Who was the man that helped Jesus carry the cross?
(A) At that time, a condemned person, in this case Jesus, was constrained to bear his own instrument of torture. Roman garrisons in Palestine had the right to requisition the property and services of the native population. In this case, the Bible refers to a Simon of Cyrenian. Cyrenaica was a Roman province on the north coast of Africa and Cyrene was its capital city. Simon may have been living in Palestine or have come there for the Passover as a pilgrim. Simon was told to help Jesus carry the cross.
