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  e was an African Jew who had come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover. His name was Simon. He heard the music, saw the crowd, and watched with amused interest as this man came into town on a donkey. The man was treated like a king but looked like a fool. Simon stood there laughing. His laughter would change in the days to come.
According to the Gospel of Mark (15:21-22), Matthew (27:32) and Luke (23:26) Simon of Cyrene was compelled by the Romans to carry the cross of Jesus as Jesus was taken to his crucifixion:
"And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to bear his cross." (Matthew 27:32)
Because his home town, Cyrene, Libya, was located in northern Africa, a connection arose making Simon of Cyrene the first black Christian. Tradition states his sons, Rufus and Alexander, became missionaries. The inclusion of their names in Mark certainly suggests that they were of some standing in an early Christian community.
No doubt, their father must have told them many times of the cross he carried for the Savior of the world. A cross that brought life through the death of Jesus.
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