The Cross: And What It Means for Lost Humanity
Simon of Cyrene - from Bystander to Cross-Bearer
NOTES PREPARED BY PAUL BARKER
Text: Mark 15:21 (ESV)
And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross.
Focus Statement:
He was a neutral bystander until a face-to-face encounter with Jesus converted him.
The Text in the Story of Redemption
This story reflects the mindset of the Roman Empire: “We can kill, seize, and do whatever we want. We are the final authority, answering to no one. We control the fate of Jesus and the Jews."
While some Jews adjusted to Roman rule, many awaited a Savior to deliver them.
The Jewish faith has long anticipated a King who would set things right and restore Israel.
From youth, they were taught that a prophet like Moses would come (Deuteronomy 18:15), from David’s lineage, establishing an eternal throne (2 Samuel 7:12–13).
He would bear the government (Isaiah 9:6) and baptize in the Holy Spirit (John 1:33).
In Caesarea Philippi, Peter received the revelation that the long-awaited Messiah was finally here and that he was the Christ, the Son of the living God (Mark 8:29).
Yet, after this revelation, Jesus told his disciples he would suffer, die, and rise again—a concept that clashed with their expectation of a victorious king.
They expected a king with a sword, not a cross.
Crucifixion symbolized defeat.
This is why, each time Jesus predicted his death, the disciples resisted and were confused:
Mark 8:31–33: Peter rebuked Jesus after hearing about the cross, focusing on human concerns rather than God’s plan.
Mark 9:31–35: After Jesus spoke of his death, the disciples argued about who was the greatest, and Jesus had to reorient their thinking: “Whoever wants to be first must be last.”
Mark 10:32–41: Following the third prediction of his death, James and John sought positions of power, which angered the other disciples.
Like us, the disciples had to learn that God’s path to redemption came through the cross.
At Jesus’ weakest moment, God’s greatest power was revealed.
This “Path of Sorrow” is also the path of life, hope, and restoration.
The cross is so central to God’s plan that Jesus said, “If anyone wishes to come after me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me” (Mark 8:34).
Simon of Cyrene, who carried Jesus’ cross, embodies Mark 8:34. He shared in its shame, pain, and death — and thereby shared in its life.
Simon was forced to carry the cross, but today we must choose to take up our own.
As Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ, and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.”
We live in a time when much of life is spent as spectators.
We watch the news from a distance, scroll through social media, observe others’ lives, cheer on our favorite sports teams, and, sadly, we may even approach church the same way—merely as spectators.
It’s easy to understand why: spectating feels safer and more comfortable than the risk of participation.
But what if simply watching isn’t enough?
What if the cross demands something more?
Our story today is just one verse. While it is short, it leaves us with intimate details describing Jesus’ journey to the cross.
This brief passage shows a man changed from a spectator to a cross-carrier.
Luke 23:26
And as they led him away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.
The cross calls us from being spectators to being participators in the life of Christ.
Setup
When reading about the life of Jesus in the Gospels, we might wonder what it would have been like to witness those moments firsthand: to see Jesus open blind eyes, to witness him feeding the multitude, or to hear the Sermon on the Mount.
But what would it have been like to witness Jesus carrying the cross?
Verse 26 describes the Roman soldiers leading Jesus and two other condemned criminals to their execution.
The soldiers acted under the authority of Pontius Pilate, who had just sentenced Jesus to death after being pressured by the crowd (Luke 23:18–25).
At this moment, Jesus is fulfilling Isaiah 53:7: “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.”
Despite having the power to escape, Jesus willingly follows the divine plan.
As he said in Luke 22:22, “For the Son of Man goes as it has been determined, but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed!”
Though Jesus was being led to the cross, his suffering began long before.
In the first-century Roman empire, criminals typically carried the crossbeam to the site of their crucifixion, which could have been as much as three-quarters of a mile, now known as the Via Dolorosa, or Path of Sorrows.
By this point, Jesus was likely physically exhausted.
Luke 22:63 mentions that the soldiers had beaten him while in custody, from Thursday night until his trial before Herod and Pilate the next day.
This explains why Jesus needed help carrying the cross.
As the soldiers led Jesus away, they seized a man named Simon of Cyrene and forced him to carry Jesus’ cross.
Simon was from Cyrene, a Roman colony in northern Africa with a large Jewish population.
It is possible that Simon was a Jew in town for the Passover Celebrations.
Mark provides another detail in his account (15:21).
He was the father of Alexander and Rufus.
These were likely disciples in the early church.
More important than all of those details is that he was forced to carry the cross of Christ.
The soldiers seized him against his will.
He did not volunteer.
Luke uses the word epilambonomai, which means to lay hold of, often by force or aggression.
Simon was carrying a cross as he walked behind Jesus.
Could you imagine the range of emotions he would have felt: Fear, fatigue, anger, confusion, sadness?
Simon has gone from spectator to participator.
He was now sharing this moment with Jesus.
He shared in the shame of Christ.
Carrying a cross was not a badge of honor but a sign of defeat and ridicule.
Throughout this chapter, people are mocking Jesus (vv. 11, 36).
As someone who carried the cross for Jesus, he was now open to the same type of verbal abuse.
He shared in Christ’s suffering.
Carrying the cross would have been considerable pain and difficulty.
The crossbeam could have weighed 75 to 125 pounds (34 to 57 kilograms), and carrying it for that distance would have been physically taxing.
Luke used the same word in Acts 21:30 when the Ephesians seized Paul in the temple, “Then all the city was provoked, and the people rushed together, and epilambonomai Paul they dragged him out of the temple, and immediately the doors were shut.”
He shared in Christ’s sorrow.
This path was filled with sorrow. Evidence of this is seen in the following verse, where we see women mourning and lamenting.
It was a heartbreaking moment for many.
Not everyone agreed with the chants to crucify Jesus.
To carry the cross of Christ was to walk amid sorrow.
In some ways, this story leaves us with more questions than answers: What was Simon doing in Jerusalem?
What happened to him after he carried the cross?
Did he ever come to believe in the message of Jesus?
History has attempted to answer some of these questions.
In Paul’s closing to his letter to the Romans, he wrote in Romans 16:13, “Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine.”
It is believed that this was possibly the son of Simon referred to by Mark (15:21).
In his Tyndale commentary on Luke, Leon Morris writes, “It has been conjectured that he was won that day by the bearing of him whose cross he carried” (page 342).
Could it be that just as Simon participated in the cross of Christ, he came to experience the life of Christ?
What does this story reveal about the human condition?
While this story is unique to a particular moment in history, many of us live in a world with oppressors and persecutors, the rich and powerful who seemingly do whatever they want with no apparent consequences.
Others—like Simon in this story—are powerless, voiceless victims.
In response, people often look for a rescuer: a politician, celebrity, or leader to make things right.
The same hope existed in Jesus’ time.
What does this story reveal about the nature of the kingdom of God?
The lesson the disciples had to learn is that God’s kingdom differs from the world’s ways.
His way of redeeming the world was a cross.
In Jesus’ weakest moment, he brought about our rescue—though not in the way anyone expected.
The Path of Sorrow is also the path of life, hope, and restoration.
Ultimately, it was not the Romans, religious leaders, or even the crowd who were in control—God sovereignly reigned over all things, even when it didn’t appear that way.
As Jesus reminded Peter, going to the cross was part of God’s plan, not man’s (Mark 8:33).
What is the gospel application in the text?
The cross is central to God’s plan.
The same cross that Simon carried would be the cross on which Jesus died, declaring, “It is finished!”
Simon of Cyrene shared in the shame of the cross; he shared in the suffering of the cross; he shared in the sorrow of the cross, but in doing so, he was also able to share in the power of the cross.
When we follow Jesus as his disciples, we must be prepared to share in the shame of the cross, the suffering of the cross, and the sorrow of the cross.
Paul said in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself up for me.”
Something happens to us when we actively participate in the cross: we no longer see ourselves as victims of shame, suffering, and sorrow; instead, we become overcomers as those who share in the life and power of Christ.
The power of God’s love on Calvary leads us to the cross.
In our story, Simon was forced to take up the cross.
In our lives today, we must choose whether or not to do the same.
Will you take up the cross and follow him?