"No Cross, No Crown"

"No cross, no crown" is a famous saying of William Penn, the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania. It is illustrated by the experience of Simon of Cyrene, who was compelled by the Roman soldiers to bear Jesus’ cross. Simon had come from North Africa to attend the Passover, and his feelings can be better imagined than described on that day when this fate befell him. He had doubtless made his own plans for the day, but these were upset by this unexpected incident. Believers are always encountering experiences of that type, and they are always finding the abundant blessings into which the Cyrenian Jew stumbled. One was immortality. Wherever the Gospel is preached his name will be honoured to the end of the age. Another appears to have been eternal life, for Mark writes of him as the father of two well‑known Christians, Alexander and Rufus. (Mark 15:21)

September / October ‘78