Cross-bearing in Early Christianity
By (author) Ruben van Wingerden
Paperback (Published)
(April 2026)
ISBN: 9783162000415
6.1 x 9.13 inches
Price: $149.00
In stock
Ruben van Wingerden explores how early Christians interpreted Jesus’ call to “carry one’s cross” and shows how early Christian readers, operating within diverse cultural and theological contexts, expanded and reshaped the meaning of cross-bearing from its New Testament origins into a rich and multifaceted tradition.
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.
Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1. Presentation of the Study
1.2. Preliminary Scholarly Discussion
1.3. Basic Problems, Terminology, and Ancient Context
1.4. Outline of the Study
Chapter 2: History of Research
2.1. Introduction
2.2. Cross-Bearing in Biblical Studies
2.3. Cross-bearing in Martyrdom Studies
2.4. Umberto Eco in New Testament Studies
2.5. Concluding Observations
Chapter 3: Umberto Eco's Cooperative Reader
3.1. Introduction
3.2. Eco's Model
3.3. Eco's Own Examples
3.4. From Model to Use
Chapter 4: Cross-bearing in Mark
4.1. Cross-bearing in the Synoptic Gospels
4.2. Introduction to Cross-bearing in Mark
4.3. Mark 8:34
4.4. Mark 15:21
4.5. Conclusions
Chapter 5: Cross-bearing in Matthew
5.1. Introduction
5.2. Matthew 10:38
5.3. Matthew 16:24
5.4. Matthew 27:32
5.5. Conclusions
Chapter 6: Cross-bearing in Luke
6.1. Introduction
6.2. Luke 9:23
6.3. Luke 14:27
6.4. Luke 23:26
6.5. Conclusions
Chapter 7: Cross-bearing in John
7.1. Introduction
7.2. John 19:17
7.3. John 21:18
7.4. Conclusions
Chapter 8: Cross-bearing in Early Christian Literature up to the Second Century
8.1. Introduction
8.2. Gospel of Thomas and Second Discourse of the Great Seth
8.3. Irenaeus of Lyon
8.4. Melito of Sardis
8.5. Clement of Alexandria
8.6. Hippolyte Corpus
8.7. Conclusions
Chapter 9: Cross-bearing in Third-Century Early Christian Literature
9.1. Introduction
9.2. Tertullian
9.3. Cyprian of Carthage
9.4. Novatian
9.5. Pseudo-Clementine Letters
9.6. Conclusions
Born 1989; 2023 PhD from Tilburg University, School of Catholic Theology; Lecturer of New Testament at Christian University of Applied Sciences, Ede, Netherlands.
- By (author) Ruben van Wingerden
Other Titles in this Series
The Ransom Logion in Mark and Matthew
Its Reception and Its Significance for the Study of the Gospels
Volume 327
2 Corinthians – a Letter about Reconciliation
A Psychagogical, Epistolographical and Rhetorical Analysis
Volume 239
Die Starken und die Schwachen in Korinth und in Rom
Zu Herkunft und Funktion der Antithese in 1Kor 8,1-11,1 und in Rom 14,1-15,13
Volume 200
Cosmic Christology in Paul and the Pauline School
Colossians and Ephesians in the Context of Graeco-Roman Cosmology, with a New Synopsis of the Greek Texts
Volume 171
Psalmenrezeption in der Passionsgeschichte des Matthausevangeliums
Eine intertextuelle Studie zur Verwendung, theologischen Relevanz und strukturgebenden Funktion der Psalmen in Mt 26-27 im Lichte fruhjudischer Psalmenrekurse
Volume 571
Hohe Messianologie
Ubermenschliche Aspekte eschatologischer Heilsgestalten im Fruhjudentum
Volume 523
Isaiah’s Servants in Early Judaism and Christianity
The Isaian Servant and the Exegetical Formation of Community Identity
Evangelienexegese als Partiturlesen
Eine Interpretation von Mk 1,1-8,22a zwischen Komposition und Performanz
Volume 490
The Gospel as the Revelation of God’s Righteousness
Paul's Use of Isaiah in Romans 1:1-3:26
Volume 428
Der Heilige Geist bei Lukas
Theologisches Profil, Grund und Intention der lukanischen Pneumatologie
Volume 389
What was Mark for Matthew?
An Examination of Matthew's Relationship and Attitude to his Primary Source
Volume 344
Christ as the Telos of Life
Moral Philosophy, Athletic Imagery, and the Aim of Philippians
Volume 371
Allegory Transformed
The Appropriation of Philonic Hermeneutics in the Letter to the Hebrews
Volume 269
The Baptismal Episode as Trinitarian Narrative
Proto-Trinitarian Structures in Mark's Conception of God
Volume 535
Veranderte Endzeitvorstellungen
Die Rezeption der Offenbarung des Johannes beim ersten christlich-lateinischen Dichter Commodian
Volume 504
The Use of Scripture in the Apocryphon of John
A Diachronic Analysis of the Variant Versions
Volume 441
Figuren als Handlungsmodelle
Simon Petrus, die samaritische Frau, Judas und Thomas als Zugänge zu einer narrativen Ethik des Johannesevangeliums. Kontexte und Normen neutestamentlicher Ethik / Contexts and Norms of New Testament Ethics. Band VI
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