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Question: Can you explain the seemingly contradictory accounts of the gospels regarding Simon carrying the cross. Obviously it was important as all 3 mentioned it but John says it did not happen and Christ carried it alone. This and other discrepancies such as the criminals both mocking Christ verses just one seem completely opposed in facts. Is there a reason this and many other pieces of information regarding the events are diametrically opposed by John and the other authors?
Profile: Male, North America, Christian, 56–65
Answered by: Owen Lewis, who has been a volunteer with us since May, 2020.
Answer: There are numerous apparent contradictions in the Bible, and perhaps nowhere is this so common as in the four Gospels, which as you know chronicle the same events—the birth, life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. While these apparent contradictions may appear problematic at first, they always disappear upon further examination and a look at context and author perspective.
Instead of the whole Bible, I’m going to zero in on the Gospels, as I believe that’s what your question is about; and specifically the incidents you mention around the crucifixion of Jesus. Though I’m also going to mention one more that occurred after His resurrection.
The apparent difficulty between John and the other three other Gospels is largely an effect of the different emphasis the writers had. The first three Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke, are often called the synoptic Gospels, because they contain many of the same stories, details, and sometimes similar or even identical wording. Whereas John is quite different from the other three. All four Gospels do differ in what they emphasize. Matthew for instance, puts more emphasis than the others of Jesus as Messiah; so it was targeted particularly to a Jewish audience. Mark speaks a great deal about the suffering of Jesus, which you can see many foreshadowing’s of when the prophet Isaiah speaks of the suffering servant (Jesus) in Isaiah 53. Luke maybe emphasizes more than the others Jesus as Saviour, and saviour of all peoples. Then John focuses the most, and most clearly on the divinity of Jesus, how He and the Father are One (John 10:30).
The point is that all four emphasize different things. Also, that they relate events from different perspectives. When any two people tell the same story about the events of a given day, they will naturally highlight different points. One will mention things the other does not, or focus on something the other only touches on in passing. It doesn’t mean either is lying, but simply that they are relating things as they saw and experienced them. With the Gospels of course you have this, but you also have the divine inspiration of the Holy Spirit, acting on the writers, and directing them as to what they write. It seems then, that God thought it important to hear the same story of His Son from four different angles. Which makes sense, given that it is on Jesus that our hope rests. Nothing is more important.
Let’s look at your specific questions, starting with Simon carrying the cross of Jesus. I think it’s always important to look at the scripture in front of us when discussing it, and also that context is important. So I’m going to write out those verses here.
Matthew 27:31-33 “After they had mocked him, they took off the robe and put his own clothes on him. Then they led him away to crucify him. As they were going out, they met a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross. They came to a place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).”
Mark 15:20-22 “After they had mocked Him, they removed the purple robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him out to crucify Him. 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. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha (which means “the place of the skull”).” Side note, here it seems that Simon and his two sons were known to the early church. Presumably they all became followers of the risen Lord Jesus.
Luke 23:25-27 “As they had requested, he released the one imprisoned for insurrection and murder, and handed Jesus over to their will. As the soldiers led him away, they seized Simon from Cyrene, who was on his way in from the country, and put the cross on him and made him carry it behind Jesus. A large number of people followed him, including women who mourned and wailed for him.”
In these three accounts, you can already see the emphasis on different things. Two mention where he was going right away, and Luke takes the time to detail a response Jesus gave to the women following Him.
John 19:16-18 “Then Pilate handed Jesus over to be crucified, and the soldiers took Him away. Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.”
What I see here is not a contradiction, but that John tells the story at a different point in the events. It seems that Jesus started out carrying His own cross (which is where John’s description is given), but was unable to carry it the full distance. So they seized this Simon of Cyrene, and made him carry it for Jesus (which is the point that the other three writers focus on). This resolves the apparent contradiction, as it fits all four narratives.
I actually found an excellent summary for your second question about the apparent discrepancy of the other two criminals who were crucified alongside Jesus. Really couldn’t have said it better myself. https://evidenceforchristianity.org/was-it-one-thief-luke-or-both-matthew-who-mocked-jesus-how-can-you-resolve-this-discrepancyr/
The last point I’ll mention occurred just after the resurrection, when a group of women who had followed Jesus went to the place where He had been buried in order to anoint his body with spices. The apparent discrepancy has to do with how many women went to the tomb. In Matthew 28:1 we see that “Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went to see the tomb.” In Mark 16:1 we are told that, “When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so they could go and anoint the body of Jesus.” So here already we get some clarification, that “the other Mary” mentioned in Matthew was probably “Mary the mother of James.”
In Luke 24:1, 9-10 we find out that, “It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the other women with them…” Here we see at least 5 women mentioned. In John 20:1 only Mary Magdalene is mentioned.
What are we to make of this? The most logical solution is that there were multiple women who went to the tomb, but that the different authors, for whatever reasons, decided to focus on different women when they told their story. Putting these narratives together though actually gives us a much fuller picture. By looking at all four Gospel accounts, we can see that the women present included Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, Salome, Joanna, and at least one other woman who isn’t identified by name at all.
I hope these three examples have painted a picture of the best way to resolve these apparent discrepancies. The best path is to take all four accounts together, and look at them as different perspectives on the same events (which is exactly what they are). The details one writer focuses on or omits can fill in gaps left in other accounts, and ultimately paint a fuller picture of the life of Jesus. Hope that helps.
Cheers,
-Owen
