Luke 23:26

And when they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, and laid on him the cross, to bear it after Jesus.

SIMON OF CYRENE

Most commentators identify this Simon as the father of Alexander and Rufus (Mark 15:21) and with Rufus and his mother (Romans 16:13). The inference is that Simon became a Christian, that his sons Alexander and Rufus were distinguished members of the church in Rome, and that Simon's widow (?), the mother of Rufus (Romans 16:13), was a close friend and associate of the apostle Paul. Although incapable of being proved, such assumptions are quite reasonable.

Cyrene ... "This was a principal city of northern Africa, between Carthage and Egypt, corresponding with modern Tripoli."[13] "The Jews formed one of the four recognized classes in the city ... it was represented in the Pentecost crowd (Acts 2:10) and evidently had its own (or shared) synagogue in Jerusalem (Acts 6:9).[14]

Coming in from the country ... Summers thought that Simon might have been "traveling to Jerusalem for Passover and arriving late."[15] However, the Passover was held that night, not the night before (John 18:28). This is another example of numerous New Testament verses which have been misinterpreted due to the Friday crucifixion tradition.

[13] F. N. Peloubet, Peloubet's Bible Dictionary (Chicago: The John C. Winston Company, 1925), p. 132.

[14] New Bible Dictionary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1962), p. 285.

[15] Ray Summers, op. cit., p. 300.