It would appear, based on what Mark and Paul write, that Rufus and his family became Christians after Jesus’ death and resurrection. From these two mentions, we gather that Rufus was a believer and a son of the man named Simon who was forced to carry the cross for Jesus. Since these are the only two places in Scripture that mention the name Rufus, it is highly likely that they are speaking of the same person. In Romans 16:13, he wrote: “Greet Rufus, chosen in the Lord, and his mother, who has been a mother to me, too.” We can connect Rufus with Rome because of Paul’s letter to the Romans many years later. They may not have known Simon of Cyrene, but they knew his son Rufus. He would have used names that were familiar to the church in Rome. In order to understand why Simon of Cyrene was identified as being the father of Rufus, we need to remember that Mark most likely wrote his account of Jesus’ life while in Rome, for Roman Christians. Mark 15:21 says, “A certain man from Cyrene, Simon, the father of Alexander and Rufus, was passing by on his way in from the country, and they forced him to carry the cross.”
So the soldiers grabbed a passing man and made him carry the cross for Jesus.
Due to the horrific abuse Jesus had already undergone, He was unable to carry the heavy wooden cross the Roman soldiers laid upon His back. The first mention of Rufus is in the context of events on the day Jesus was crucified. The Bible mentions Rufus in two places, and we can assume they both speak of the same man (Mark 15:21 Romans 16:13).