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The Cross that Simon Bore, August 30
And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name:
him they compelled to bear his cross.
Matthew 27:32
.
The Saviour’s burden was too heavy for Him in His weak and suffering
condition. Since the Passover supper with His disciples, He had taken
neither food nor drink. He had agonized in the garden of Gethsemane in
conflict with satanic agencies.... All through the disgraceful farce of a
trial He had borne Himself with firmness and dignity. But when after the
second scourging the cross was laid upon Him, human nature could bear
no more. He fell fainting beneath the burden.
The crowd that followed the Saviour saw His weak and staggering
steps, but they manifested no compassion.... His persecutors saw that it
was impossible for Him to carry His burden farther. They were puzzled to
find any one who would bear the humiliating load. The Jews themselves
could not do this....
At this time a stranger, Simon a Cyrenian, coming in from the country,
meets the throng. He hears the taunts and ribaldry of the crowd; he hears
the words contemptuously repeated, Make way for the King of the Jews!
He stops in astonishment at the scene; and as he expressed his compassion,
they seize him and place the cross upon his shoulders.
Simon had heard of Jesus. His sons were believers in the Saviour, but
he himself was not a disciple. The bearing of the cross to Calvary was
a blessing to Simon, and he was ever after grateful for this providence.
It led him to take upon himself the cross of Christ from choice, and ever
cheerfully stand beneath its burden
The cross he [Simon] was forced to bear became the means of his
conversion. His sympathies were deeply stirred in favor of Jesus; and the
events of Calvary, and the words uttered by the Saviour, caused him to
acknowledge that He was the Son of God
[250]
69
The Desire of Ages, 741, 742
.
70
Undated
Manuscript 127
.
257