✝ Daily Encouragement (4/15/25) "Simon of Cyrene"
Published: Tue, 04/15/25
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(Click refresh or reload for current message) Tuesday, April 15, 2025  "Simon of Cyrene"
Note:
During Holy
Week we
normally focus
on the
familiar
truths in
God's
redemption
plan as we
well should.
Hopefully, you
are feeding on
these truths
from your
personal
reading and
through your
church. In our
series this
week are
considering
people during
the events of
Holy Week that
are rather
incidental to
the main
story. But
each one, just
like each of
us, has a
story.
Message
summary:
Simon
of Cyrene
carried the
cross to
Golgotha, the
place of the
crucifixion,
and nothing
more is
written of
him. How did
this change
his life? Listen to our message on your audio player. "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" (Mark 15:21). "And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14).
Down
the Via
Dolorosa in
Jerusalem that
day
The soldiers tried to clear the narrow street But the crowd pressed in to see The Man condemned to die on Calvary This week we consider those who witnessed one of the greatest events of all time. I write "one of" because I consider various times and settings in the life of Christ that could all be counted among the greatest. There are those who were present at the time of His birth, His teaching, His resurrection and His ascension.
Pastor
John Keefer
once mused
that he hoped
a "video"
would be shown
in heaven
where we could
watch a
recording of
the Sermon on
the Mount. I
never thought
of that but it
would be neat
if we could
see videos of
landmark
events of the
Bible,
especially
with the
actual
characters
present to
further
explain,
clarify, and
affirm the
work of God in
that setting.
Simon was likely coming into the city as a Jew to participate in the Passover. He was from Cyrene in Africa (now in Libya) and many have conjectured that he may have been a black man. The Jewish people had been dispersed and many were living in colonies throughout the world. One colony goes all the way back to the message that the Queen of Sheba took back to Ethiopia at the time of Solomon in about 1000 BC. In Acts 8 we have the record of the Ethiopian eunuch. This colony survived to our own day and many were brought back to Israel in a remarkable airlift known as Operation Solomon.* 
Simon
was on his way
in from the
country when
he was forced
to carry the
cross. All
three synoptic
gospels
emphasize his
forced
conscription.
Matthew states
he was "pressed
into service"
and Luke
states "they
seized a man,
Simon of
Cyrene".
His direction
was turned 180
degrees.
Coming in from
the country to
the city he
was now going
out from the
city to the
country. This
day was surely
not going as
he had planned
when he
awakened that
morning to
attend the
Passover
celebration!Only Mark points out an interesting detail that he was the father of two sons, Alexander and Rufus, possibly known personally to the initial readers. A Rufus is mentioned by Paul in Romans 16 and many Bible students feel this refers to one of these boys. If so that makes it even more interesting! On the Vía Dolorosa (Way of Suffering) Simon carried the cross to Golgotha, the place of the crucifixion, and nothing more is written of him. I consider that he likely stayed and witnessed the crucifixion, perhaps along with his sons. What was he thinking as he carried the blood stained cross? Did Jesus say anything to him along the way? How did he react when he saw the crucifixion begin? What did he tell his sons? How did he live the rest of his life? These are surely some of the questions I will ask when I get to heaven! Our first verse portion may initially seem to have nothing to do with today's account. It concerns Esther at a critical point in Jewish history. Mordecai called her to action in doing her part to save the Jews with these words, "And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?" Mordecai realized that God had providentially placed Esther where she was for a greater purpose than she initially thought. This sense of divinely ordained purpose has been called "Esther moments". Likewise Simon of Cyrene was where he was for a greater purpose than simply attending the Passover Celebration when he was enlisted to carry the cross which was essentially his "Esther moment". We all do well to discover our "Esther moments" in life.
B e encouraged today! Hebrews 3:13
Stephen & Brooksyne Weber
Today's
Suggested
Music and
Supplemental
Resources "Via Dolorosa" Watch on YouTube Acoustic "Simon
of Cyrene"
Watch
on YouTube
Daniel
Beck I
had never
heard this
song before
this morning
but it tells
the story from
Simon of
Cyrene's
perspective.
Simon
of
Cyrene Video
The Skit Guys
(4:39 minutes)
This powerful video tells the story of Simon of Cyrene in a dramatic and personal monologue, It presents a moving perspective while setting the scene in modern times.
Sight
& Sound's
production of
JESUS
will be
streaming for
free over
Easter
Weekend. Go to
this site.
Here's the sample
trailer.
Sight and
Sound is
located right
here in
Lancaster
County.
*
Operation
Solomon
The operation
set a world
record for
most
passengers on
an aircraft
when an El Al
747 carried
well over
1,000 people
to Israel. The
record itself
is
uncontested,
but the exact
number of
passengers is
unclear:
Guinness World
Records put
the number at
1,088,
including two
babies who
were born on
the flight. It
noted that
contemporary
reports cite
numbers as low
as 1,078 and
as high as
1,122. Major Events of the Passion Week An
astounding 30
of the 89
accumulative
chapters in
the four
gospels cover
the period
beginning with
Christ's
triumphal
entry through
His
resurrection
and
post-resurrection
appearances.
Mathematically
this means
that
approximately
33% of the
written
material in
the Gospels
deals with a
mere .05%
period of His
life! In the
providence of
God we have a
much greater
proportion of
Scriptural
revelation
dealing with
God's greatest
act of mercy
in providing
our
redemption.
Saturday
Sunday 
Yesterday
we toured
Miller's
Greenhouses in
Landisville.
Ed Miller and
his wife Karen
often sit in
front of us at
church and
being curious
I had
expressed
interest in
seeing the
place. It is a
wholesale
greenhouse
that supplies
local garden
centers and
stores in our
region. Most
of the plants
come in as
tiny plugs
where they are
transplanted
and grown to a
size suitable
to deliver. It
has been a
family
business since
1938, started
by Ed's
grandfather.
It's a large
operation as
seen here
on a Google
map
and
virtually
surrounded now
by suburban
sprawl.
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Mission
Statement:
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have been
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life's goal to
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prepare myself
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