Simon of Cyrene

[dmday3000]

File this under, "Why didn't I know that"

Mark 15:21

[21] [d]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)
 
[Cross References]
=======================================================
[d] Matt. 27:32; Luke 23:26; [John 19:17]

It is believed, judging from what we know of the background of The Gospel According to Mark, that his use of otherwise obscure names means he would have been familiar with his audience. Otherwise why use names that no one would know?

Mark was writing to the Roman Christians, he used many Latin terms in his gospel, applying the Historical-Grammatical hermeneutic we can deduce that Mark's use of the names Alexander and Rufus would have been relevant to his audience. This hermeneutic is consistent throughout the gospels; for example Matthew writing or tailoring his gospel for the Jews, Luke for the Greeks, and Mark for the Romans.

We see also a reference to a Rufus in Romans 16:13, while there is no way to know if this is the same Rufus, it is intriguing to think that Paul's letter to the Romans is addressed to the same audience that Mark's was composed to and it is quite possibly the same person.

Using an existential hermeneutic place yourself in the place of Simon, led by God's sovereign hand to stand in a certain place on the path to Golgotha at a predetermined time in history. What would have been the impact upon you as you carried Jesus' cross up the hill? What would you have told your sons Alexander and Rufus? (Judging by their names, Simon, Alexander and Rufus were all Hellenized Jews)

It's conceivable that God used this circumstance to spread the gospel to Simon's sons and perhaps to Simon himself. Eventually they would meet Peter and his companion Mark, and perhaps it was they who extolled Mark to write down all the things that Peter spoke about.

An interesting thing to imagine.

[dmday3000]

An obscure text from The Gospel according to Mark,

[A Young Man Flees]
    [51] And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, [52] but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked.
(Mark 14:51-52 ESV)

If you work from the presupposition that there is no wasted ink in the Bible, that is to say every word in the Bible is God-breathed, then what is the significance of this passage?

If you take into account the background of the writer of this Gospel (John called Mark) and his approximate age at the time, this very well could be Mark himself. I cannot offer irrefutable proof, but consider Peter's ministry and Mark's closeness with Peter...

 [13] She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings, and so does Mark, my son.
(1 Peter 5:13 ESV)

...it follows then that during Peter's ministry to the Romans that certain anecdotes were shared and this text is probably one of those anecdotes, Mark then would have inserted this story in the proper place to show the readers where it fit in. Much like Mark's reference to Simon's son's by name, it was directly relevant to the original readers.

As far as application, I'm lost, perhaps don't go running around with just a loin cloth on?