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It was a day of surprises, the day Jesus was killed. Luke, the physician and historian, recounts several eyewitness accounts of that fateful day. In each case, there is an element of surprise.

It certainly was a surprise for Simon. He was from North Africa, from Cyrene (modern-day Tripoli) and to be in Jerusalem for the Passover was a dream come true. When a crucifixion parade crossed his path on those unfamiliar streets, it should have been only a brief delay.

But a surprising thing happened. Jesus stumbled under the weight of the cross, right in front of Simon. The cross he was required to carry fell to the ground.

Because Jerusalem was an occupied city, Roman law gave the soldiers the right of conscription. They could draft anyone into their service instantly with the touch of a spear blade.

Simon from Tripoli was the closest person, so he was forced to pick up the cross and carry it, a humiliating task.

Luke says nothing more about Simon. But the Cyrenian does appear directly and indirectly two more times in the New Testament (Mark 15:21, Rom. 16:13). Mark recounts the same story but adds another detail-Simon was the father of Alexander and Rufus. It's unusual for a father to be identified by his children, unless of course the children are quite famous. By the time Mark's Gospel was circulated, two of the most famous Christians in all of the empire must have been Alexander and Rufus.

In Romans 16:13, Rufus, son of Simon, is described as the son of a woman whom the apostle Paul considered his surrogate mother. Put the pieces together and it's obvious that when Simon returned home, he told his wife about Christ and the crucifixion. She became not only a godly woman, but an influence to Paul. Simon told his sons Alexander and Rufus about what he had witnessed, and they became two of the greatest believers in the first-century church. The surprising embarrassment Simon endured that day turned out to be a great good for Simon and for his family.

As Jesus slowly made his way to Golgotha, a group of women followed him, crying and mourning. In all probability they had never met Jesus; they were professional mourners who dared to come out when men were crucified, often "representing" the convicted person's family who might not come.

Though it was a job, that doesn't mean they were unsympathetic. They always carried a liquid narcotic to help take the edge off the excruciating pain that accompanied crucifixion, a drug offered to the condemned person. These were women who had made this journey often. But this time, something unexpected happened.

Jesus turned and expressed sympathy for them: "Don't weep for me; weep for yourselves and your children" (Luke 23:28). He anticipated a difficult future for them and their children.

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