Note 1 at Mk. 15:21: There is a possibility that since Mark mentioned these men by name, they were known among the first century Christians. There is an Alexander mentioned in Acts 19:33 and a Rufus mentioned in Romans 16:13 but there are no indications that these are the same men as these sons of Simon.

Note 2 at Mk. 15:21: Cyrene was a city in North Africa where extensive ruins still exist at the modern day el-Krenna in Libya. Many Jews had moved to the area of Cyrene in the third century B.C. and it is probable that Simon was a Jew from that area who had come to Jerusalem for Passover.