Simon Of Cyrene and Cross Bearing

There are three New Testament passages that refer to a man named Simon of Cyrene who was “pressed into service” by the Romans to bear the cross of Christ who was on His “sorrowful way” (i.e. the Via Dolorosa) to Calvary. This mostly unknown man’s deed that he was forced to do is remembered every Easter to this very day. In this study, we’ll see what his simple involuntary act means to every follower of Christ today.

Who Was Simon Of Cyrene?

• Simon: “to hear,” or “hearkening.” Harkening means, “to listen with intent to obey; to listen attentively and give heed, often with the implication of obeying or responding to what is heard.”

(See the section below for more in regards to the Hebrew word shema, often interpreted into English as “obey.” As you’ll discover, there is actually no Hebrew word for “obey.”)

• Cyrene, in modern-day Libya, Africa, was an ancient Greek colony.

• Tradition states Simon went to Egypt and shared the Gospel. After that, according to the apocryphal Acts of Simon and Judas, Simon was martyred in 100 A.D by being cut in half with a saw.

• Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. When Paul wrote Romans, He mentions Romans 16:13 says to greet Rufus and his mother. He explains that Rufus’ mother (this could be Simon of Cyrene’s wife) was like a mother to him.

• People from Cyrene were among the first Christian believers at the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10).

To Hear Is To Obey

The following insights are from the article “Shema; To Hear Is To Obey”;

• “Biblical Hebrew includes only about 8,000 words, far fewer than the 100,000 or more we have in English. Because Hebrew has so few words, each is like an over-stuffed suitcase, bulging with extra meanings that it must carry in order for the language to fully describe reality. Unpacking each word is a delightful exercise in seeing how the ancient authors organized ideas, sometimes grouping concepts together in very different ways than we do.”

• “…the word shema (pronounced “shmah”) is often translated as “hear.” But the word shema actually has a much wider, deeper meaning than “to perceive sound.” It encompasses a whole spectrum of ideas that includes listening, taking heed, and responding with action to what one has heard.

• “…in the English, we read Deuteronomy 11:13 as, “So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today…” Literally, though, this verse reads, “And it will be if hearing, you will hear…”

• “…after Moses recited the covenant to the people of Israel, they responded, “We will do everything the LORD has said; we will obey” (Exodus 24:7, NIV). But the Hebrew here actually reads, “All that God had said we will do and we will hear.” The two verbs here are really synonymous—to hear is to do, to be obedient.”

• “In the psalms, David pleads, “Oh Lord, please hear my prayer.” But he wasn’t accusing God of being deaf or disinterested. Rather, he was calling on God to take action, not just listen to his words. When the angel appeared to Zechariah to announce that his wife Elizabeth was pregnant with John, he declared that their prayer had been heard—that God was answering the barren couple’s prayerful longings to have a child. (Luke 1:13)”

• “Understanding the word shema also helps us see why Jesus often concluded his teaching with the words, “He who has ears to hear, let him hear!” What he really meant was, “You have heard my teaching, now take it to heart and obey it!” He wants us to be doers of his words, not hearers only (James 1:22).”

The following insights are from the article “What Does The Hebrew Term “Shema” Mean?” by Chris Nye;

• “…there is no Hebrew word for ‘obey.’ That’s right. They actually do not have a word for it.”

• “The term ‘shema is actually more accurately translated as ‘listen’ or ‘hear.’”

• “The Jewish tradition and particularly the Old Testament culture, did not differentiate between ‘hearing’ and ‘doing,’ or between ‘listening’ and ‘obeying.’”

• “God wants a heart where the listening is inextricably linked to the obeying.”

• “When He walked the earth, the Lord Jesus closed His most famous sermon with these words:

“Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

(Matthew 7:24–27)

To Jesus, listening without obedience is foolish.”

• “The New Testament writers seem to be trying to explain to us the deep connection between listening and obeying. Maybe, then, we are only truly listening to God when we are obeying Him.”

The Man Of Honor “Pressed Into Service”

Matthew 27:27-32 – Matthew describes a little-known man who was “pressed into service” by the Romans. We honor him to this day for his unintended service to Christ. This seems to be comparable to a person who was drafted, not by their own will, into the military, that we later say to with gratitude, “Thank-you for your service.” Who knows, the Lord might just declare this same thing to His “good and faithful” servants.

27 Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him.

28 They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him.

29 And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head, and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"

30 They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head.

[See Genesis 3:15; Jesus, the one born by the seed of a woman, and the Holy Spirit, would, through the cross, fulfill this verdict of God in the Garden of Eden. It appears that the devil, the “twisted serpent” (Isaiah 27:1) would mockingly (v. 31) declare himself as the one who would instead “bruise” Christ on His head.]

31 After they had mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him.

32 As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service [29- see def. below] to bear [142- “to raise up, take up, lift up, to bear”] His cross.

NASU

NT:29 aggareuo (ang-ar-yew'-o)

(Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance)

of foreign origin [compare OT:104]; properly, to be a courier, i.e. (by implication) to press into public service:

KJV - compel (to go).

(Thayer’s Greek Lexicon)

to employ a courier, dispatch a mounted messenger. denotes to compel one to go a journey, to bear a burden, or to perform any other service

Mark 15:21 – Mark adds that Simon was the father of two men, Alexander and Rufus who iare mentioned in Romans 16:13; “Greet Rufus, a choice man in the Lord, also his mother and mine.” The Greek definition for the word “passer-by” refers to someone who is “led near.” It appears that this man was led by the Holy Spirit, without his knowing it, near to Jesus as He was being led away to the cross, in order to then bear His cross for Him. I believe this says something of this little-known man’s heart.

21 They pressed into service [29] a passer-by [3855- “to lead near, to lead to, to lead by, to lead past, to bring forward”] coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross.

NASU

Luke 23:26-27 – Jesus led the way for His followers to His death. He was followed by Simon, the one “pressed into service” to bear Christ’ cross, who was then followed by a large crowd whom Christ prophesied over (v. 27-31). People will be led by the Holy Spirit to follow the one who is following Christ, bearing His cross in their lives. As with Christ, their motives will be revealed by His word (Hebrews 4:12). Those who submit to the call to carry their cross, will, like Simon also bear the honor associated with it, both now and after in the kingdom to come. The leaders in God’s kingdom must, and always will be those who have chosen to bear the cross of Christ in their lives. This is how you will recognize the true from the false leaders among us.

26 When they led Him away, they seized [1949- “to seize, lay hold of, take possession of, overtake”] a man, Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, and placed on him the cross to carry [5342- “to bring, to bear, to carry”] behind [3693- “from behind, after”] Jesus.

27 And following Him was a large crowd of the people, and of women who were mourning and lamenting Him.

NASU

Pressed Into Service

• John 21:18-19 – All who would follow Jesus will be “pressed into service” by the Holy Spirit to a place of death to our flesh which it will not necessarily be willing to go to. Peter would be led to the cross, literally.

• Matthew 26:37-39 – Jesus was “pressed upon” to bear His cross by the Father, according to His will.

• Matthew 28:18 – Because of His submission to the will of His Father, all authority was given to Jesus.

• Matthew 10:38, 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23 – To follow Christ we are commanded (i.e. pressed into service) to deny ourselves and take up our cross (Luke adds “daily” here).

• Hebrews 12:1-2, Acts 5:40-42 – By obediently bearing the cross of Christ on our shoulders, scorning its shame as He did, we too, as Simon has been ever since, will also bear His honor.

• 1 Corinthians 1:14-21 – “For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (v.18)

• Galatians 2:20 – “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

• 2 Corinthians 2:14 – “But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place.”

The Via Dolorosa

The Via Dolorosa, the route believed to have been taken by Jesus through Jerusalem to Calvary, is defined as;

• “A distressing or painful journey or process.”

• Latin for “Sorrowful Way,” often translated “Way of Suffering.” (See Hebrews 5:8)

From the article “What is the Via Dolorosa?” (https://www.gotquestions.org/Via-Dolorosa.html);

• “The Via Dolorosa, literally “the sorrowful way” [in Latin], is the traditional route in Jerusalem which our Lord traveled on the day of His crucifixion from the judgment seat of Pilate, also called the Praetorium (Matthew 27:2-26), to the place of His crucifixion on Mount Calvary. After his judgment by Pontius Pilate, the Lord Jesus was beaten, mocked and spit upon by the Roman soldiers (Matthew 27:26-31). Then he was forced to carry His own cross through the streets of Jerusalem to Golgotha, where He was crucified (Matthew 27:32-50). The Via Dolorosa is now marked with fourteen "stations of the cross" commemorating fourteen incidents that took place along the way. At least five of these incidents are not recorded in the Bible, springing instead from Roman Catholic tradition. Of the ones that are mentioned in Scripture, the actual place of the events along the way, such as the scourging (John 19:1-3) and the carrying of the cross by Simon of Cyrene (Matthew 27:32), are not known.”

Bearing The Cross; Applying The Blood Of Jesus Christ

• By placing the cross on himself that was on Jesus, the Lord’s blood was transferred onto Simon. He is a picture of what occurs when we choose to follow Jesus, bearing His cross.

(See Rev. 12:10-11; overcoming the devil by the power of Christ through His crucified blood.)

• To “plead the blood of Christ” is more than just a proclamation to use against the devil in prayer. It’s a literal, spiritual state in Christ that occurs when one bears the cross of Christ in their lives. This means they no longer live for themselves, but have “become united with Him in the likeness of His death.” (Romans 6:5) They have laid down their lives in order to “hear and then do” His will (shema).

• The only way to apply the blood of Jesus is to walk the “way of suffering” that He did, bearing His cross (i.e. the crucified life). Without applying the blood there will be no power in pleading the blood.

Conclusion: God looks for a “hearing heart,” one that will obediently respond when “pressed into service” by the Holy Spirit. In the age to come, they will receive great honor, and authority for their selfless deed of service.