The World of Simon of Cyrene - The Writing of Simon
How does one start writing a story about a person we know so little about? By following clues and looking for tidbits of information that help fill in the greater picture.
In writing the story of Simon of Cyrene it was necessary to look beyond what is known about the man and identify details about his world that would shed light upon what his life may have been like. My search led me to investigate ancient cities, their architecture, layouts, and purposes. I looked into political, economical, and religious information about the time period. I sought additional insights from other individuals with whom we have more eyewitness stories about. Across the clues of history pieces of a story began to form. Little by little an entire story was built.
Here are some of the clues I followed and how they led to the story of “Simon”.
Fragments from Scripture
His Name: The most glaring clue is his name, Simon. Used three times, once by both Matthew, Mark, and Luke. John does not refer to Simon at all. Obviously we gain from the name that it is a male name. Boom, a name and gender! We’re on our way. Let it be known that no clue, no matter how small should be overlooked. Small clues like gender and name provide numerous yet specific channels for a story to follow. Just think, a story about Simon the man would ultimately have different angle or take than the same circumstances if the character was Simone the woman. Though gender and name are helpful, more is needed to get a better idea of who Simon was.
Where Simon was from: The second fragment of information mentioned by all three gospel authors is that Simon was a Cyrenian, or in other words he came from the city of Cyrene. This was a city in the region of Libya, which is on the south side of the Mediterranean Sea. It’s location was nearly due south-southwest of Athens Greece on the south shores of the sea.
The location of Cyrene is on a narrow band of fertile highlands approximately 5.5 miles (8.9 kilometers) from the coast.
Cyrene is located on the lush highlands in central-northern Libya
Cyrene was founded by the Greeks in about 631 BC. Cyrene and the four towns established around it became one of Greece’s most important centers for intellectual, artistic, medicinal, and architectural studies. The area became a Roman territory in 96 BC. Twenty two years later, in 74 BC it officially became a Roman Province. Cyrene’s largest export was a plant called Silphium, which was used for medicinal purposes to help induce abortions.
Coming out of the country: Mark and Luke mention that Simon was coming out of the country, which is an interesting way to mention someone coming into Jerusalem. The wording indicates that Simon was arriving at Jerusalem after having been out and about in the country. This would appear to suggest he was journeying to Jerusalem but had not arrived in time to celebrate the passover meal the night before - of course that is assuming he was Jewish. Cyrene did have a strong Jewish community. Simon was most likely of Jewish, Roman, or Greek descendance, or a hybrid. Historical Tidbit: the first Jewish-Roman War began in Cyrene in 73 AD.
Mark adds a little more detail by saying that Simon was passing by the area where the procession for the crucifixion was coming out. This would indicate that Simon was there by chance, that he had not been present in Pilot’s court where it was shouted to crucify Jesus, and was not part of the group headed to witness the crucifixion.
Simon was probably going to Jerusalem for religious, economic, or political reasons. Each of those apply interesting well to a Jew or a Roman. We can safely rule out leisurely travel, because the length of a journey equivalent to Cyrene to Jerusalem was not something most people did back then, unless they were loaded with cash. As the crow flies, the distance between Cyrene and Jerusalem is just shy of 800 miles, no small journey. Traveling from Cyrene to Jerusalem, most likely consisted of a voyage across the sea to a major port in the territory of Judea, followed by walking to Jerusalem. Due to the length of that journey, a good amount of planning that would need to go into it, and the funds needed for it such a journey would have had a specific purpose.
Since Simon was arriving a day late for Passover, his purpose for going there may have:
Had nothing to do with Passover - especially if he wan’t Jewish.
Perhaps he had been held up in his journey and arrived late.
Possibly his delay was on purpose to avoid the first wave of visitors.
Maybe he did not have a predetermined place to celebrate the Passover meal in Jerusalem.
Also, Passover could have been a reason to be in Jerusalem, but not the main reason he was there.
He possibly celebrated the main festival feast elsewhere and then went to Jerusalem to finish a pilgrimage.
There are a myriad of other possibilities but those six seem to be the most likely.
If going to Jerusalem for political reasons, Passover was the perfect time to go, since it was one of the busiest times of the year. For example, Pontius Pilot was there to help maintain order during the celebrations due to the influx of visitors (a political reason). Pilot did not live in Jerusalem, his main residence was in Caesarea. Pilot most likely would have arrived a few days before to oversee crowd control preparations. There are a variety of political reasons why Simon would have gone to Jerusalem, but there was no real political connection between Cyrene and Jerusalem that would warrant a journey at that particular time, at least if Simon was Roman. On the Jewish side of things it could make sense if Simon held a political standing amongst the Pharisees or Sadducees. However, I think this not likely (see my reasoning in the next clue section)
If Simon was going for economical reasons, there was no better time to be there due to the amount of money that could be made with the influx of visitors. However, again, Simon was arriving a day late. If his purpose had been to make as much money as possible, he would have been there earlier. Or his economical reason may not have depend on physical sales. Perhaps his purpose was larger in scale, more broad and reaching. In other words it was a perfect time to be there, but not necessarily for the religious celebrations.
For me the timing of his arrival is very interesting and I don’t think it was by chance.
Simon was compelled to cary the cross: All three gospel accounts mention that Simon was compelled or forced to cary the cross. Luke’s definition is a little different saying “They laid hold upon one Simon” which sounds quite forceful to me. Because of this, I rule out that Simon was a Roman, because Roman’s would not have compelled another Roman to cary the cross of a Jew. I also rule out that Simon was a religious leader, because the main religious leaders who had judged Jesus the night before would have been part of this procession, they would not have missed the chance to see the demise of the man they wanted to destroy. Had Simon been a religious leader of the Pharisee or Sadducee order the local leaders would not have allowed him to cary the cross.
In my mind, those two points of reasoning, indicate that Simon was Jewish.
Simon had two sons: Only Mark informs us that Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. Paul in writing to the Roman may have referred to the second son when he wrote, “Salute Rufus chosen in the lord.” So we know that Simon was a father and at least had two male children.
Information Between the Lines
One things we infer from the three gospels is that the authors met Simon and thus could write the verse about him, or someone else told the authors about Simon so they could include him in their account. If Simon had been traveling with his sons, then why is Mark the only one of three who mentioned Alexander and Rufus? There is a tradition that says that Mark was also from Cyrene, but this is only tradition.
If the verse mentioning Rufus by Paul in the book of Romans does refer to Simon’s son, then there is a high probability that Simon and his family became disciples of Christ. Assuming that the Rufus mentioned by Paul was the son of Simon, then we know he and his mother were in or near Rome, but apparently not his father or brother Alexander, because Paul only calls out Rufus and his mother. If Simon or Alexander had been with them, I would think Paul would have mentioned that. Simon and Alexander may have been elsewhere or had passed away. Whatever the case, their whereabouts were known by Paul and he knew not to include them in the reference - of course that is assuming the verse is speaking of the same family.
The verse by Paul is interesting to contemplate. Simon and his family were from Cyrene, but how and why did they end up in Rome? Or were they just visiting? If that was the case they had the funds to do so. Perhaps they still resided in Cyrene, but some economical or religious purpose took them to Rome. Fun to think about, but we don’t know if any piece of this is valid.
Something Important Happened
As one reads the four gospels of the New Testament one finds that those who interacted with Christ were not by chance. People sought him out, he sought others out. The accounts we have of Christ with others are filled with lessons to be learned, teachings that one can spend a lifetime studying and applying. Christ’s mortal life was filled with purpose. The fact that a man called Simon who was from Cyrene was the one “chosen” to carry His cross is something worth contemplating.
Here is a man who was just passing by, yet he walked with Christ carrying a heavy burden, thus physically participating in part of the events that resulted in Christ’s Atonement for all mankind. That’s a big deal. I have no doubt their eyes met. I have no doubt that something special took place. Which is why I wrote the story Simon. I may have gotten it all wrong, the circumstances, the backstory, the reason why Simon was in Jerusalem, all of it, but I have sought to be true to those two things I believed happened: that Simon’s eyes met those of his Savior and that something purposeful and special took place between them.
I hope you get the chance to read “Simon”. I would love to read your thoughts about it in the comments below.
Read more about the Writing of Simon:
Inspiration for Writing “Simon”
A Story of the Heart Rather than Appearance
Common Questions about Simon of Cyrene