Black History in God's Story: Simon of Cyrene

We are in a mini-series that highlights Black presence in the Bible, as part of our celebration of Black History Month. Black history is part of biblical history. The focus of this message is Simon, a man from Cyrene located in Northern Africa referred to in Mark 15:20-21, Mathew 27:32-33, and Luke 23:26. Before Simon carrying the Jesus’ cross, the scene of the torture of our Lord Jesus Christ is familiar to Christians and non-Christians. It is the brutal abuse Jesus experienced after Pontius Pilate exchanged Barnabas, the insurrectionist leader and murderer, for Jesus. Bloodthirsty mobs cried out, “Crucify him.” (See Matthew 27:15-26). Pilate had Jesus brutally flogged. The scourge was a short whip with leather strips on which small iron balls or sharp pieces of sheep bone were tied. With each repeated lashing, the iron balls and sharp bones tore the flesh causing pain and blood loss. This initiated circulatory shock long before one got to the cross. The governor’s soldiers stripped Jesus and put a scarlet robe on him to mock him, and then they twisted a crown of thorns and pressed it down on his head. They then put a staff in his hand and knelt down in mockery taunting, “Hail King of the Jews.” They spit on Jesus and repeatedly struck him over the head with the staff. (See Matthew 27:27-31). Then they took off the robe, put Jesus’ clothes back on him, and led him away to be crucified. Simon, the man from Northern Africa, was exactly where God wanted him to be at that time to carry the cross of Jesus. From Simon’s story, we learn the crosses we are to carry. (1) We may carry the cross of our own pain and suffering from the weight of the world’s brokenness with God present with us. (2) We may carry the cross of another’s pain and suffering coming alongside with empathy, support, time, and sacrifice as we lean on God and remember God’s presence with us as God leads. (3) We learn from Simon that his cross is following Jesus. This means dying to our pride and our self-centeredness is an intentional decision to die daily so that we can truly live the life God has for us.