John Calvin 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, a Cyrenian. This circumstance points out the extreme cruelty both of the Jewish nation and of the soldiers.

There is no reason to doubt that it was then the custom for criminals to carry their own crosses to the place of punishment. However, as the only persons who were crucified were robbers, who were men of great physical strength, they were able to bear such a burden. It was otherwise with Christ, so that the very weakness of His body plainly showed that it was a lamb that was sacrificed. Perhaps, too, as a consequence of having been mangled by scourging and broken down by many acts of outrage, He bent under the weight of the cross.

Now the Evangelists relate that the soldiers constrained a man who was a peasant, and of low rank, to carry the cross; because that punishment was considered so detestable that everyone thought himself polluted if he merely touched it.²⁶⁵

But God ennobles by His heralds the man who was taken from the lowest dregs of the people to perform a lowly and shameful task; for it is not an unnecessary detail that the Evangelists not only mention his name but also inform us about his country and his children. Nor can there be any doubt that God intended, by this preparation, to remind us that we are of no rank or standing in ourselves, and that it is only from the cross of His Son that we derive eminence and renown.

²⁶⁵ “S’il luy fust advenu d’y mettre la main.”.”