Carrying The Cross

Carrying the Cross

Q: Who carried Jesus’ cross for part of the journey to Golgotha?

• a. Simon Peter
• b. Simon the Cyrene
• c. Thomas

In New Testament times, prisoners who were condemned to be crucified were often made to carry their own crosses. The whole cross would weigh 300 pounds. Prisoners were only required to carry the crossbeam, which was 75–125 pounds. That was not an easy thing to do, especially for Jesus, who’d faced many horrible things in the hours leading up to the time he was ordered to carry the cross.

Before Jesus was forced to carry the cross, he’d spent time praying in agony in the garden of Gethsemane, he’d been betrayed, and he had walked from place to place to be questioned. Then he was beaten, which left him weak and bleeding. A crown of thorns was forced onto his head. Tired, hungry, and suffering from the beating, Jesus was unable to carry the cross.

Since Jesus was not able to carry the cross, a man nearby, named Simon, was chosen to carry it for him. Simon was from Cyrene in northern Africa, and he was probably part of a Jewish colony who had traveled to Jerusalem for the Passover. That was a very long journey, and Simon never imagined that he would carry Jesus’ cross to the place of crucifixion. Carrying the cross made Simon ceremonially unclean, but God had a greater purpose for him—carrying a burden for Jesus.

When Simon made the long journey for the Passover, he had no idea things would turn out the way they did. Sometimes we have our own plans, but God may need us to do something different, just as he did with Simon.

For You

You may have good plans, but God may call you to do something other than what you have in mind. Be open to his leading so you don’t miss out on the chance to accomplish something great.

Answer: b

As they led Jesus away, a man named Simon, who was from Cyrene, happened to be coming in from the countryside. The soldiers seized him and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus.   Luke 23:26

(The Whole Story: Matthew 27:32; Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26)