Treasure in Earthen Vessels: The Local Church: Has It Failed to Obey Matthew 28:20?

By Graham Diggins

Treasure in Earthen Vessels: The Local Church: Has It Failed to Obey Matthew 28:20? This book has been written to strengthen and enlarge the faith of Christians by teaching them the truth while exposing the traditions of the elders found in Reformed, Reformed Baptist, Protestant, and Baptist Church circles.

It examines a number of current issues like transgender identity, homosexuality, gravitational waves from LIGO, The Passion of the Christ by Mel Gibson, and long hair, clothing, and women.

It sets forth what the Bible teaches about limited atonement, resurrection, baptism, confirmation, the scourging of Jesus, Judas, prophecy, prophesying, and prophets.

It comforts Christians by directing their thoughts away from false laws to the law of Christ.

It challenges Christians to hold fast the gospel of Jesus, to follow only biblical truth, and to realize that truth surfaces from a close inspection of many similar verses with the same key word.

It reproduces and updates a nineteenth century work by William Kay, who makes an excellent case for Paul being the author of Hebrews. He uses a lot of Greek to win over those who deny, using secondhand arguments that Paul is the true and only author of this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris AU
• Release date: Apr 27, 2018
• ISBN: 9781543407709

Graham Diggins

The author was born in Parramatta Hospital in 1949. He was raised at Merrylands, Dundas, and Ermington, New South Wales. He went to high school at Marsden High, Ermington (1962–1967). He won a Commonwealth Scholarship in 1968 and graduated with a BSc from a Sydney university (1968–70). He is a surface coatings chemist with Sydney firms (1971–1987). He got married in 1973. He is a father of four children—1975, 1976, 1977, and 1980. He attended Moore College from 1975–1977. He received a BTh (Hons) from the Australian College of Theology (ACT) in 1978 and a BD (second-class honours) in 1979 from a London university. He visited Japan for business in 1987. He received a DipEd from Sydney Teachers College in 1988. He has been a high school science teacher in New South Wales from 1989 to present.

Book preview

Treasure in Earthen Vessels

The Local Church:

Has It Failed to Obey Matthew 28:20?

Graham Diggins

Copyright © 2018 by Graham Diggins.

ISBN: Hardcover 978-1-5434-0772-3

Softcover 978-1-5434-0771-6

eBook 978-1-5434-0770-9

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

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Rev. date: 04/26/2018

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Table of Contents

INTRODUCTION

ABBREVIATIONS and MEANINGS

HINTS on HOW to READ NEW TESTAMENT GREEK

WHICH CHURCH DO YOU ATTEND?

WHO CARRIED the CROSS of CHRIST?

WHAT the BIBLE SAYS about HOMOSEXUALITY

CALVIN’S INSTITUTES Book 4, chapter 15, section 16

CALVIN’S INSTITUTES Book 4, chapter 15, section 19

In CHRIST Alone

CHRIST DIED for OUR SINS (from Colossians)

CHRIST DIED for OUR SINS (from Ephesians)

CHRIST DIED for OUR SINS (from I & II Thessalonians)

CHRIST DIED for OUR SINS (from I Corinthians)

The CORRECT THINGS for CHRISTIANS to FOLLOW

EGO EIMI (Ἐγώ εἰμι) IN JOHN’s GOSPEL

ERROR regarding the TEN COMMANDMENTS

The GENERATIONS of …

GRAVITATIONAL WAVE DISCOVERY from LIGO

HEBREWS Written by PAUL

Introduction

I. The Title of the Epistle

II. The Canonicity of the Epistle

III. The Authorship of the Epistle

1. The External Evidence

2. The Internal Evidence

3. Examination of the Leading Objections

IV. Where and When the Epistle Was Written

V. To Whom It Was Written

APPENDICES

I. On II Peter 2:15, 16.

II. Words in Paul’s Speeches Referred to as Characteristic of Luke

III. Verbal Resemblances between the (acknowledged) writings of Paul and those of Luke

IV. On some divergences alleged by Dr Eduard

Riehm to exist between this Epistle (Hebrews)

and the epistles of St Paul.

The ‘HOUSE’ or ‘HOUSEHOLD’ in the NT

HUMANS or SNAILS; WHO is truly TRANSGENDER?

I AM the RESURRECTION and the LIFE

JUDAS, the DEVIL and JESUS

WHAT LAW are CHRISTIANS under?

WHICH LAW Should CHRISTIANS keep?

LONG HAIR, CLOTHING and WOMEN in the NT

WHY MODERN BIBLES are DANGEROUS I

WHY MODERN BIBLES are DANGEROUS II

PROPHECY, PROPHETS and PROPHESYING

PROPHECY:

PROPHET:

PROPHESYING:

CONCLUSION:

The QUESTION - WHO CREATED GOD?

RESURRECTION and PHILIPPIANS 3:10-11

SACRAMENTS? BAPTISM? CONFIRMATION?

The SCOURGINGS of JESUS before HIS DEATH

The SIMPLE GOSPEL MESSAGE –heed it please

Part A: You do things that are not nice

Part B: You will be punished – there is no escaping God

Part C: Is there any hope?

Part D: Hope arrives and triumphs

Part E: What comes next?

Part F: Summary

DO NOT READ if you are an Unbeliever (A Gospel Emphasis)

The THEOLOGY of ISAAC WATTS

GENERAL INDEX

INTRODUCTION

I have used the King James Version (KJV) as my English Bible text. The KJV is part of English literature that is called Modern English. A main stalwart of this new English style was William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616). Remember the KJV came out in 1611, just before Shakespeare died.

Try to read previous works known as Middle English like The Canterbury Tales, first written in 1392 by Geoffrey Chaucer (1343 – 1400). You will find them almost a ‘foreign language’ as most of us in Australian schools of the 1960’s realised when we studied this book for matriculation purposes in high school prior to going to university.

And if you think the KJV is archaic and unreadable, then have a go at a prime example of Old English literature like Beowulf (AD 700 – 750).

With the KJV, spelling changes have occurred over 400 years so some words like ‘forever’ were treated originally as two separate words. I have just joined them together. If there is an unusual, unfamiliar word in the text, then I have either changed it to its modern meaning or included the modern word in brackets after this word.

I have made slight changes to the KJV without changing a single word for a word with a different meaning. Other words like ‘shew’, ‘saith’ and ‘spake’ I have changed to ‘show’, ‘says’ and ‘spoke’. I have removed the archaic third person singular verb endings like -eth and -th so words like ‘sitteth’ becomes ‘sits’ and ‘hath’ becomes ‘has’. Verbs combined with the second person singular pronoun ‘thou’ have been changed from ‘art’ to ‘are’ and ‘makest’ to ‘make’. In changing words of the KJV, I have left ye, thou, thee, thy and thine as is. They are critical to an understanding of who is being addressed. Christians lose too much information or can be easily confused by the removal of these key pronouns. Replacing them with you or your, as was done unfortunately by the new King James Version, simply hides the truth from many or causes them to teach error when explaining the Bible to others. Many examples have been mentioned in previous books. To see more on this topic, go to the chapter entitled WHY MODERN BIBLES are DANGEROUS II in this book.

Direct speech maintains the same text as the rest of the accompanying Scripture and other verses may have single or double quotation marks. This measure was to treat all Scripture as God’s word without distinction. This is in opposition to those Bibles which have the words of Christ in red (like the NKJV) or call themselves ‘red letter editions’.

I have copied out many verses of Scripture to make it easier for the reader – he or she does not have to go searching for the text in their Bible. This is meant to help one’s train of thought so they can focus on what is before them. You need substantial food and not Helen Steiner Rice (1900 – 1981) poems, which may have a place at moments in your life, but not your whole life. Focus on the verses in Hebrews 5:12-14 which say: 12 For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teaches you again what are the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk and not of strong meat. 13 For every one that uses milk is unskilful in the word of righteousness: for he is a babe. 14 But strong meat belongs to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil. It is useful to reproduce these verses so that you, dear reader, may understand why works like this are put forward for your spiritual benefit and eternal salvation.

Also, I believe many Christians are not reading their Bibles, so I am hoping and praying that this will encourage them to read their Bibles and ask questions about the Scriptures like the Ethiopian eunuch did in Acts 8: 30-38. The text says: 30 And Philip ran thither to him and heard him read the prophet Isaiah and said, do thou understand what thou are reading? 31 And he said, how can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him. 32 The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so he opened not his mouth: 33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? For his life is taken from the earth. 34 And the eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee, of whom speaks the prophet this? Of himself, or of some other man? 35 Then Philip opened his mouth and began at the same scripture and preached unto him Jesus. 36 And as they went on their way, they came to a certain water: and the eunuch said, See, here is water; what does hinder me to be baptized? 37 And Philip said, if thou believe with all thine heart, thou may. And he answered and said, I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God* 38 and he commanded the chariot to stand still: and they went down both into the water, both Philip and the eunuch; and he baptized him. *The better translation would be ‘I believe that the Son of God is Jesus Christ. This better conforms to the Greek structure and has the eunuch, a God-fearer, progressing from what is known (Son of God) to the unknown (Jesus Christ). Philip preached that the prophet Isaiah was speaking about Jesus in Isaiah 53:7. Whatever else Philip said, a connection was made between the Son of God and Jesus and God granted to the eunuch this understanding, regenerating him. The Son of God is a Middle Eastern idiom meaning that one is God. It is still known even to this day that Muslims will not acknowledge Jesus as the Son of God because they understand the expression identifies Jesus as God.

I have included a list of abbreviations. I am sure many will not need them but they are there for the benefit of all.

Each topic can be used independently of any other considerations to help with sermon, Bible study preparation or private use. It is versatile with many outcomes.

You can find if a verse is listed by using the Scripture Index. I trust it will increase your understanding of God’s word and lead to a greater glorification of the lovely Lord Jesus, the true and only Saviour of sinners. Through all this, may you learn to better serve God, appreciate what He has said and enjoy Him forever.

May ‘the traditions of the elders’ never be your starting point nor defining point nor stumbling block as you study God’s word.

ABBREVIATIONS and MEANINGS

HINTS on HOW to READ NEW TESTAMENT GREEK

NT Greek has been used in this study as a deliberate ploy to encourage Christians to study it and so further promote the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Hopefully, the following will help to bring hope, light and understanding, making NT Greek a joy rather than a hard grind.

Some of the language is highly technical and not written for the faint hearted nor for those who will not bother to study the original language of the New Testament. The Greek language of the NT has a breadth and depth which often goes well beyond what any English translation can or would render from the Greek used. I dare say this is true of any language used to translate NT Greek. Greek was the right language to use in the fullness of time. We should thank God Almighty for this decision. Imagine the problems posed, especially in the Gospels, if the Holy Spirit had not led the New Testament writers to use the common Greek or Koine Greek of the day. If written in the Hebrew language or Aramaic, the common Jewish language of that time, how much harder it would have been to see that Judaism was replaced by the gospel of Jesus Christ. We would not have the best language to describe to our limited minds the glories of the Lord Jesus Christ. Using Hebrew or Aramaic would not produce the same result.

It is a pity that many in Bible colleges do not do Greek, but are weeded out in the first weeks they commence studying because of academic requirements. This is due to their tie up with government educational standards and the funding of such courses. These have a monetary attachment which is hard to refuse for many people and even supposedly Christian organisations. There should be a concession made for those students who do not have the required skills to become masters in this language. They should be encouraged with good, patient teachers to persevere and not see Bible colleges as degree factories with a Christian logo. I am only taking the line of least resistance here as I do not see the Bible teaching that Bible colleges and theological establishments, even if we grant them an existence for the sake of the argument, have a precedence over the local church in teaching their members and adherents the word of God. Please enlighten me on the truth here if I am in error. The local church should teach all about the glory of God. Only then will you appreciate how a local church should function.

Some pointers to help readers to understand NT Greek.

What is the aorist tense? It is pronounced ‘air-ist’. It is like a past tense and should be viewed as action in past time. It is action that does not continue. It has been described as action or activity as a once for all happening. Jesus’ death is described as an aorist event. It happens once and that is it. If the present tense is viewed as a continuous line, then the aorist is a dot. The aorist tense indicates a once for all, immediate act and is widely used in the NT. An example of its use occurs in Hebrews 7:27. ‘For this he did once, when he offered up himself.’ Did is the aorist ἐποίησεν (epoiesen) and it is contrasted with the constant, daily offering of sacrifices by the Levitical priests in the Temple. Jesus only had to do it once for it to be accepted by God. Paul also uses the word ἅπαξ (hapax) or once to emphasize this fact. In addition, ‘he offered up’ is the aorist participle ἀνενέγκας (anenegkas) of ἀναφέρω (anaphero), I carry up or offer. This offering was a once for all act, never to be repeated. It points the finger of God at the mass and says ‘not possible’ and at anything else, other than Christ, who is declared by the Bible to be able to save to the uttermost the people who are the elect of God.

What is the perfect tense? It is translated as a past tense with often the addition of the helping word has or had. Sometimes it is just translated as a simple past tense. It is action in past time with ongoing consequences or effects. Think of it as a dot to indicate completed action and a line which continues onwards. When Jesus cried in John 19:30 ‘it is finished’ and bowed his head and gave up the ghost when on the cross, we might well nod and say amen. He is not using an aorist tense but the Greek perfect tense to teach us about his cross work and that a lot more benefits flow to the elect because of his death. Students of the Bible do not always get this understanding from an English translation. But the use of the Greek perfect tense informs us he was actually saying ‘it is finished and remains finished for all time’. There can be no addition to his death such as ‘Jesus plus anything else’, even if what is proposed is wonderful in its own right and tugs at our heart strings. The benefits he won by dying as the substitute for his people, so that they would not have to face the second death, are beyond all the riches this world has to offer. He cannot be sacrificed again, as in the blasphemous mass. Nothing else, apart from Christ alone, can be designated nor spoken of nor should be relied upon as the fount of our salvation. You cannot plead with Mary as the Scripture has spoken and stands forever as our only true guide.

Transliterating a NT Greek word means taking the actual Greek word with its Greek symbols and writing it down as an English equivalent word, letter by letter. This is done regularly when borrowing from one language to make another word in another language. For example, the Hebrew word ‘God with us’ is just the Hebrew letters turned into the corresponding Greek letters and eventually turned again into the corresponding English letters to give us the word ‘Emmanuel’ from the Hebrew emmanu = with us and el = God.

I have transliterated all the Greek words and phrases used, except where the Greek is a whole sentence.

Transliterating Greek letters is generally easy. Mention should be made of the letters omega (ω) and eta (η) so that you dear reader can understand why they are written a certain way in this book. Omega (ω) is pronounced as long o and is written as o to distinguish it from omicron (o) which is pronounced as short o and is written as o. When transliterating from Greek into English, I have underlined o to show it is omega. Eta (η) is pronounced as long e and is written as e to distinguish it from epsilon (ε) which is pronounced as short e and written as e. When transliterating from Greek to English I have underlined e to show it is eta. Some unusual Greek letters which should help you read the NT Greek:

γ (gamma) transliterated as g. Capital is Γ.

ζ (zeta) transliterated as dz. Capital is Ζ.

η (eta) transliterated as e. Capital is H.

θ (theta) transliterated as th. Capital is Θ.

ν (nu) transliterated as n. Capital is Ν.

ξ (xi) transliterated as x. Capital is Ξ.

π (pi) transliterated as p. Capital is Π.

ρ (rho) transliterated as r. Capital is Ρ.

σ (sigma) transliterated as s (occurs everywhere except as the last letter in a word)

ς (sigma) transliterated as s (only occurs as the last letter in a word). Capital is Σ.

υ (upsilon) transliterated as u. Capital is Υ.

φ (phi) which is transliterated as phi. Capital is Φ.

χ (chi) transliterated as ch. Capital is Χ.

ψ (psi) which is transliterated as ps. Capital is Ψ.

ω (omega) which is transliterated as o (long o). Capital is Ω.

The other, well known Greek letters, lower case, upper case, are: α (alpha) = a, Α; β (beta) = b, Β; δ (delta) = d, Δ; ε (epsilon) = e, Ε; ι (iota) = i, I; κ (kappa) = k, K; λ (lambda) = l, L; μ (mu) = m, M; ο (omicron) = o, O; σ, ς (sigma) = s (see above), capital is Σ and τ (tau) = t, T.

In NT Greek, if the first letter is a vowel (α, ε, η, ι, ο, υ, ω), then it has a smooth breathing marker ’ above the letter (e.g. ἐν = en) or if the word starts with two vowels then the smooth marker symbol is placed above the second vowel (e.g. εἰς = eis). The letter or letters are pronounced as they are written. If it has a rough breathing marker ‘ above the letter (e.g. ὑπὲρ = huper), then the letter is pronounced as is with a ‘h’ sound before it. The rough breathing marker is also placed above ρ when it is the first letter of a word (e.g. ῥῆμα = hrema).

When γ is written side by side with another γ, the first γ is pronounced as n (e.g. ἐπαγγελία (epangelia) or promise.

Let us see how well you go at transliterating Greek words.

The word for God is θεὸς (theos). The word for word is λόγος (logos).

The word for Lord is κύριος (kurios). The word for flesh is σὰρξ (sarx).

Now, cover up the words below and have a go.

How would you transliterate ἡμέρα (day)?

How would you transliterate ἐκκλησία (church or assembly)?

How would you transliterate ἄγγελός (angel)?

How would you transliterate προφήτης (prophet)?

How would you transliterate ἀδελφὸς (brother)?

How would you transliterate χριστὸς (Christ)?

How would you transliterate ἁμαρτία (sin)?

How would you transliterate λέγει (he says)?

How would you transliterate βαπτισμος (baptism)?

Did you get hemera? Did you get ekklesia? Did you get angelos?

Did you get prophetes? Did you get adelphos? Did you get Christos?

Did you get hamartia? Did you get legei? Did you get baptismos?

WHICH CHURCH DO YOU ATTEND?

The facts about the Anglican Church come from a corrected church history and not one falsified by the victorious armies of churches. What, churches had armies who fought battles? Huldrych Zwingli (1484 – 1531), a leader of the Reformation and a Swiss pastor, trusted too much in the sword and died on the battlefield at Kappel (11-10-1531) while fighting against a Roman Catholic army. Armies of the Presbyterians, Anglicans and Catholics signed a treaty in 1648 called the Treaty of Westphalia. They agreed to stop fighting among themselves as it was costly and messy. This meant they had more time to focus on their real enemy as they were all from one root with ‘reformed differences’. The Protestants owed their religious existence to Roman Catholicism. With their bloody fighting over, all groups were now free to concentrate their efforts on destroying the one group who had always remained faithful to Christ. This group, whatever name they went by, ALWAYS refused to bring their infants to false churches to be sprinkled and did not themselves baptise their own members’ babies. They were baptistic in their church behaviour and ONLY baptised believers.

Further information comes from the Bible and the Anglican Prayer book. You must be careful to obtain a proper Prayer book. If you look at current Prayer books, then you will see many of the ‘harder’ Anglican principles missing. They have been rewritten to fit in with our modern age. The original Prayer book had directions like this:

• You are not to give Christian burial to one who has committed suicide. The reasoning was that this person had committed a grave sin and was in hell. This refusal to bury also applies to the unbaptised and those who have been excommunicated.

• You are not to baptise someone who is not from an Anglican background.

This has been written to teach Anglicans and other church people the real historical truth about the Anglican Church – ask an Anglican priest about these matters if you do not believe what is being said. He was ordained a priest.

As a bonus, it provides other Christian, who are usually not instructed, in the biblical basis for Christianity. The basic premise is that the Church of the Living God should be baptistic and not Protestant, regardless of whether it is celebrating 500 years since the Reformation and Luther’s 95 theses pinned to the door at Wittenburg Castle in 1517 (if it actually happened as some claim it is an urban myth). The Reformation was historical and it changed, like many other epochs in history, the human landscape. But it was just a change from Romanism to a more sanitised version. The Reformers still persecuted grievously all those who disagreed with their religious interpretations, especially those who refused to bring their children for their pseudo Romanist baptism. Their persecutions were not mental or verbal but very much physical.

It is a sad day indeed when many people with lengthy Baptist backgrounds are the most vocal defenders of a false church like the Anglican Church. They will not say boo about anything, but lay any of the charges listed against Anglicanism in the above left-hand column and they become vitriolic and defensive – I have seen it so often that it is the one constant to expect when Anglicanism’s probity is questioned and brought under the light of Scripture. Why any Christians will be found in an Anglican Congregation, except it be for a marriage or funeral, to show respect, is beyond belief?

We were all sold a lemon in the early 1970’s when certain Presbyterians and a major British Christian publishing house told us in Australia and elsewhere how wonderful the Reformation was. This spilled out into bible colleges like SMBC. Students there were challenged with adopting a form of Calvinism as a way of turning back from liberalism to the Bible. Many books about the Reformers and the Puritans flooded into our land. Unfortunately, many who initially professed this new-found religion, left it, just as easily, because they had not searched the Scriptures. They did not find it all that dominating for their church lives when they left Bible College. They kept a bare shell in their religious cupboards called ‘I am reformed’ because some how they equated this with ‘I believe the Bible’. A bit like all the decisions made at crusades that turn to dust and vanish because they were not followed up quickly enough or so this excuse is given.

This citrus fruit became the Reformed Baptists and many of us sucked long and hard on it. All the overseas visitors, do I need to spell out a list, thundered home that Baptists came out of the Reformation begun by Luther, Knox and Calvin. There was the 1689 Baptist Confession and a mountain of ‘good books’ to read. As the Reformation was God’s work, so Henry VIII was lauded and defended in the public arena and Anglicanism was given a free pass and looked upon as a great religion. If Henry and his church did not come forth, then we would all still be Romanists and under their yoke of bondage. The only thing that was a hidden Godsend was the five points of Calvinism. Have only heard two sermons on Limited Atonement in more than 40 years. Most rejected them but took in all the dross like the begotten God heresy. When I saw the light about Baptist origins in the late 1990’s via the internet – thanks Bill Gates, who developed personal computers (pcs) and programs (e.g. Word 95) that anyone could use - the scales of deception fell away and the truth rose to shower me with its glorious rhapsody.

What does Scripture say – come out from her? The NT gives God’s people a strict warning about associating with corrupt practices. Forget my voice, hear the Scriptures please.

Revelation 18:4 says: And I heard another voice from heaven, saying, come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins. It is talking about coming out of Babylon but the principle remains.

II Corinthians 6:17 says: Wherefore come out from among them and be ye separate, says the Lord and touch not the unclean thing.

The OT also echoes out warnings about our familiarity with the wrong things. Listen again to what transpired between Lot and the angels sent to destroy Sodom.

Genesis 19:12-16 says: And the men said unto Lot, has thou here any besides? son in law, and thy sons and thy daughters and whatsoever thou hast in the city, bring them out of this place: 13 For we will destroy this place, because the cry of them is waxen great before the face of the LORD; and the LORD has sent us to destroy it. 14 And Lot went out and spoke unto his sons in law, who married his daughters and said, up, get you out of this place; for the LORD will destroy this city. But he seemed as one that mocked unto his sons in law. 15 And when the morning arose, then the angels hastened Lot, saying, Arise, take thy wife and thy two daughters, which are here; lest thou be consumed in the iniquity of the city. 16 And while he lingered, the men laid hold upon his hand and upon the hand of his wife and upon the hand of his two daughters; the LORD being merciful unto him: and they brought him forth and set him without the city.

Two OT prophets speak similar words:

Jer 51:45 says: My people, go out of the midst of her and deliver every man his soul from the fierce anger of the Lord.

Isa 52:11 says: Depart, depart, go out from thence, touch no unclean thing; go ye out of the midst of her; be ye clean.

WHO CARRIED the CROSS of CHRIST?

This study arose out of a discussion concerning events immediately prior to Jesus’ crucifixion. The focus became ‘who carried the cross of Christ?’ The famous or infamous 2004 film, directed by Mel Gibson, called ‘The Passion of The Christ’ portrays Jesus carrying his cross to the execution point or Golgotha, but being helped by Simon of Cyrene. This could have been driven by poetic licence or a ‘church’ tradition surrounding Simon of Cyrene.

This is most probably based on the Gospel account in John 19:17 which says: Jesus bears his cross but the other three Gospel accounts state that Simon of Cyrene carried Jesus’ cross. I would have to admit that something happened about the cross carrying because the four Gospel accounts, including two by eye witnesses, namely Matthew and John, said certain actions occurred. Possibly Mark was an eye witness too if he was the young man spoken of in Mark 14:51-52 who fled from the garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was arrested.

WHY IT IS A PROBLEM?

John says Jesus is carrying (present tense used) the cross. Matthew, Mark and Luke say Simon of Cyrene carried the cross. They are making contradictory statements. If all four accounts are allowed to stand, then they are open to challenge and their truthfulness must be in doubt - or maybe a lot of doubt? This then brings up the issue of inerrancy and whether the Bible is without error and thus truly the word of God. An answer needs to be put forward to validate the biblical evidence from all four Gospels and show that there is no mistake in the accounts of the bearing of the cross prior to Jesus’ execution as a common criminal. The options are listed below as (a) to (d) and will be repeated after the four Gospel accounts are listed.

(a) Jesus carries or bears his cross from Gabbatha to Golgotha.

(b) Jesus and Simon carry or bear Jesus’ cross together.

(c) Simon carries or bears Jesus’ cross.

(d) Jesus