Comparative Theology · Internal Contradictions
Who Carried the Cross?
Handle with care. Do not claim the Gospels never mention Simon — three of them do. The point is John's deliberate omission, not a missing name.
In short
- 1.Mark, Matthew and Luke all say Simon of Cyrene was forced to carry the cross
- 2.John says Jesus (PBUH) carried it himself, and never mentions Simon at all
- 3.This is not a small slip: John is writing against a version where Jesus (PBUH) needs help
The claim being examined
The Gospels are held to be a harmonious record of the passion. On the single detail of who physically carried the cross to Golgotha, the and John give incompatible accounts.
The Islamic position
Islam holds that the true account of Jesus (PBUH)' final hours was not preserved. The Qur'an states that the matter was made to appear so to them and that they had no certain knowledge of it (Q 4:157) — precisely the confusion the sources display.
Analysis
Mark, and Matthew and Luke after him, say the soldiers forced Simon of Cyrene to carry the cross. John leaves Simon out completely and says Jesus (PBUH) went out carrying it himself. Most scholars read John's wording as deliberate: a Jesus (PBUH) in full command of events does not need a stranger's help. The common explanation — Jesus (PBUH) started and Simon finished — is a reconstruction none of the four texts actually give, and John's sentence rules it out rather than shortens it.
Side by side
| Mark | 15:21 | They compelled Simon of Cyrene, coming in from the country, to carry his cross. |
|---|---|---|
| Matthew | 27:32 | They found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name; him they compelled to bear his cross. |
| Luke | 23:26 | They seized Simon of Cyrene and laid on him the cross, to carry it behind Jesus (PBUH). |
| John | 19:17 | And he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called Golgotha. |
From the Qur'an
وَمَا قَتَلُوهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوهُ وَلَـٰكِن شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ ۚ
wamā qatalūhu wamā ṣalabūhu walākin shubbiha lahum
They did not kill him, nor did they crucify him, but it was made to appear so to them.
From the Bible
ἀγγαρεύουσιν παράγοντά τινα Σίμωνα Κυρηναῖον
They compelled a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, to carry his cross.
Read it in their Bibleβαστάζων ἑαυτῷ τὸν σταυρὸν
And he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called the place of a skull.
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