A Simon Experience…..

There isn’t 100% proof this is the same people but when I read this section of Luke I can’t help but think of the impact Jesus’ encounter with Simon had. Simon most likely was a converted Jew. He was from Cyrene, a town in Libya, Africa. He brought his two sons (Rufus and Alexander) with him to celebrate the Passover. As he arrived, Jesus was unable to carry His cross, so the Roman soldiers grabbed him and forced him to carry Jesus’ cross the rest of the way to Golgotha (the hill in which He was crucified). Imagine, Simon’s experience? Walking alongside Jesus. He saw the pain and suffering Jesus was enduring. He probably rubbed up against Jesus’ bleeding and beaten body. If he was familiar with Isaiah chapter 53, he would’ve seen the suffering servant, beaten so badly, He was unrecognizable. Imagine the conversation? Whatever happened, it changed Simon. It says in Acts that on the day of Pentecost, the people from Cyrene were some of the first to believe. It could’ve meant Simon and his two sons. He probably returned home and began to wonder what he experienced. Whatever the case he most likely became a follower of Christ. His son Rufus is mentioned in Romans chapter 16. The entire point here is the encounter Simon had with Jesus that day set into motion a chain of events that lead many people to faith in Jesus. Simon’s encounter with Jesus was a divine appointment. Carrying Jesus’ cross forever changed a man for the better. Jesus has the ability to do that. Are you carrying His cross? Are you being the “Jesus with skin on” to the world? It just might make a difference to someone desperately needing to hear the Gospel today, and be infused with hope. You never know where your obedience to God will lead you. It just might be a Simon experience.

26 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