since his name turned out to be a very common Jewish name. In addition, in the area of Cyrene, at that time there were many Jews, since they went to Jerusalem to celebrate the Jewish festival of Passover.
Importance of Simon of Cyrene in the Bible
Simon of Cyrene in the Bible makes his only appearance at the moment when Jesus is carrying the cross where he will be crucified. And in the more than 30,000 verses that the Holy Scriptures have, only his name is found in three of the gospels, and they express almost the same words:
1.- “As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene named Simon; They forced him to carry the Cross.” (Matthew 27:32).
two.- “And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming from the country, to bring him the cross.” (Mark 15:21).
3.- “And taking him away, they took a certain Simon of Cyrene, who came from the field, and put the cross on him so that he could carry it after Jesus.” (Luke 23:26).
In this way, the importance of this character lies in the fact that he was at the right time and did not expect what would happen to him that day, since he had been chosen to carry out a mission that would change his life. God without a doubt, had everything planned, it was his purpose that Simon of Cyrene had this encounter with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Despite the fact that there was a crowd of people, the soldiers looked at him because of the need to find someone who voluntarily wanted to carry the cross of Jesus, since God’s purpose was for someone who had no relation to that to carry the cross. what was happening
Simon of Cyrene in the Bible was not looking for the Lord that day, but nevertheless God was looking for him, and that is why he placed him in that place at that precise moment, and he made the soldiers choose him. So everything came from the Lord, to be able to fulfill the purpose for that man from Africa.
Where was Simon of Cyrene from?
Simon of Cyrene is considered to be of African descent. His city was located in North Africa in present-day Libya, determined by the Greeks in 630 BC. C. and later induced with a Jewish population of great importance.
Cyrene was the capital of the Roman district of Cyrenaica at the time of Jesus’ crucifixion. By this time, Cyrene was inhabited by large numbers of Hellenistic or Greek-speaking Jews.
What is the meaning of Simon of Cyrene
Simon of Cyrene is a representation of all of us, with whom Jesus shows and teaches his work, and participates in all the victories and sufferings, we keep him present in all aspects of our lives.
Simon of Cyrene symbolizes the person who walks with Jesus Christ carrying the cross, his suffering, carrying his life and resurrection in his soul, feeling the weight of that heavy load full of suffering but also of hope.
So the moment we decide to carry that cross together with our heavenly master, we can lighten our loads, and feel more than anything else a spiritual load that must be a life mission.
Walking with Jesus on that cross has to be an experience that changes our hearts and allows us to live what he lived, and feel that his sacrifice was worth it because thanks to him, we are saved and abolished from sin.
What is the meaning of carrying the cross for Simon of Cyrene in the bible?
What this character did that day meant an event as unrepeatable as the death of the Lord on the Cross, since no man in history has carried out or will carry out an act like the one he did, which was to carry the cross of the Lord.
In this way, the image of Simon of Cyrene carrying the cross behind Jesus reminds us of what it is to be a true disciple, as expressed in the book of Luke 23:26: “If anyone wants to come after me, deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” Which is not optional for the most committed believers.
To follow the Lord Jesus Christ and reach the Kingdom of heaven there are not two or more options, and you cannot pay the minimum price for it. If you really want to be a Christian, you must deny yourself, take up your cross and follow Our Lord. As his word announces: “Let us therefore go out to him, outside the camp, bearing his reproach.” (Hebrews 13:13).
This biblical character did not know what awaited him that day, but God had already planned it, and from one day to the next he had gone from being ignorant of the Lord to knowledge about him and his work. Although not all encounters with the Lord are so tragic and shocking, they make a difference in our day to day.
Through a chat with a person, a reading, a piece of news, it can refer us to the divine presence of our God. But what exerts a true change in us is the Cross of Christ and having been before it.
We know that we can no longer face the Cross of Christ in a physical way, but we can approach it in a spiritual way.
Simon of Cyrene had knowledge of Jesus
Certainly this character could have heard about Jesus and his miracles and teachings. It is very likely that the merchant ships that arrived at the coasts had stories like those of Lazarus and other very relevant events for that time. But perhaps what could have caught Simon’s attention the most was the fact that Jesus was the promised Messiah, and when he arrived in Jerusalem, he felt somewhat confused by the situation that was presenting itself at that moment.
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Many people traveled to that place every year, but in this case, the atmosphere was very tense and there were many screams, wailing and there was a lot of commotion in the streets. Which surely led him to look out to see what was happening and to see the man they wanted to crucify.
How was Simon of Cyrene’s encounter with Jesus
When Simon meets Jesus, he finds him very badly injured, unable to recognize his face. He was so weak that he could hardly get up, and he did not have the strength to carry the weight of the cross. When this character approached, the soldiers asked him to carry the cross, even though he had nothing to do with what was happening.
When Simon carried the cross through the narrow streets, he was able to witness the great strength of Jesus, and the displays of evil and hatred of the people who wanted the crucifixion. Yet Jesus Christ did not utter a word of protest.
It is very likely that Simon did not fully know Jesus but without a doubt he was able to realize that he was not an ordinary man. And this encounter with the Easter Lamb changed his life forever, as he was the only man in history to carry the cross of the Master, of the Messiah, of our redeeming Christ.
Why Simon of Cyrene carried the cross of Jesus, what was the purpose
This is one of the questions that can arise when we review history and the crucial moment in which they were going to crucify Jesus, which was a very controversial situation, since it caused the revolt of an entire town that rose up against a faithful and just man who had done nothing wrong, and who, on the contrary, came to bring the admirable light of his presence, came to heal the sick, to help the helpless and to give words of encouragement to the helpless.
But Simon was apparently a foreigner, so he did not have much knowledge of Jesus and his purpose here on earth. Possibly if he had heard about him and the miracles he had done. So when they forced him to carry the light, he was able to meet the teacher face to face, which would change his life forever, since he saw the suffering of a just man who only sought the good for humanity.
This character had a very powerful mission, and although his name is not mentioned much in the sacred scriptures, he would become part of the story of the Messiah, who gave his life for all of us through his sacrifice and resurrection.
But why would Simon of Cyrene be entrusted for such an important mission, what were God’s reasons and why was he chosen by the soldiers? God already had predestined that he would carry the cross and that this would give him the opportunity to know the strength, humility, courage, and temperance of Jesus, who never complained about his fate.
On the other hand, the soldiers may have realized that the Lord was already too weak to carry the cross to the top by himself. In addition, Jesus had already been with the people for three and a half years and walked a lot without rest and had had to go through the agony of Gethsemane, the betrayal of Judas Iscariot, the disloyalty of his disciples and a whole night of solitude, humiliation after three different judgments (before the Council, with Herod and with Pilate). In addition to suffering a very strong physical and humiliating torture for any human being.
In this sense, Jesus Christ suffered a lot in that transition of being crucified and Simon of Cyrene appears to help him carry that heavy weight and accompany him in his pain and humiliation. This character may seem like just an extra but it turns out to be a symbol of submission and surrender to our Lord Jesus Christ, since as believers we must take up that cross and live the gospel that was the legacy of Christ.