Simon the Cyrenian

In movies or shows about Jesus, we rarely see a dark-skinned African following Jesus (the exception being Jesus Christ Superstar). Most likely, however, many of Jesus’s extended followers were dark-skinned Africans from northern Africa. One such example is Simon, the Cyrenean. Cyrene was in the northern Africa, where Tripoli is. As the soldiers led Jesus to be crucified,

“They seized Simon, certain Cyrenian, who was coming from a field, and put the cross on him compelling to carry it behind Jesus.” (Luke 23:26)

Simon couldn’t escape. The cross was thrust upon him. While the disciples ran away, he carried the cross for Jesus. Was it a privilege or punishment?

Without a doubt, he would have considered it a punishment at first. After Jesus’s resurrection and the church’s growth, he would have considered it a privilege. Mark even listed his two sons’ names—Alexander and Rufus (Mark 15:21). Perhaps one of these sons later became a significant person in one of the churches in Rome (Rom 16:13).

When people make us carry crosses, or we carry Christ’s cross, often it might seem like a punishment—something thrust upon us. When we patiently bear it, however, we’ll find the blessing associated with it and see it as a privilege.