TRV
Translation
King James Version
And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross.
Complete Jewish Bible
As they were leaving, they met a man from Cyrene named Shim`on; and they forced him to carry Yeshua's execution-stake.
Berean Standard Bible
Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
American Standard Version
And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to go with them, that he might bear his cross.
World English Bible Messianic
As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, and they compelled him to go with them, that he might carry his cross.
Geneva Bible (1599)
And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon: him they compelled to beare his crosse.
Young's Literal Translation
And coming forth, they found a man, a Cyrenian, by name Simon: him they impressed that he might bear his cross;
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In the KJVVerse 24,162 of 31,102
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Matthew Henry (1662–1714) — Commentary on the Whole Bible. This section covers . Public domain.
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TertullianAD 220
Pseudo-Tertullian Against All Heresies
Christ, moreover, he affirms to have been sent, not by this maker of the world, but by the above-named Abraxas; and to have come in a phantasm, and been destitute of the substance of flesh: that it was not He who suffered among the Jews, but that Simon was crucified in His stead: whence, again, there must be no believing on him who was crucified, lest one confess to having believed on Simon.
Origen of AlexandriaAD 253
COMMENTARY ON MATTHEW 126
“As they went out, they came upon a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; they compelled this man to carry the cross” of Christ. It was fitting not only for the Savior to take up his cross but also for us to carry it, doing compulsory service for our salvation. Furthermore, we did not benefit by taking up his cross then as much as we benefit by it now, since he takes it upon himself and carries it.
Origen of Alexandria (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 253
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Or, as they went out, they laid hold of Simon, but when they drew near to the place in which they would crucify Him, they laid the cross upon Him that He might bear it. Simon obtained not this office by chance, but was brought to the spot by God's providence, that he might be found worthy of mention in the Scriptures of the Gospel, and of the ministry of the cross of Christ. And it was not only meet that the Saviour should carry His cross, but meet also that we should take part therein, filling a carriage so beneficial to us, ἀγγαρεία. Yet would it not have so profited us to take it on us, as we have profited by His taking it upon Himself.
Hilary of Poitiers (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 367
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
For a Jew was not worthy to bear Christ's cross, but it was reserved for the faith of the Gentiles both to take the cross, and to suffer with Him.
Such is the place of the cross, set up in the centre of the earth, that it might be equally free to all nations to attain the knowledge of God.
Or, He therefore refused the wine mingled with gall, because the bitterness of sin is not mingled with the incorruption of eternal glory.
Chromatius of AquileiaAD 406
TRACTATE ON MATTHEW 19.5
Finally, the Gospel reports in the present reading that as the Lord was being led to his Passion, “they found a certain man of Cyrene named Simon and compelled him to carry the cross.” The cross of Christ is the triumph of virtue and a trophy of victory. How blessed is Simon, who deserved to be the first to bear so great a sign of victory! He was compelled to carry the cross before the Lord because the Lord wanted to demonstrate his cross to be a singular grace of that heavenly mystery which is himself: God and man, Logos and flesh, Son of God and Son of man. He was crucified as man but triumphed as God in the mystery of the cross. His suffering was of the flesh, but his glorious victory was divine. Through his cross, Christ defeated both death and the devil. Through the cross, Christ mounted his chariot of victory and chose the four Evangelists, as though horses for his chariot, to announce so great a victory to all the world. Simon of Cyrene therefore was carrying the instrument of this great triumph in his arms. He was a partaker of the Passion of Christ so that he might be a partaker of his resurrection, as the apostle teaches: “If we die with him, we will also live with him. If we endure with him, we will also reign with him.” Similarly the Lord himself says in the Gospel: “He who does not take up his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.”
John ChrysostomAD 407
Homily on the Gospel of Matthew 87
For after "they had mocked Him, they led Him to crucify Him," it is said, and when they had stripped Him, they took His garments, and sat down and watched Him, when He should die. And they divide His garments amongst them, which sort of thing is done in the case of very vile and abject criminals, and such as have no one belonging to them, and are in utter desolation.
They parted the garments, by which such great miracles were done. But they wrought none now, Christ restraining His unspeakable power. And this was no small addition of insult. For as to one base and abject, as I said, and the vilest of all men; so do they dare to do all things. To the thieves at any rate they did nothing of the kind, but to Christ they dare it all. And they crucified Him in the midst of them, that He might share in their reputation.
And they gave Him gall to drink, and this to insult Him, but He would not. But another saith, that having tasted it, He said, "It is finished." And what meaneth, "It is finished?" The prophecy was fulfilled concerning Him. "For they gave me," it is said, "gall for my meat, and for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink." But neither doth that evangelist indicate that He drank, for merely to taste differs not from not drinking, but hath one and the same signification.
John Chrysostom (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 407
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
(Hom. de Cruc. et Lat. ii.) The Lord would not suffer under a roof, or in the Jewish Temple, that you should not suppose that He was offered for that people alone; but without the city, without the walls, that you might know that the sacrifice was common, that it was the offering of the whole earth, that the purification was general.
JeromeAD 420
Commentary on Matthew
(Verse 32) And as they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon: him they compelled to bear his cross. Lest anyone think that this account is contradictory to the story of John the Evangelist. For he said that the Lord, going out of the praetorium, carried his own cross; but Matthew reports that they found a man of Cyrene, named Simon, whom they compelled to bear Jesus' cross. But this is to be understood, that Jesus, going out of the praetorium, himself carried his own cross; afterward they encountered Simon, to whom they imposed the task of carrying the cross. According to anagoge, the nations accept the cross of Jesus, and the obedient stranger carries the ignominy of the Savior.
Jerome (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 420
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
It is to be noted, that when Jesus is scourged and spit upon, He has not on His own garments, but those which He took for our sins; but when He is crucified, and the show of His mockery is completed, then He takes again His former garments, and His own dress, and immediately the elements are shaken, and the creature gives testimony to the Creator.
Let none think that John's narrative contradicts this place of the Evangelist. John says that the Lord went forth from the prætorium bearing His cross; Matthew tells, that they found a man of Cyrene upon whom they laid Jesus' cross. We must suppose that as Jesus went out of the prætorium, He was bearing His cross, and that afterwards they met Simon, whom they compelled to bear it.
Figuratively, the nations take up the cross, and the foreigner by obedience bears the ignominy of the Saviour.
I have heard Calvary expoundedb as the spot in which Adam was buried, as though it had been so called from the head of the old man being buried there. A plausible interpretation, and agreeable to the ears of the people, yet not a true one. Without the city outside the gate are the places where criminals are executed, and these have got the name of Calvary, that is, of the beheaded. And Jesus was crucified there, that where the plot of criminals had been, there might be set up the flag of martyrdom. But Adam was buried near Ebron and Arbee, as we read in the volume of Jesus the son of Navec.
The bitter vine makes bitter wine; this they gave the Lord Jesus to drink, that that might be fulfilled which was written, They gave me also gall for my meat. (Ps. 69:21.) And God addresses Jerusalem, I had planted there a true vine, how art thou turned into the bitterness of a strange vine? (Jer. 2:21.)
Cyril of AlexandriaAD 444
FRAGMENT 306.32
The Savior is led to the suffering that brings salvation. They laid his cross on Simeon of Cyrene. Another of the holy Evangelists said that Jesus himself carried the cross. Now surely both [accounts] are correct. For the Savior carried the cross, and, having met the Cyrene about half way, they transferred the cross to him. It is said about him through the voice of Isaiah that “a child has been born to us, and a son has been given to us, and the government shall be upon his shoulders.” Now the cross has become the means by which he governs, through which he continues to rule over all heaven, since it is true that even as “far as death” he has become “obedient, even to death of a cross. Therefore God has exalted him.”
Leo the GreatAD 461
SERMON 46.5
But as the multitudes went with Jesus to the place of punishment, a certain Simon of Cyrene was found on whom to lay the wood of the cross, instead of the Lord. Even this act signified that faith would come to the Gentiles, to whom the cross of Christ was not to be shame but glory. It was not accidental therefore but symbolic and mystical, that while the Jewish rulers were raging against Christ, a foreigner was found to share his sufferings. Thus the apostle would say, “If we suffer with him, we shall also reign with him.”Note that it was not a Hebrew or an Israelite but a foreigner who was drawn into service for the Savior in his most holy humiliation. By this transference the propitiation of the spotless Lamb and the fulfillment of all mysteries passed from the circumcision to the uncircumcision, from the sons according to the flesh to the sons according to the spirit. Hence the apostle would say, “Christ our Passover is sacrificed for us.” He offered himself to the Father as a new and true sacrifice of reconciliation. He was slain not in the temple, whose worship was now at an end, and not within the confines of the city which for its sin was doomed to be destroyed, but beyond the walls of the city, “outside the gate.” Thus with the cessation of the old symbolic victims, a new victim was being placed on a new altar. The cross of Christ was to become the altar not of the temple but of the world.
Remigius of Rheims (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 533
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
For this Simon was not a man of Jerusalem, but a foreigner, and denizen, being a Cyrenean; Cyrene is a town of Lybia. Simon is interpreted 'obedient,' and a Cyrenean 'an heir;' whence he well denotes the people of the Gentiles, which was strange to the testaments of God, but by believing became a fellow-citizen of the saints, of the household, and an heir of God.
Gregory the Dialogist (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 604
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
(Hom. in. Ev. xxxii. 3.) Or otherwise; By Simon who bears the burden of the Lord's cross are denoted those who are abstinent and proud; these by their abstinence afflict their flesh, but seek not within the fruit of abstinence. Thus Simon bears the cross, but does not die thereon, as these afflict the body, but in desire of vain-glory live to the world.
Gregory the DialogistAD 604
Forty Gospel Homilies, Homily 32
This is well signified by that Simon who, found on the road, carries the Lord's cross under compulsion. For burdens belonging to another are carried under compulsion when something is done through the pursuit of vanity. Who then are designated by Simon, if not the abstinent and arrogant? They indeed afflict the flesh through abstinence, but they do not seek the fruit of abstinence within. Therefore Simon carries the Lord's cross under compulsion, because when he is not led to a good work by good will, a sinner performs the deed of a just man without fruit. Hence the same Simon carries the cross but does not die, because the abstinent and arrogant indeed afflict the body through abstinence, but through the desire for glory they live to the world.
Rabanus Maurus (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 856
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
Golgotha is a Syriac word, and is interpreted Calvary.
Theophylact of OhridAD 1107
The three evangelists say that Simon carried the cross of Jesus, while John says that the Lord carried it Himself. It is likely that both events occurred. At first Jesus carried the cross as no one else was willing to carry it; but along the way they found Simon and placed the cross on him. You, O reader, learn this as well, that "Simon" means "obedience"; therefore he who possesses obedience is he who carries the cross of Christ. And Cyrene was one of the five cities of Pentapolis, signifying the five senses that are compelled to bear the cross.
Glossa Ordinaria (as quoted by Aquinas, AD 1274)AD 1274
Catena Aurea by Aquinas
(non occ. Aug. de Cons. Ev. iii. 9.) After the Evangelist had narrated what concerned the mocking of Christ, he proceeds to His crucifixion.
Source: Quotations drawn from early Church Fathers and historical Christian theologians (AD 100–1500). Some quotes address the surrounding passage context rather than this verse alone.
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SUMMARY
Matthew 27:32 recounts a pivotal moment during Jesus' arduous journey to Golgotha, where Roman soldiers, observing Jesus' extreme physical debilitation, compelled a man named Simon from Cyrene to carry the instrument of His crucifixion. This seemingly incidental event highlights the profound suffering of Christ, the Roman practice of forced conscription, and introduces an unexpected figure into the unfolding drama of redemption, who, though unwillingly, became a participant in the ultimate act of self-sacrifice.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Matthew 27:32 employs several powerful literary devices. Irony is evident in the scene: Jesus, the King of Kings, is so utterly depleted that He cannot carry the very instrument of His earthly humiliation, necessitating a forced substitute. This contrasts sharply with His divine power and authority. There is also profound Symbolism at play; Simon's physical act of bearing the cross foreshadows the spiritual call to discipleship that Jesus Himself articulated, where followers are commanded to "take up their cross" (Matthew 16:24). While Simon's act was compelled, it visually represents the burden of suffering and self-denial inherent in following Christ. The brief mention of Simon also serves as a form of Foreshadowing, hinting at the broader impact of the crucifixion on individuals and the eventual spread of the Gospel, as suggested by the later mention of his sons in Mark's Gospel, implying a potential conversion and subsequent prominence within the early church.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
The compelled service of Simon of Cyrene is a deeply resonant moment, underscoring the extreme physical suffering of Jesus, which was so profound that He could no longer bear the crossbeam alone. This moment highlights the reality of Christ's full humanity, experiencing weakness and exhaustion, yet simultaneously fulfilling the divine purpose of bearing the world's sin. Simon's unwilling participation, paradoxically, connects him to the very heart of Jesus' teaching on discipleship—that following Christ involves a willingness to embrace suffering and sacrifice. It reminds us that God often uses unexpected individuals and circumstances to advance His sovereign plan, transforming mundane or even painful encounters into moments of profound spiritual significance.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Simon's experience on the road to Golgotha offers a powerful and multifaceted lens through which to examine our own lives and faith. While his act was compelled, it became a moment of intimate proximity to the suffering Christ, a physical enactment of what it means to share in the burdens of others, and ultimately, to follow Jesus. We are often called to bear burdens—our own, or those of others—that we did not choose, that feel heavy, or that are unwelcome. Simon's story challenges us to consider how we respond in such moments. Do we resist, or do we, like Simon, endure, trusting that even in compelled service, God can work His purposes? It invites us to reflect on the nature of true discipleship, which is not always glamorous or voluntary, but often involves sacrifice, humility, and a willingness to carry the "cross" of daily challenges in imitation of Christ, finding grace and purpose even in unexpected trials.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Was Simon of Cyrene a believer before he was compelled to carry the cross?
Answer: The biblical text does not explicitly state whether Simon was a believer before this event. He is identified as "a man of Cyrene," likely a Jewish pilgrim in Jerusalem for Passover. His compelled service was a result of Roman authority and Jesus' physical weakness, not necessarily a voluntary act of faith. However, the fact that Mark's Gospel mentions his sons, Alexander and Rufus (Mark 15:21), who were apparently known to the early Christian community, strongly suggests that Simon and his family may have become followers of Christ as a result of this profound encounter. While he was initially an unwilling participant, his proximity to Christ's suffering likely led to a deep spiritual transformation.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
While Simon of Cyrene physically bore the crossbeam for a short distance, his compelled act serves as a poignant shadow of the ultimate burden-bearing accomplished by Christ Himself. Jesus, the sinless Son of God, willingly carried the immeasurable weight of humanity's sin and the wrath of God on the cross, a burden infinitely heavier than any wooden beam. Simon's struggle highlights Jesus' profound physical suffering, but it is Christ alone who bore the spiritual burden, becoming sin for us (2 Corinthians 5:21) and enduring the full penalty for our transgressions (Isaiah 53:4-6). Simon carried His cross, but Jesus carried our cross—the cross of our guilt, shame, and condemnation. This act of divine substitution, where the innocent Lamb of God took away the sin of the world (John 1:29), is the heart of the Gospel. Thus, Simon's brief, unwilling service points us to the glorious, willing, and all-sufficient sacrifice of Jesus, who, through His suffering on the cross, secured our redemption and offers us true freedom and eternal life (Romans 5:8).