Do you have any information on Simon of Cyrene? Anything that you can give me even if it is just your personal opinion would be greatly appreciated.
Simon was from Cyrene, an important city in Libya in North Africa. A large Jewish population lived there. It was required that every able bodied Jewish male attend Passover each year, which explains his presence in Jerusalem. He was there with his two sons and was required to carry the Lord’s cross for Him, because the Lord was too weak to do it Himself after the scourging He had endured.
It’s thought that his sons, identified as Rufus and Alexander in Mark 15:21 were among the Jews of Cyrene mentioned in Acts 6:9, and that Rufus is the one, along with his mother, being singled out in Romans 16:13.
Some believe that all three sons of Noah were represented at the cross. If so, Simon could well have been the representative of Ham, whose descendants settled Africa. The Romans were descendants of Japeth, and of course the Jews came from Shem.