Bear ye one another's burdens
1Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.
2Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.
That burden we are asked to bear in verse 1, it's not the one I expected all these years hearing verse 2.
1Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
2For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
We hid our faces from him? It's so easy to turn away from what we see as others sin and just as easy to justify our doing so. But that wasn't the Jesus way. The chastisement of our peace... I don't deserve the peace I have, I cherish it, I pray for it but I don't deserve it. He did all of this for me?
26And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus.
32And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
21And they compel one Simon a Cyrenian, who passed by, coming out of the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to bear his cross.
This was no small thing that Simon took on or that his sons likely witnessed.
22And if a man have committed a sin worthy of death, and he be to be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree:
23His body shall not remain all night upon the tree, but thou shalt in any wise bury him that day; (for he that is hanged is accursed of God;) that thy land be not defiled, which the LORD thy God giveth thee for an inheritance.
Jesus was viewed as cursed, bearing his cross could not have reflected well on Simon, one has to wonder the impact this had over that entire weekends festivities for Simon and his sons. Its interesting though to consider the impact this also may have had on the early church... We don't hear alot more about Simon, but we get some hints.
20And some of them were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, which, when they were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the LORD Jesus.
21And the hand of the Lord was with them: and a great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.
1Now there were in the church that was at Antioch certain prophets and teachers; as Barnabas, and Simeon that was called Niger, and Lucius of Cyrene, and Manaen, which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch, and Saul.
We really don't know what happens in Simon's story after this, he was certainly not the main character. But that's kind of the way with all of us, we all experience things that will impact our lives and those of our children, and all of those around us... Could it be?
13Salute Rufus chosen in the Lord, and his mother and mine.
Isn't it refreshing to presume that from his father's example of bearing another's burden Rufus, Simon's son, might become a respected leader in the early church, with an honorable mention from Paul himself?