Mark 15:21

ἀγγαρεύουσιν. Originally a Persian expression of impressing people into serving the couriers of the Great King (Hdt. viii. 98), similar to the cursus publicus in the Roman Empire. Cf. operae publicae and the French corvée. But papyri and other evidence show that as early as B.C. 250 the word was used in a more general sense and at last was applied to compulsory service of any kind. Deissmann, Bibl. St. pp. 86, 87; Hatch, Essays, p. 37. Cf. Matthew 5:41. [3519][3520][3521][3522] read ἐγγαρεύουσιν, which probably represents local pronunciation and is thought by some to point to an Egyptian origin for those two MSS.

[3519] Codex Sinaiticus. 4th cent. Discovered by Tischendorf in 1859 at the Monastery of St Katharine on Mount Sinai. Now at St Petersburg. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1911.

[3520] An asterisk denotes that the word is not found elsewhere in N.T., and such words are included in the index, even if there is no note on them in the commentary.
[3521] Codex Vaticanus. 4th cent., but perhaps a little later than א. In the Vatican Library almost since its foundation by Pope Nicolas V., and one of its greatest treasures. The whole Gospel, ending at Mark 16:8. Photographic facsimile, 1889.

[3522] An asterisk denotes that the word is not found elsewhere in N.T., and such words are included in the index, even if there is no note on them in the commentary.

παράγοντά τινα. Elsewhere in the Gospels the verb is used only of Jesus “passing by” (Mark 1:16; Mark 2:14; Matthew 9:9; Matthew 9:27; John 9:1); and outside the Gospels only in the sense of things “passing away” (1 Corinthians 7:31; 1 John 2:8; 1 John 2:17). Syr-Sin. omits the word.

Σίμωνα Κυρηναῖον. In all three Synoptists; his name and origin were well remembered. There was a strong colony of Jews in Cyrene, planted there by Ptolemy I. They had equal rights with the citizens and often gave trouble (Joseph. Apion. ii. 4, Ant. xiv. vii. 2, XVI. vi. 1, 5, B.J. VII. xi. 1, Vita 76; Eus. H. E. iv. 2 cf. 1Ma 15:23; 2Ma 2:23). Simon may have been a member of the Cyrenean synagogue (Acts 6:9). It is unlikely that he is the same as “Symeon that was called Niger” who is mentioned with “Lucius of Cyrene” (Acts 13:1).

ἐρχόμενον�ʼ ἀγροῦ. Coming from the country. This need not mean that he was coming from work in the country, and it certainly was not a case of coming home from work in the evening. If he was an inhabitant of the district, he may have come to buy or sell, or in connexion with the Passover; but he may have been a pilgrim come up for the Feast. We cannot use this statement as evidence for determining the day.

τὸν πατέρα Ἀλεξάνδρου καὶ Ῥούφου. Mk only. When he wrote, Alexander and Rufus were known to many for whom he wrote, and Simon was not. Mk wishes to interest his readers in the narrative. For the purposes of the narrative it is of no moment whether Simon had sons or what their names were. Cf. Mark 14:51-52. There may here be confirmation of the tradition that Mk wrote in Rome. Alexander is not to be identified with any other Alexander in N.T. The name was very common in the East, and no Alexander otherwise known to us is likely to be the same man. Rufus, on the other hand, is a rare name in the East, though not rare in Rome, and he may be the Rufus of Romans 16:13, in which case his mother was well known to St Paul. He may also be the Rufus of the Ep. of Polycarp (9). But this conjecture is of as little value as that of Origen, who thinks that Simon of Cyrene may have been converted by St Mark.

ἄρῃ τὸν σταυρόν. In Mark 8:34 the same expression is rendered “take up his cross” (A.V., R.V.), but here “bear his cross.” Why not “take up” in both places? Vulg. has tollo in both, and Mk may have intentionally used the same verb in both passages. We need not be afraid of apparent discrepancy from Lk., who says that the soldiers laid the cross on Simon, ἐπέθηκαν αὐτῷ. What Christ had hitherto carried was transferred to Simon. Pictures sometimes represent Simon as merely helping Christ to carry the cross.