Mark 15:21-22 To carry Jesus’ cross
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: April 27 & 29, 2018, Mark 15:21-22
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
They forced a certain passer-by named Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, who happened to be coming in from the country, to carry Jesus’ cross. They took Jesus to a place called Golgotha, which means Skull Place.
(Understanding the Text) Jesus could not carry his own cross. He was too weak. We know that Jesus carried the cross partway because John tells us “Carrying the cross all by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of a Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha” (John 19:17). This may have been at the edge of Jerusalem because Luke says that Simon was coming in from the country. “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” (Luke 23:26). Matthew, Mark, and Luke all say that Simon carried the cross, but John makes it a point that Jesus carried the cross Himself. Since I know that they are all true, my conclusion is that Jesus carried the cross partway, but Simon carried it partway also. The only reason that I can see would be if Jesus was too weakened along the way. However, I do not see where it says that. This may just be an assumption that I picked up from movies of the passion. The logical deduction would be that Jesus was carrying the cross as he left the palace and went through the streets of Jerusalem and that as they exited the city towards Golgotha, they grabbed Simon who was on his way into the city and made him carry the cross the rest of the way to Golgotha. I notice that Luke gives another detail. Simon was walking behind Jesus as he carried the cross.
Who was Simon? “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” (Mark 15:21). “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” (Luke 23:26). We know four things about Simon from these verses. First, he was not there to watch the crucifixion. He was not a disciple or close acquaintance of Jesus. He had no plans or intentions of being near Jesus or the crucifixion that day. For him, this was a seemingly random encounter. He was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time. However, I think God had led Simon there to change his life. The only reason for the gospels to mention his name is if he were an influential man in history or if he was a well-known figure in the church afterwards. He was not influential, so I conclude that Simon was converted from this experience.
The second piece of information I know from this verse was that Simon came from Cyrene. F. F. Bruce’s commentary says that Cyrene was in northern Africa and that there “was a considerable community of Jews (Ac. 2:10), so many, indeed, that they had established in Jerusalem their own synagogue (Ac. 6:9) where they could assemble together when attending the Jewish feasts.” The commentary says that Simon had probably come to Jerusalem to attend the Passover.
From the map, I can see that Cyrene is on the Sea, so maybe Simon took a boat to a port closer to Jerusalem and then walked in the rest of the way, or maybe he joined a group of Jewish pilgrims in a caravan. Was Simon coming in by himself or was he part of a group who were coming into the city? I think that there must have been many people entering the city for Passover. Why pick Simon? I think he must have looked big and strong. Maybe, he also felt compassion for the prisoners, and it showed on his face. Or maybe he was angry that Romans were punishing Jews and being from Cyrene was not used to hiding his expressions from the occupying Romans, so they chose him to humiliate him.
(Understanding the Text / Revelation of God) The third fact we know about Simon was that he had not yet entered Jerusalem. He was coming in from the country, so he was at the end of his long trip from Cyrene. He was probably tired from walking, maybe a little hungry, and looking forward to finding rest at the end of his journey. He was anticipating washing the dust of his travels off, maybe taking off his shoes, and relaxing. He was excited to be entering Jerusalem and seeing the temple that was the center of his religion. He was looking forward to worshipping and serving his God in the rites that had been established when his people left Egypt for freedom many ages before. Had he traveled through Egypt on his way to Jerusalem and thought of the journey his ancestors had taken from there? Had he been praying to God in his heart to worship and serve Him well? If so, his prayers were answered in a way that he had never expected when the Father asked him to serve the Son in His need. Imagine that, Simon may be the only human (besides Mary and Joseph) who was able to help God in His need. What an honor and a privilege to be chosen to serve Jesus in this manner when Jesus could not serve Himself. It seems to me that this is the only recorded instance in the Bible where Jesus as an adult was so weak that He had to have help and that help was provided by a human. When He was a baby, He needed humans to take care of Him, but once He reached a certain age, He no longer needed human help. In the garden of Gethsemane an angel ministered to Him, not a human. It seems that only here was a human the helper not because Jesus chose to let someone have that privilege, but simply because Jesus could not do it Himself. When the Roman pulled Simon over, I am sure that Simon would not have considered it a privilege, but the time would come when Simon would understand and treasure the moment that the Father chose Simon to help His beloved Son.
(Understanding the Text) The fourth piece of information Mark tells us about Simon is that he was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Again, the only reason to tell us the names of two of his sons is that they were important in the church. Paul mentions a Rufus in Romans. “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord; also his mother, who has been a mother to me as well” (Romans 16:13). Was this one of Simon’s sons? If so, Paul thought highly of both Rufus and Simon’s wife. In fact, if this is the same Rufus, then Paul was closely associated with Simon’s family saying that Simon’s wife was like a mother to him. If this is the same family, they had moved a long ways from Cyrene to Rome. However, it may not be the same family as the other Alexanders that I found were definitely not sons of Simon. One suggestion for the inclusion of the two sons’ names in Mark is that Simon was no longer around but that his sons, who were well known to the Christian community, could testify to the veracity of what Mark was writing. This fits into the other ideas in that Rufus being mentioned second was more likely to be the younger son still living with his mother after Simon’s death while Alexander may have already moved on to his own home and family. Thus, Paul would have interacted with the one brother but not the other.
(Application) My application for myself is that I should be aware that I do not know all the details or see the whole picture. I should not count it as humiliation or be discouraged when I am forced into an action I despise. I should do it for God’s glory. I will never know (until heaven) when I am serving my Lord unaware but necessary.
(Prayer) Help me to have the right attitude towards serving You. There are times when You ask me to do things that I don’t like. Teach me to view these times as a privilege rather than a burden. I want everything that I do to be to Your glory including my attitudes, but I have a tendency to be frustrated and stressed. Teach me to look at my service through Your eyes.