On Good Friday, I decided to read Mark’s account of what happened on that Friday when Jesus was sentenced, crucified, died, and buried. I’m not sure why, but today I was struck by one sentence, one verse, in this passage:
A man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the country just then, and they forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon is the father of Alexander and Rufus.) –Mark 15:21, New Living Translation
That’s it. The Bible tells us little more about this man, and any other Bible reference to his sons (see Romans 16:13). Perhaps he knew that carrying a Roman cross declared one’s guilt, but I doubt that he understood that this man whose cross he was carrying was innocent of this or any crime. I’m guessing Simon didn’t consider this to be a very good Friday at the time.
I can relate to this Simon. Like him and like you, I have found myself in circumstances I do not understand. I have no idea how God is working in and though this situation. It just seems things are out of control and often life has felt like a huge burden to carry. It’s easy to miss God’s bigger picture, his bigger purpose. Ultimately, I relate to Simon because, like him, I know I am the one who is guilty and yet Jesus took the cross and died upon it. The Holy One took the death penalty for the guilty ones so the guilty ones could become holy in God’s eyes. Amazing.
I don’t know if Simon got this at the time. Many feel he did eventually, though, and that he is called out by name here because he and his family were known in the church years later. I don’t know about that. but I do know that the the same Jesus that Simon encountered by chance that Good Friday is the Jesus who I am trusting this Good Friday.
