Luke records twice how Jesus called on people to 'take up' or 'carry' their crosses. He also reports how Simon of Cyrene carried Jesus' cross 'behind Jesus.' No metaphorical uses of the well-known phenomenon of cross-bearing were confirmed in any language prior to the Gospels. The idiom was also unknown in Semitic languages. What did a call to become a voluntary cross-bearer sound like before the cross became kitsch? In Luke's Gospel, cross-bearing is connected with self-denial and 'hating' one's family. Not only the disciples, but 'all' are called on to take up their crosses. Since cross-bearing is a daily duty, it can hardly refer to martyrdom, and cannot be linked to imitation. Sverre Bøe argues that the cross signifies death through radical self-denial, but not as ascetic exercises. His book includes a survey of the history of scholarship on the five Synoptic texts of cross-bearing.

Born 1958; 1977-78 studied Liberal Arts at Luther College, USA; 1978-84 studied theology at the Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo; 1982-83 advanced studies in Hebrew Language at the University of Oslo; 1985- 86 preacher in the Norwegian Lutheran Mission; since 1986 teacher, since 1999 associate Professor at Fjellhaug Mission Seminary, Oslo; 1999 Tr. theol.

Autorentext

Born 1958; 1977-78 studied Liberal Arts at Luther College, USA; 1978-84 studied theology at the Norwegian Lutheran School of Theology in Oslo; 1982-83 advanced studies in Hebrew Language at the University of Oslo; 1985- 86 preacher in the Norwegian Lutheran Mission; since 1986 teacher, since 1999 associate Professor at Fjellhaug Mission Seminary, Oslo; 1999 Tr. theol.

Klappentext

Luke records twice how Jesus called on people to 'take up' or 'carry' their crosses. He also reports how Simon of Cyrene carried Jesus' cross 'behind Jesus.' No metaphorical uses of the well-known phenomenon of cross-bearing were confirmed in any language prior to the Gospels. The idiom was also unknown in Semitic languages. What did a call to become a voluntary cross-bearer sound like before the cross became kitsch? In Luke's Gospel, cross-bearing is connected with self-denial and 'hating' one's family. Not only the disciples, but 'all' are called on to take up their crosses. Since cross-bearing is a daily duty, it can hardly refer to martyrdom, and cannot be linked to imitation. Sverre Bøe argues that the cross signifies death through radical self-denial, but not as ascetic exercises. His book includes a survey of the history of scholarship on the five Synoptic texts of cross-bearing.

Zusammenfassung
Lukas berichtet in zwei Fällen davon, dass Jesus Menschen dazu aufruft, ihr Kreuz auf sich zu nehmen bzw. zu tragen. Der Evangelist erwähnt auch, wie Simon von Kyrene Jesus das Kreuz nachträgt. Der metaphorische Gebrauch des Begriffs "Kreuztragen" kann aber in der Zeit vor den Evangelien in keiner Sprache nachgewiesen werden. In den semitischen Sprachen wird das Idiom auch nicht verwendet. Wie also hörte sich der Aufruf, sein Kreuz zu tragen, an, bevor er zum Kitsch verkam?
Der Autor arbeitet heraus, dass das "Kreuztragen" im Lukasevangelium mit Selbstverleugnung und "Hass" auf die eigene Familie in Verbindung gesetzt wird. Nicht nur die Jünger, sondern "alle" werden aufgerufen, das Kreuz zu tragen. Da dies als tägliche Pflicht dargestellt wird, kann es sich nicht auf den Märtyrertod beziehen. Sverre Bøe zeigt, dass das "Kreuz" den Tod durch radikale Selbstverleugnung symbolisiert, bei der es sich nicht um eine asketische Übung handelt. Sein Buch enthält auch einen Forschungsüberblick zu den fünf synoptischen Texten über das Kreuztragen.