Thought from today’s Bible reading from Matthew 27; Mark 15.
While on the way to crucify Jesus, the Roman soldiers compelled another man to carry Jesus’ cross. Why? Tradition tells us that Jesus stumbled on the way to Golgotha and, because He was physically unable to carry the cross, the soldiers found someone else to carry it. What does the text say?
“After they mocked Him, they took the scarlet robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him. As they were coming out, they found a man of Cyrene named Simon, whom they pressed into service to bear His cross” (Matthew 27:31-32).
At what point did Jesus stumble or fall under the weight of the cross? It is absent from the text. Examining the other gospels will also reveal nothing about Jesus stumbling on the way to Golgotha (Mark 15:21; Luke 23:26; John 19:17).
So why was Simon forced to carry Jesus’ cross?
The simple answer to this question is that we do not know. The Scriptures do not give a reason why the soldiers compelled another man to carry the cross. Could Jesus have stumbled? It is possible, but it is certainly not the obvious conclusion implied by the text. It is also possible that Jesus, though not stumbling, was simply going slower than the soldiers would have liked. It is also possible that they just singled out Simon for some reason. Or it could be that Jesus was not struggling as much as they thought He should have been; and in their sadistic desire to see Him suffer, they were not getting the enjoyment out of the trek to the crucifixion site as they expected. So they could have found a random person who was unconnected with Jesus and forced him to carry the cross instead for their own amusement. Any of these possibilities could have been the reason for Simon being forced to carry Jesus’ cross.
However, it all comes down to the simple fact that we do not know the reason because the Scriptures do not tell us. But some, having the traditional answer so embedded in their understanding of the account, fully expect the gospels to mention Jesus stumbling under the weight of the cross. But it is simply not there.
This is a reminder for us to test everything we hear according to the word of God (Acts 17:11). We are to examine all things carefully, then accept what is true and reject what is false (1 Thessalonians 5:21-22). Let us not blindly accept what we have heard about the Bible. Let us accept in faith those things which are actually taught in the Bible (Romans 10:17).
Tomorrow’s reading: Luke 23; John 18-19
[I’m using the Chronological reading plan on the Bible Gateway website if you’d like to follow along, too.]
Daily Notes & Observations contains all 365 articles from this series and is available in paperback from Gospel Armory.
