Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 27:32

"And as they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name: him they compelled to go [with them], that he might bear his cross." — Matthew 27:32 (ASV)

They found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name — At that time, there seems to have been a flourishing settlement of Jews in Cyrene. Members of that community appear as prominent figures in the crowd on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:10), among the disputants who opposed Stephen (Acts 6:9), and among the active preachers of the Word (Acts 11:20). Why, we ask, out of the whole crowd streaming to and fro on the way to the place of execution, did the multitude seize him? St. Mark’s mention of him as the father of Alexander and Rufus (see the note on Mark 15:21) suggests that his sons were later prominent members of the Christian community. Might we not infer that he was suspected even then of being a secret disciple, and that this led the people to seize him and make him a sharer in his Master’s humiliation? He was coming, St. Mark adds, out of the country.

Him they compelled — The word used here is the technical term for forced service (see the note on Matthew 5:41). The act implied that our Lord was sinking beneath the burden and that the soldiers began to fear He might die before they reached the place of execution.