Forced to Carry
A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross. — Mark 15:21 Gracious Lord Jesus, my friend and my King, I wonder what was going through Simon's mind when the Roman soldier yanked him out of the crowd and forced him to carry your cross. Here he is, 800 miles from home, a Passover pilgrim from North Africa, in Jerusalem caught in a crowd of onlookers viewing a Roman execution. He likely had no idea who you were and no desire to carry your cross. Yet he was compelled by a Roman soldier. You were physically unable and no Roman was going to carry it for you. Asking a local Jew would have started a riot, so that soldier grabbed a stranger. The stranger's name was Simon. Where was Simon Peter? He was nowhere to be found. The moment when his rabbi needed him to carry that 125 pound crossbeam, a different Simon had to be found. A stranger took his place because Simon Peter had f...