“And they compelled a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming in from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross” (Mark 15:21, ESV).

You can see this event different ways, but when I asked the Lord why this detail was in the Bible, the picture that came to mind was of Jesus bearing our burdens. Here’s what I mean: We’re all told to pick up our cross and follow Jesus. He doesn’t ask us to do things that He hasn’t already done. He didn’t carry His cross to His death; He had help.

We’re called to pick up our cross, daily. We are to die to self, daily. This involves hardship and suffering. Dying isn’t the most fun thing to do. We’re not left under the burden of the cross alone. The cross is where sin went to die. It’s where sin was defeated. The cross is a place of victory. Sorrow comes with rejoicing.

When we feel like the weight of the cross is too much to bear, Jesus lifts it off of our shoulders and bears the weight of it. We’re still walking the road with Him to the place of the skull. The destination, our goal, is the same. Dying to the flesh and living in Christ, with Christ—for eternity. We still have to walk the road to death to self, but we aren’t left to do it alone. He bore our iniquity and He bears our burdens. We just choose to walk alongside Him.