Mark 15:21 - Printer Friendly

ESV: 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.

NIV: A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.

NASB: And they *compelled a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to carry His cross.

CSB: They forced a man coming in from the country, who was passing by, to carry Jesus's cross. He was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.

NLT: A passerby named Simon, who was from Cyrene, was coming in from the countryside just then, and the soldiers forced him to carry Jesus’ cross. (Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus.)

KJV: And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.

NKJV: Then they compelled a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, the father of Alexander and Rufus, as he was coming out of the country and passing by, to bear His cross.

John 19:17 says that Jesus carries His own cross. Despite popular depictions, Romans typically left the vertical part of crosses fixed to the ground, since it would have been overly difficult to take them up and down. The railroad-tie-sized horizontal beam was often carried separately to the site, by the prisoner themselves. The traditional interpretation is that Jesus starts carrying the cross-beam His hands will be nailed to, but the beatings have so weakened Him He cannot continue.

There is conflicting information as to where Jesus starts out; it may be the Palace of Herod, or the Fortress Antonia on the northwest corner of the temple mount. Neither do we know exactly where Golgotha is, other than outside the old city walls of Jerusalem, possibly on the site of the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. The church is about 2,000 feet, or 600 meters, west and a little bit south of Fortress Antonia.

"Compelled" is from the Greek root word aggareuo. It is the same word used in Matthew 5:41: "And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." A Roman soldier has the authority to press a bystander into service for one mile. As Simon is coming into Jerusalem, he's forced to turn back and carry the cross-bar outside the city walls.

Cyrene is a Greek colony in modern-day Libya. It's entirely possible that Simon is a dark-skinned man of African descent, but Cyrene is also home to a large Jewish community and "Simon" is a Jewish name. Mark does not often give names of those Jesus associates with fleetingly. It's likely his readers have knowledge of at least Alexander and Rufus, if not Simon, himself. It's possible Rufus is the same Rufus mentioned by Paul in Romans 16:13.

Mark 15:21–32 describes the crucifixion of Jesus. The Romans refined crucifixion to be the most painful and humiliating death imaginable. Victims were usually stripped naked, then tied or nailed to a cross. Executioners were adept at driving nails between bones and arteries, but directly through nerves, extending the victim's agony. Hanging in this position, the condemned could only breathe if they lifted their weight on impaled feet or wrists. Exhaustion would soon lead to suffocation—typically taking a victim two or three days to die. Bodies were usually left to rot in public unless a family member was given special permission to remove them. More painful for Jesus, however, is the total separation from His heavenly Father. Still, though He suffers alone, He suffers with hope (Hebrews 12:2). Jesus' crucifixion is also detailed in Matthew 27:32–44, Luke 23:26–43, and John 19:16–27.

After sham trials, Jesus is taken to the local Roman governor, Pilate. This is the only person in Jerusalem with the legal authority to have Jesus executed. Pilate is not fooled, and he attempts to arrange for Jesus' release. But the ruler's ploys fail, in part because Jesus will not defend Himself, and partly because the mob is intent on His death. Pilate offers a prisoner exchange in Barabbas, and even has Jesus brutally beaten in order to pacify the crowd. Eventually, he caves in and Jesus is crucified. Thanks to His prior abuse, Jesus survives only a few hours on the cross before dying. Jesus is then buried in a tomb belonging to a secret follower among the Jerusalem council.

After being unfairly judged, Jesus will now be unfairly sentenced and cruelly murdered. It's reasonable to say this chapter provides context for everything else contained in the Bible. From Adam and Eve until the last baby born in the millennial kingdom, every person other than Christ is stained with sin. Conscience, law, Jesus' direct leadership, even the indwelling of the Holy Spirit cannot keep us from sinning. Sinless Jesus had to die on the cross, sacrificing Himself in our place, so our sins could be forgiven and we could be reconciled to God. Beneath the violence, darkness, dishonor, and death is the love of God for all mankind (John 3:16). Jesus' crucifixion is also found in Matthew 27, Luke 23, and John 19. The next chapter describes the miracle of His resurrection.

The Gospel of Mark emphasizes both Jesus' servanthood and His role as the promised Messiah: the Son of God. This is done through a concise, action-packed style. Mark provides relatively few details, instead focusing on actions and simple statements. This relates to the Gospel's authorship, which is believed to be based on the memories of the apostle Peter. These include many of Jesus' miracles, in contrast to other Gospels which include many more of Jesus' teachings and parables. Mark also makes frequent mention of Jesus' ministry being misunderstood by others.