Questions.
"...and laid on him the cross..." Luke 23:26 ESV
This verse is a simple description of a moment in the crucifixion of Christ, but it raises so many questions.
And as they led him 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.
Who was Simon of Cyrene? He's mentioned in three of the Gospels, but never again.
Why was he chosen to bear the cross of Jesus?
Why was he even named?
How did he perceive the cross?
Was it an instrument of torture and death, or just a heavy cross-piece of wood?
Was he just a guy standing around who got pressed into service? Or was he there because God put him there?
I ask myself, if I were forced to bear this burden for Christ, how would I feel about it?
I only know the answer to one of these questions. God put Simon of Cyrene there. He also puts us where we need to be, no matter how heavy the burden we are asked to bear.
These questions remind me of Chesterton, “The riddles of God are more satisfying than the solutions of man.”