TRUTH  OR  TRADITION?

“Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?”

Matthew 15:3

JESUS  STUMBLING

            Jesus Stumbled Under The Weight Of The Cross.     Truth or Tradition?

            There is much truth in the old saying that if you hear something often enough and long enough,   you’ll come to believe it.   Things we have heard all our lives we  just take for granted,   and seldom question whether or not they are true.  That seems to be especially true when it comes to religious matters.   Much religious belief and practice today is tradition.   For example: 

            A number of years ago,   when teaching a Bible class,   I made mention of Jesus stumbling under the weight of the cross,   and they compelled Simon of Cyrene to bear the cross after Him.   An older lady in the class said:  “The Bible doesn’t say he stumbled.”   I didn’t want to make an issue of it before the whole class,   but I was determined later in the week to show her in The Bible where it says He stumbled.  I’ve never found it.

            I have heard all my life that He stumbled.   We sing a hymn:   “The cross became so heavy,   He fell beneath the load.”   In Germany I once visited a site called  “The Way of the Cross”,  which depicts the various things that happened on the way out of Jerusalem to Golgotha.   Here is where His mother wiped the sweat from His face.   Here is where He stumbled and they compelled Simon to bear the cross after Him.

            So I began my search with the four gospel accounts.   Matthew (27:31-37) doesn’t mention His stumbling.    Neither does Mark  (15:20-26).   Ditto with Luke (23:24-38)  and John (19:16-19).   It must have been prophesied that He would stumble.   Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53  are two chapters in the Old Testament that contain much prophecy regarding the suffering the Messiah would experience.   It must be in one of those chapters that The Bible says He stumbled.    No mention of it there either,   nor in any other Old Testament prophecies concerning His suffering and death.

            Did He stumble on the way to Golgotha?    Maybe,   and maybe not.   The Bible doesn’t say.   What do you think?    Jesus stumbled under the weight of the cross¼..Truth  or Tradition?

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