It is time for Jesus to carry his cross. This tired man must lift a heavy cross all the way to the place he will be crucified. He models for us exactly the words he spoke in Mark 8:34, "...If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." This entire story of his death, the turning point of Jesus's life, shows you and I the depth of Jesus's love for each one of us. Every step was agony. His back, his head, were probably both bleeding profusely, yet he does it for us. He is the son of a carpenter too, it's worth noting. I bet Jesus knew what the process looked like for building one of these crosses. He probably could've even told someone what type of wood he was carrying. Maybe all of that time spent with Joseph in the shop wasn't such a waste of time after all. Maybe it was a foreshadowing of this very moment, when he would come face-to-face with something so deeply rooted in childhood.
Jesus isn't alone in his suffering though. Simon of Cyrene, a man from the countryside, is told to help Jesus bear this burden. It is a long journey and a hard one. According to the Catholic tradition known as the Stations of the Cross, Jesus falls to the ground not once or twice, but three times on his way to the top of Golgotha, the Place of the Skull. Despite his omnipotence as the divine Son of God, his body is weak from all that he's endured.
I think he allowed himself to fall to empathize with us. Jesus knows what pain feels like. He knows what rejection looks like. He still got up. He persevered. We can too, if we trust Jesus. He is always ready to help us carry our crosses.
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