Expositor's Bible Commentary 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)

Executions normally took place outside the city walls (Leviticus 24:14; Numbers 15:35– 36; 1 Kings 21:13; Acts 7:58), symbolizing still further rejection (cf. Hebrews 13:13). Jesus, weak as he was, managed to carry the crossbeam as far as the city gates (cf. Jn 19:17). There, as they were “going out” of the city, the soldiers forced Simon to assume the load. He came from Cyrene, an old Greek settlement on the coast of North Africa.