Cross-bearing in Early Christianity

Ruben van Wingerden investigates how the motif of bearing one's cross was interpreted in early Christianity up to the third century. First, he analyses the New Testament tradition: Mark and Matthew link cross-bearing with the readiness to die under persecution, while Luke tones down associations with physical death, presenting it as renunciation of possessions. John omits Simon of Cyrene and stresses Jesus' self-sufficiency in laying down his life. Simon himself is read against the background of the Greco-Roman motif of the noble death, where the innocent philosopher maintains his dignity.
Secondly, the author traces subsequent interpretations by early Christian authors. Writers such as Irenaeus, Clement of Alexandria, Tertullian, Cyprian, Novatian, and Origen developed a range of perspectives, from metaphorical to martyrological. A recurring insight is that cross-bearing was understood as readiness for martyrdom, never as a literal invitation to crucifixion. Origen marks the first instance in which Simon of Cyrene is linked to discipleship. Strikingly, Luke 9:23 with its "daily" addition disappears in these sources, reflecting a context where persecution required emphasis on immediate readiness for death rather than daily discipline. Moreover, sayings from Matthew and Luke often appear as blended formulae, indicating a flexible textual tradition. By situating these interpretations within Jewish, Roman, and philosophical frameworks, Ruben van Wingerden shows how early Christian readers reshaped the motif into a complex tradition that intertwined physical martyrdom with spiritual death to possessions, passions, and family ties.