Simon of Cyrene: Bearer of the Cross
Matthew 27:31-32, Mark 15:15-21, Luke 23:26-32
They took His purple robe off Him, and put His garments on Him. Then they took Jesus, and they led Him out to crucify Him, and He went out, bearing His own cross.
And when they led Him away, as they were coming out, they laid hold of a man named Simon of Cyrene, a passer-by coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross, And placed the cross on him to carry behind Jesus.
And following Him, there was a great crowd of the people, and of women who were also mourning and lamenting Him. But turning to them, Jesus said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, stop weeping for Me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children. For behold the days are coming when they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, and the wombs that never bore, and the breasts that never nursed.’ Then they will begin to say to the mountains, ‘Fall on us,’ and to the hills, ‘Cover us.’ For if they do these things in the green tree, what will happen in the dry?”
And two others also who were criminals were being led away to be put to death with Him.
The idiom about the green tree and dry symbolizes Jesus as being the green, living tree, and most likely the dry time during the destruction of Jerusalem in 70AD, as far as I can find. Simon of Cyrene is named and in this account as Jesus carried His cross. Just imagine the thoughts going through his head as he carried the cross of Jesus. I’m sure they made eye contact on the way up that road.
Number of Fish: 1
Total Fish: 144
153 Fish 