“And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.”— Luke 23:26
We see in Simon’s carrying the cross a picture of the work of the Church throughout all generations; she is the cross-bearer after Jesus. Mark then, Christian, Jesus does not suffer so as to exclude your suffering. He bears a cross, not that you may escape it, but that you may endure it. Christ exempts you from sin, but not from sorrow. Remember that, and expect to suffer.
But let us comfort ourselves with this thought, that in our case, as in Simon’s, it is not our cross, but Christ’s cross which we carry. When you are molested for your piety; when your religion brings the trial of cruel mockings upon you, then remember it is not your cross, it is Christ’s cross; and how delightful is it to carry the cross of our Lord Jesus!
You carry the cross after him. You have blessed company; your path is marked with the footprints of your Lord. The mark of his blood-red shoulder is upon that heavy burden. ‘Tis his cross, and he goes before you as a shepherd goes before his sheep. Take up your cross daily, and follow him.
Do not forget, also, that you bear this cross in partnership. It is the opinion of some that Simon only carried one end of the cross, and not the whole of it. That is very possible; Christ may have carried the heavier part, against the transverse beam, and Simon may have borne the lighter end. Certainly it is so with you; you do but carry the light end of the cross, Christ bore the heavier end.
And remember, though Simon had to bear the cross for a very little while, it gave him lasting honour. Even so the cross we carry is only for a little while at most, and then we shall receive the crown, the glory. Surely we should love the cross, and, instead of shrinking from it, count it very dear, when it works out for us “a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.”
I have been enjoying this site. Thank you.
It seems that the font has gotten faint, has become a lighter shade of gray. Maybe it’s my age, but I find that it hinders my reading. It is as though I’m looking through a cloud as I try to make out the letters and the words.
Please provide a stronger contrast between the text and the background. I enjoy the yellowish background. It adds a nice touch. But the text should be extremely dark gray, if not completely black. Thanks.
Thanks for letting me know. I’ll look into making an alternate theme for people with vision problems.
The reason they say that Simon of Cyrenia was Black, is because Cyrenia was a city in northern Africa. It was located right next to Arimathea (as in Joseph of Arimathea, who owned the grave Jesus was placed in temporarily). It isn’t just tradition that says Simon was Black, but history as well. Black people played a big role in the Bible. Moses married a Black woman. Solomon was visited by Candace, the queen of Ethiopia and Stephen shared the gospel with an Ethiopian Eunuch. Jews would be descendants of Shem. Ethiopians, Cyrenians and Arimatheans would be descendants of Ham (who we call Black today) and the Romans and Greeks would be descendants of Japheth (what we would call white today). While the descendants of Shem played the biggest role in the events of the Bible, the descendants of Ham played the next biggest role in the Old Testaments. The descendants of Japheth played a secondary role in the New Testament. Ironically, it has been the descendants of Japheth who have spread the Gospel the most, while the descendants of Shem and Ham have also played a key roles in the structure of the modern church.
——Danny Carlton