Biblical references Only John specifically says Jesus carried his cross, and all but John include Simon of Cyrene, who was recruited by the soldiers from the crowd to carry or help carry the cross.
In Luke 23:26, amid the crucifixion event, we read, 'And as they led [Jesus] away, they seized one Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus.
We can be sure that Jesus was grateful to Simon for providing some relief during the Passion, but also for helping him reach his goal of redeeming humanity (see Jn 12:27 and Acts 2:23) by his suffering and death. “Carrying our cross” is a quite familiar concept to Christians.
Mark 15: 21
They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.
It was the oldest and most important of the five Greek cities, known as the pentapoleis, in the region. It gave eastern Libya the classical name Cyrenaica that it has retained to modern times. Located nearby is the ancient Necropolis of Cyrene.
In Luke 9:23, Jesus looks at his disciples and tells them, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it."
The Via Dolorosa, the “way of sorrow,” is the stone street in the Old City of Jerusalem along which Jesus carried the cross to his own crucifixion, according to the New Testament.
Saint Christopher Carrying Christ 1510–20. According to legend, Saint Christopher devoted his life to carrying the weak and poor across a river. One night, when he was carrying a child, he felt his burden grow heavier with each step.
Hebrews 12:2 tells us very clearly: “… who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” This verse says Jesus focused on “the joy” that was set before Him as He endured the Cross.
Simon of Cyrene is famous for being the man who carried Jesus's cross. However, we don't know much about Simon other than what Matthew, Mark, and Luke say of him in their gospels. Who is Simon of Cyrene?
The meeting between Jesus and his mother on the way of the cross is not recorded in any of the Gospels, but we know that there were women who followed him on the way and we know that Mary was at the foot of the cross with St John, so it isn't unreasonable that she and Jesus should have met as he was carrying the cross.
Gospel narratives
There, according to John 19:39-40, Joseph and Nicodemus took the body and bound it in linen cloths with the spices (myrrh and aloes) that Nicodemus had brought. Luke 23:55-56 states that the women "who had come with him from Galilee" prepared the spices and ointments.
Simon of Cyrene is mentioned by name in only three passages of Scripture: Matthew 27:32, Mark 15:21, and Luke 23:26). In Matthew, it is said, “they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name.
It means to lay our "ego strength" aside. Taking up our cross means, instead, picking up those weaknesses that we so often try to run away from in life. Taking up our cross means carrying around those places where we are vulnerable, places where we are maybe even exposed to embarrassment and shame.
This happened at nine in the morning on the day of Passover (14:12, 15:25).
Most religious scholars and historians agree with Pope Francis that the historical Jesus principally spoke a Galilean dialect of Aramaic. Through trade, invasions and conquest, the Aramaic language had spread far afield by the 7th century B.C., and would become the lingua franca in much of the Middle East.
Cyrene is in danger from two main factors: development and terrorism threats from ISIS.
Hadrian was named as Cyrene's second founder for all the work he did to repair the city. The temple was destroyed and abandoned in 365 AD after an earthquake.
Mary Magdalene, also called Mary of Magdala, (flourished 1st century ce, Palestine; feast day July 22), one of Jesus' most celebrated disciples, famous, according to Mark 16:9–10 and John 20:14–17, for being the first person to see the resurrected Christ.
9 Now when he was risen early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons. 10 She went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and wept. 11 And they, when they heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, disbelieved.
According to the Bible, Methuselah died the year of the flood but the Bible does not record whether he died during or prior to the flood. He was also the oldest of all the figures mentioned in the Bible.
She ascended into heaven
The early centuries of the Christian tradition were silent on the death of Mary. But by the seventh and eighth centuries, the belief in the bodily ascension of Mary into heaven, had taken a firm hold in both the Western and Eastern Churches.
According to Christianity.com, Mary was 46 to 49 years old when Jesus died. Britannica states that she “flourished” from 25 B.C. to A.D. 75. Assuming this is in reference to her lifespan, according to Britannica, Mary was approximately 54 to 59 years old when Jesus died.