Interrupted

03.08.12

Mark 15.21 21 They pressed into service a passer-by coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene (the father of Alexander and Rufus), to bear His cross. NASB

In Romans 16 a Rufus is mentioned. Among scholars the general consensus is this is the same Rufus whose father was Simon of Cyrene who carried the cross for Jesus to Golgotha the day He was crucified. We might also note that because Simon is mentioned (and his sons parenthetically), we can infer that the writer of Mark was speaking to people who probably knew who Alexander and Rufus were.

Simon was minding his own business that day. Sure the city was in turmoil and there was a lot of commotion going on, but he had business to attend to and was on his way to do it until this unruly and bloodthirsty mob began to approach with some horribly injured Man trying to drag a cross and Roman soldiers driving Him with whips, prods, and blows to His execution. Simon had no idea what was going to happen next. He is spotted by one of the Romans and pressed (I love that) (rammed) into service to carry the cross Jesus was struggling with.

Simon didn’t want anything to do with what was going on and suddenly found himself in the epicenter of it. He was heading somewhere else and within just a short time was standing in the very place where they nailed the hands of the screaming condemned to those crosses and dropped them with hideous thuds into holes in the ground; whereupon the condemned screamed even louder. Simon knew he was in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Do you remember the events that led up to your salvation? I remember mine. I was on my way to doing whatever I wanted, whenever I wanted to do it, and the circumstances of my wretched life led to an encounter with a disciple of Jesus Christ who asked me, “how’s your spiritual life?” I told him I didn’t have much of one and there and then my adventure with Jesus Christ began.

I’m not sure who all was with Simon of Cyrene; his sons Alexander and Rufus probably were. I’m not really sure what all happened in Simon’s heart that day but I believe he was where God wanted him to be and that had an impact on him for the rest of his life. I think because of that impact it also impacted his son, Rufus. I believe Paul the apostle knew who Rufus was and where he was that day: at the foot of the cross on Golgotha hill where the Son of God died for his sins and those of his father Simon, and his brother Alexander. Life changed for that family that day. They witnessed a cruel execution and they were pressed into service to bear the implement of death for one of the condemned… and their hearts were transformed.

There are no coincidences in life – everything happens for a reason and a purpose. Simon was going one direction and God led him in another. God interrupted his life and that is when it all changed. And it seems to have in the life of his son Rufus as well. We must rejoice in God’s interruptions with our lives, and remember that our Father is in that business: the business of interrupting people’s lives. He does that so that they may have an encounter with Him and see what He is up to in their lives and in the lives of those around them. Thank God for the extraordinary circumstances we run into in our mundane little lives: those circumstances have the potential for a massive ripple God-effect in our own lives and the lives of those around us…