Matthew 27:32

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.

Executions inside the city were forbidden (Numbers 15:35; 1 Kings 21:13; Acts 7:58; Hebrews 13:12). The necessity for having someone bear Jesus' cross probably derived from his fainting from physical weakness induced by the scourging and long previous night of brutal abuse. Luke's detail that Simon was coming out of Cyrene, "out of the country," indicates that it was still only the preparation for the sabbath and that the first day of the Passover had not begun. Although from Africa, Simon's name indicates that he was a Jew. He became a Christian.

THE VIA DOLOROSA

Matthew's gospel gives little of the details connected with the journey to the cross; the pressing of the cross upon Simon and the proffered wine and gall were not the only events which marked that epic procession. Summarizing the details from all the gospels to form a composite gives the following:

1. At first Christ carried the cross himself (John 19:17).

2. After Christ could not bear it, Simon did (Mark 15:21).

3. "Weep for yourselves" was addressed to the company of sorrowing women who followed (Luke 23:27ff).

4. Two robbers were also in the procession (Luke 23:32).

5. The wine and gall were given as they neared the cross, or perhaps after their arrival there (Mark 15:23).

The so-called seven stations of the cross are not given in the New Testament, and much of the tradition surrounding them is unhistorical. Veronica's veil, for example, is not mentioned; and to place any credence in such stories is to "go beyond" the word of the Lord (1 Corinthians 4:6). The expression "via dolorosa," however, is a true description of the tragic journey of our Lord to Golgotha. Yet even in that situation, Christ appears to have been thinking of the overwhelming sorrow that should come upon the daughters of Jerusalem as a result of his crucifixion (Luke 23:26-31). His own sufferings were likened to "the green tree," theirs to "the dry."