WHO CARRIED THE CROSS TO THE CRUCIFIXION?

Contradiction: Who carried the cross to the crucifixion?

The American Humanist Association website offers this contradiction found in the Bible: “In describing Jesus being led to his execution, John 19:17 recounts that he carried his own cross. But Mark 15:21-23 disagrees by saying a man called Simon carried the cross.”

This is a good example of one of the sneaky ploys that critics of the Bible sometimes resort to in order to make their points. Note that this “contradiction” pointedly did not cite the parallel passages in Luke or Matthew, only the one in Mark. Let us compare all four narratives side by side:

    Matthew 27:31b-32 “Then they led him away to crucify him. As they went out, they came upon a man from Cyrene named Simon; they compelled this man to carry his cross.”

    Mark 15:20b-21 “Then they led him out to crucify him. They compelled a passer-by, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross; it was Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus.”

    Luke 23:26 “As they led him away, they seized a man, Simon of Cyrene, who was coming from the country, and they laid the cross on him, and made him carry it behind Jesus.”

    John 19:16b-17 “So they took Jesus; and carrying the cross by himself, he went out to what is called The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.”

The subtle detail definitely present in Matthew and implied in Mark and Luke is that Simon of Cyrene is compelled to help only after Jesus has been led out, carrying the cross that was initially placed on him, as stated clearly in John's account. So the most one can accuse John of doing is leaving out the subsequent detail of Simon's actions, not of giving an entirely different story. Every commentator I consulted gave this same explanation. One could just as well criticize Matthew, Luke and John of causing a “contradiction” by leaving out the names of Simon's two sons, which Mark includes in his narrative.

But if Jesus started out carrying his own cross, why did it get turned over to Simon of Cyrene at some point on the journey to Calvary? Most commentators are in agreement on the reason, expressed by Horsley as follows: “Perhaps they 'compel' Simon to carry the cross because Jesus is already too weak from repeated beatings, [Mark] 14:65; 15:15,19. Once hung on the cross he died more quickly than expected (vv. 44-45).”

Horsley provides another nuance to this event in stating: “This Simon in effect replaces Peter, whose original name was Simon, and who had just proven incapable of 'taking up his cross' by denying Jesus instead of himself (8:34; 14:66-72).

Some additional scholars who weigh in on this subject are quoted below:

Matthew

Bright and Mann feel that the phrase “as they were going out” is an allusion to the predictive parable found in Matthew 21:39 in which the householder sends his son to the evil tenants who “cast him out of the vineyard, and killed him.”

France says that “it is a reasonable assumption that after the flogging he was not physically capable of it [i.e. carrying the cross], or at least that he managed it only as far as the city gate ('as they went out' probably refers to leaving the city).”

Mark

Only Mark provides the detail regarding the sons of Simon of Cyrene, Rufus and Alexander. F.F. Bruce feels that this Rufus is probably the same man who is mentioned in the final greetings in the Letter to the Romans (16:13). And Marcus is even more positive: “Alexander and Rufus later became members of the Markan community.”

Subsequently, Mann notes, “According to Irenaeus, the Gnostics seized upon this item in the tradition to assert that it was not Jesus who died but Simon.” The Koran provides a similar explanation for why Jesus did not die on the cross.

Lane points out, “A burial-cave used in the first century prior to the destruction of the Temple and belonging to a family of Cyrenian Jews was discovered by Israeli archeologists on the southwestern slope of the Kidron valley in November 1946. The intriguing possibility that this tomb was owned by Simon and his family is raised by an ossuary inscribed twice in Greek, 'Alexander, son of Simon,' although that similarity to Mark's record may be coincidental.”

Luke

Fitzmyer notes the “Lucan touch” in Simon taking up the cross and following Jesus (see Luke 9:23; 14:27).

John

Two commentators provide a theological explanation for John omitting the fact of Simon aiding Jesus:

Borchert: “Although Jesus has been whipped and condemned as a criminal, he is not a helpless victim but the Shepherd-King laying down his life for his sheep (10:11,15,17; 15:13). The King was carrying his own cross to crucifixion and to his glorification. This carrying of his own cross may be reminiscent of the story in Gen. 22:6, when Abraham laid the wood on Isaac which the boy carried and which was to be the means of his own sacrifice.”

Morris: “John's 'for himself' puts a certain stress on the fact that Jesus did this particular piece of work. John's emphasis may be on the fact that Jesus accomplished the world's salvation alone.”

Finally, R.E. Brown alludes to the “popular representation of Jesus carrying the front part of the cross and Simon carrying the back part [which] uses Luke's wording as a guide in combining the Johannine picture and that of Mark/Matthew” as another, but less likely, attempt at harmonizing the various accounts.