The Crucifixion
Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus. Matthew 27:32 · Berean Standard Bible
Along the way, the soldiers grab a man named Simon from Cyrene and force him to carry Jesus' cross.
Jesus is so weakened from the beating that He cannot carry the cross alone. A random bystander is pulled from the crowd to help — and becomes part of the most important story ever told.
The narrator introduces Simon, an unexpected participant in the journey to the cross.
Simon was just in the crowd, visiting Jerusalem for the holiday. He was forced to carry a cross and ended up carrying it for God. Sometimes the most significant moments come uninvited.
The soldiers conscript (enggareusan) Simon of Cyrene to carry Jesus' cross (stauron), suggesting Jesus was too weakened from scourging to bear it Himself.
The verb angareuo (to conscript, requisition) is a Persian loanword referring to forced labor. Simon's origin in Cyrene (modern Libya) marks him as a Diaspora Jew visiting Jerusalem for Passover.
The narrator introduces Simon of Cyrene and his forced service.
A stranger is pulled from the crowd to carry the cross of a man he may never have met — an act of compulsion that tradition remembers as a moment of accidental grace.
30Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.
31After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.
32Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
33And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull,
34they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.
Read all of Matthew 27 — The climax of the story. Every thread — sacrifice, covenant, prophecy, promise — converges at a cross outside Jerusalem.
This page covers one. BibleKey does all 31,102 — tap any verse for its meaning, any word for its Hebrew or Greek root, and keep reading without leaving the chapter.
Not just the famous ones. BibleKey is free on iPhone and iPad.
Download on the App StoreFree on iPhone & iPad