Mark 15:21 — Community Reflections

MARK 15:21 — KING JAMES VERSION 0

“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.”

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 — Simon of Cyrene is identified with unusual specificity: his hometown (Cyrene in North Africa), his sons (Alexander and Rufus — apparently known to Mark's Roman community, and the Rufus of Romans 16:13 may be the same person). The forced carrying of the cross is the compelled service of a bystander — not a disciple, not a volunteer, but a passerby conscripted into the most consequential carrying in history.

Church Fathers on Mark 15:21

After the condemnation of Christ, and the insults heaped upon Him when He was condemned, the Evangelist proceeds to relate His crucifixion, saying, 'And led Him out to crucify Him.'
Gloss (Glossa Ordinaria) · medieval compilation

Here Abel is brought out into the field by his brother, to be slain by him. Here Isaac comes forth with the wood, and Abraham with the ram caught in the thicket. Here also Joseph with the sheaf of which he dreamed, and the long robe steeped in blood. Here is Moses with the rod, and the serpent hanging on the wood. Here is the cluster of grapes, carried on a staff. Here is Elisha with the piece of wood sent to seek for the axe, which had sunk, and which swam to the wood; that…
Pseudo-Jerome · 5th century

Now John says that He Himself bare His cross, for both took place; for He first bore the cross Himself, until some one passed, whom they compelled, and who then carried it. But he mentioned the name of his sons, to make it more credible and the affirmation stronger, for the man still lived to relate all that had happened about the cross.
Theophylact · 11th century

Read all 25 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain

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