Matthew, Mark, and Luke all tell us that Simon of Cyrene helped carry Jesus’s cross. What’s the significance of this story? Happy Good Friday — or so we call it. It is a joyful day, even if it is the most solemn day in the church calendar. We talked about reckoning the repulsion and the delight of the cross last time. Today we talk about one of the little stories of the crucifixion narrative, Pastor John, specifically the figure of Simon of Cyrene. A listener to the podcast writes us about it. “Hello, Pastor John! Reading through the story of the crucifixion this week, something caught my attention that I had read over many times. In Luke 23:26 26 And when they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the cross, to bear it after Jesus. , amid the crucifixion event, we read, ‘And as they led [Jesus] away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.’ I know that God is sovereign, and therefore this was not an accident or a random detail added into the story. What’s the significance of Simon carrying Jesus’s cross? What does God want us to see here?” Episode 1332: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/whats-the-significance-of-simon-carrying-jesuss-cross Related Resources: Easter APJ Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rqkIuY8vQqI&list=PLAcB0f-21Xj0j-ZwAbe3gZQJgfR6EnXRw “Where Was the Holy Spirit on Good Friday?” https://youtu.be/V44WQbjyHDc “The Horror of Crucifixion” https://youtu.be/rqkIuY8vQqI “What Makes Easter So Special?” https://youtu.be/IFzOjTaUKz4 “Easter Breaks Our Mediocrity” https://youtu.be/5qOiASxNxis Ask Pastor John Playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLFF7F6AE365DA3564 Find other recent and popular Ask Pastor John episodes, http://desiringgod.org/ask-pastor-john