“Are these your boys?” asked Longinus the Centurion.

“Yes, Sir,” replied Simon. “Alexander is my 11-year-old firstborn, and Rufus is seven years old. We have travelled 33 days from Cyrene to be here in Jerusalem for the Passover festival.”

“Your sons will be pressed into service for the governor,” the soldier stated firmly. “The older boy will pour water into a basin as Pontius Pilate washes his hands, and the younger lad will give him a towel. Each boy will receive a quadrans (widow’s mite) for their service. Do you understand?”

“I do,” replied Simon, watching with pride as his sons were led off to the judgment seat in the Praetorium. There, Pilate would pronounce the death sentence for Jesus and set Barabbas free.

The boys knelt quietly by the marble bench as Pilate spoke to the mob: “I am innocent of this man’s blood. Look to his death yourselves.” As he said this, he placed his hands in the basin, and Alexander poured water over them. Rufus was ready with a towel.

Suddenly, Pilate’s face turned ashen, pale as he stared into the basin and saw the crystal clear water from the pitcher changing into scarlet red blood beneath his hands.

“Is this some sorcerer’s trick!” he shouted, pulling his hands away and overturning the basin.

“What’s wrong, my Lord?” asked Longinus. “It’s only water.”

“Can’t you see the blood?” screeched Pilate.

“No, my Lord. There is no blood.”

Pilate peered again at the pool of liquid that had spilled onto the granite pavement and saw only clear water.

Longinus returned the frightened boys to their father. “I wouldn’t dally too long in the city,” he warned. “This Prefect is volatile and will endorse the Jewish laws like the ones that sentence children to death for cursing and striking their parents.”

Simon took the two coins his sons had earned and then blended in with the crowd on the street. There, they observed the three convicted criminals who were being forced to carry their crosses to Calvary. One, the Nazarene, was particularly weak from his scourging and appeared to be dying on his way to crucifixion. As Jesus fell to the ground, Longinus caught sight of Simon.

“You there, Cyrenian,” he shouted. “Come here and carry this Rabbi’s cross behind him so that he won’t die before the nails are hammered into his hands and feet.”

Simon of Cyrene did as he was told and carried the cross behind the King of the Jews. 

Meanwhile, a young woman gently wiped the Savior’s face with a towel that she had woven from lamb’s wool. “Come back here, Veronica,” her young suitor begged from among the onlookers. So she rejoined the spectators and stood by Aviel to whom she was betrothed. When she unraveled the cloth, she saw an image of Christ’s face impressed upon the fabric as if painted there by an artist. “Truly, this is the Son of God,” were the last prophetic words Longinus heard her say as he continued the distressing climb to the Skull Place.

Holy Homework: On Good Friday, let’s hang a towel over a dining room chair. Let this serve as a reminder of the image Christ depicted of Himself as a gift for Veronica, as well as the suffering He endured as a gift for our salvation. 

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