spamandham

Reading through the Infancy Gospel of Thomas, generally dated to the mid-2nd century, I find in chapter 6:


(3) Replying, Joseph said to him, "Nobody except God can subordinate this child. Do not consider him to be a small cross, brother."

(4) As Jesus heard Joseph saying this, he laughed and said to Zacchaeus, "Really, teacher, what my father has said to you is true. (5) I am the Lord of this people and am here in your presence and have been born among you and am with you. (6) I know where you are from and how many years there will be in your lives. I am telling you the truth, teacher, when you were born, I existed. And if you want to be a perfect teacher, listen to me and I will teach you wisdom which nobody knows except me and the one who sent me to you. (7) For you are my disciple and I know you, how old you are and how old you will live to be. (8) And when you see the cross my father has described, you will believe that everything I have said to you is true."


What cross is this? From whence does the expression originate? Surely the author would realize that 'to bear a cross' is a gross anachronism in reference to the child Jesus, if the origin of cross symbolism was Jesus' crucifixion! Doesn't the author's usage of such expressions imply that the author did not make any connection between the cross in the gospel stories, and the cross he was describing? The author seems to be using the cross as a general metaphor for 'burden'.

Does the author of IGT unlock the mystery of his own odd "cross" reference for us, and possibly also clue us into early cross symbolism altogether, while also neatly explaining the Gospels' carpenter references...

Chapter 13:
(1) Since his father was a carpenter, he was making plows and yokes in that season. (2) An order for a bed was given to him from a rich man, (3) but one of the boards, the one called the crossbeam, was shorter than the other. And since Joseph had no idea what to do, the child Jesus said to his father Joseph, "Put the two pieces of wood down and line up the ends...."

Does the earliest cross symbolism language originate in the idea of a cross beam that is the focus of bearing structural weight, rather than in the symbolism of death and torture? Was the idea of a cross bearing a burden already popular symbolism prior to the Gospel (or historical crucifixion if you prefer)?

This idea is reiterated in Matthew 10:38 "and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me." Clearly, the reference is to bearing a load rather than to Roman crucifixion. (also Matthew 16:24, Mark 8:34, Luke 9:23 and 14:24, interestingly, John - the last of the canonical Gospels - has omitted these 2nd interpretation references to carrying a cross).

If we accept early datings for Mark, how can we explain 8:34 without realizing that the idea of the cross being a symbol of load bearing was already well known at the earliest points of Christianity?

andrewcriddle

One problem with this is the assumption that something like our present form of the Infancy Gospel goes back to the 2nd century. This is doubtful.

In any case the reference to the cross by Joseph in chapter 6 is probably not part of the earliest form of the Infancy Gospel.

See James' versions
Latin Thomas
Greek A Thomas
NO RELEVANT MATERIAL


Greek B Thomasl
The Latin text is particularly problematic see Roberts-Donaldson
Latin Thomas
Andrew Criddle

mountainman

Another good question ...

Helena, the second historical christian pilgrim to "The Holy Land", the mother of Constantine the Great.

Or the author was simply sponsored to write anachronistic fiction, and had no say in the designs of things.

That's a big IF when considering missing three hundred years of ancient historical for any symbolic and epigraphic christian use of the cross symbol outside of the textual evidence. Christian crosses are not found in the ancient historical record before the fourth century. Thus the anachronism is quite surprising and as a consequence I dont immediately accept any early date for text of Mark. We dont have any C14 for Mark or any cononical text. Why not? We have fourth century c14 NT related citations however.

Best wishes


Pete

spamandham

Suppose you are correct and gMark was written under the direction of Constantine. We still have the same problem. The author is clearly using the cross as a symbol of burden here, which would only make sense to his intended audience if it was a well known expression prior to the penning of the story.

"Take up your electric chair and follow me" would make no sense whatsoever to the author or his audience unless "take up your electric chair" was already a popular idiom at the time the story was written.

Since we can reasonably conclude it must have been a well known idiom, then is it such a strech to imagine that the idiom itself might have been the reason for Jesus death by crucifixion (rather than say hanging or stoning)?

Amaleq13

That is Crossan's conclusion regarding a similarly apparently generic reference to "the cross" as a burden in Q. I'm at work so I can't look it up but I don't recall whether he offered any specific examples to support this.

Jeffrey Gibson

Here's what you noted back in 2006 when the subject of the meaning of "to carry one's cross" came up:

Jeffrey

spamandham

I've run across several Jewish web sites stating that the traditional preparation of the lamb for the Pesach celebration involved impaling the lamb lengthwise, with another branch perpendicular to hold it together (in the form of a cross) as it roasts and to ensure even cooking throughout. But I can't find any references, so I don't know if this was true prior to the time of Justin.

Also, they make mention of the blood being dabbed on the lintel and the door posts, and since the blood drips from the lintel, the blood bounds an imaginary cross which is supposedly symbolically related to the roasting of the lamb.

Most interestingly, I've run across a site that emphasizes the significance of the first Pasach celebration in the land of Israel as a transition point from desert nomads to nation. Is the symbolism behind Jesus also a story about national transition, this time from independent nation to servant of Rome?

...any help identifying whether there's anything to these ideas would be appreciated.

Amaleq13

Thanks, Jeffrey

Chili

Metanoia is where we reach the end of our world and from there our world becomes the cross we carry unto Rome.

thentian

The romans crucified thousands long before Jesus' time. Couldn't the expression simply have originated from this practice, especially if it was their custom to let the victim carry his own cross to the site where he was to be executed?