And as they came out, They found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, him they compelled to bear His cross. Matthew 27:32
It was not unusual to find a Cyrenian in Jerusalem during the time of Christ. Cyrene was a city in what is now Libya, and it had a large Jewish population, estimated at 100,000. Those people made regular and frequent visits to Jerusalem to fulfill the requirements of their religion. So many of them visited the city so often that they maintained their own synagogue there. The Roman soldiers did not set out to find a Cyrenian to bear the cross for the Lord Jesus, but it is not surprising that it was a Cyrenian that they grabbed. We can only imagine what an impression the experience made on Simon, to be so close to the Lord Jesus and His cross at that dramatic time.
Like Simon, we might well wonder why circumstances worked out the way they did to bring us into contact with the Gospel and under the striving of the Holy Spirit. Initially, Simon must have thought that he was in the wrong place at the wrong time. His curiosity about the procession to the place of crucifixion was what caused him to be there. But it was no mere coincidence that caused the Romans to seize him and force him to comply with their gruesome task. And in the years to come, Simon would realize that what appeared at first to be a cruel injustice to him was the hand of God in matchless grace. Only by carrying that cross could Simon have ever encountered the Lord Jesus. And only by encountering the Lord Jesus could he ever be saved. His torturous hour bearing the crude execution timber to Golgotha’s hill allowed Him to view first hand the brutal treatment Jesus had received, and His patient bearing of that cruelty. We don’t read of any words that passed between them, but it is impossible to dismiss the likelihood that the Lord Jesus expressed His gratitude, and that Simon expressed his compassion. We don’t know for sure, but it does not take much imagination to suppose that the journey to Calvary forged an eternal bond between the two men. And Simon was never the same.
Tradition tells us that Simon of Cyrene was a stalwart among the early believers in Jerusalem, and that his sons were among the early missionaries. Those accounts may well be true. Just imagine if you had been there that day, and that you had been pressed into carrying that cross, would you have been changed by the experience? God has worked in your experience in different circumstances, to bring you into contact with the crucified Saviour. And you have been changed. Your former careless attitudes about the Lord Jesus have been altered into an appreciation that makes all the difference for time and for eternity.
Consider Simon and his great experience, and be thankful that your salvation is just as great an experience for you. -Jim MacIntosh