27:32 And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they {m} compelled to bear his cross.
(m) They compelled Simon to bear his burdensome cross, by which it appears that Jesus was so poorly handled before that he fainted along the way, and was not able to bear his cross the whole distance: for John writes that he did bear the cross, that is, at the beginning.
27:32 As they came out. Of the city. Jesus was crucified without the gate (Heb 13:12). A company of soldiers, led by a centurion, had charge.
A man of Cyrene. Simon by name, the father of two well-known Christians (Mr 15:21). Cyrene was in North Africa, and was the house of many Jews.
To bear his cross. At first Jesus bore his own cross, but exhausted by scourging, sank under the weight (Joh 19:17). Luke seems to show that Simon only bore the after part of the cross, the lighter end, which had been dragging on the ground (Lu 23:26).
27:32 Him they compelled to bear his cross - He bore it himself, till he sunk under it, John 19:17.
27:31-34 Christ was led as a Lamb to the slaughter, as a Sacrifice to the altar. Even the mercies of the wicked are really cruel. Taking the cross from him, they compelled one Simon to bear it. Make us ready, O Lord, to bear the cross thou hast appointed us, and daily to take it up with cheerfulness, following thee. Was ever sorrow like unto his sorrow? And when we behold what manner of death he died, let us in that behold with what manner of love he loved us. As if death, so painful a death, were not enough, they added to its bitterness and terror in several ways.
