Pictured to the left is a copy of a version of the Holy Bible, known as the ENGLISH STANDARD VERSION ( ESV ). Matthew 27:32 reads as follows:
"32 As they went out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name. They compelled this man to carry his cross."
This verse in the Holy Bible has a cross-reference to John 19:17: verses sixteen and seventeen read as follows:
"16 So he delivered him over to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus, 17 and he went out, bearing his own cross, to the place called The Place of a Skull, which in Aramaic is called Golgotha."
At the first, we find, when comparing the two above-given passages from the Holy Bible, that Simon carrying the cross of Jesus is equated with Jesus bearing His own cross. Moreover, the phrase "bearing his own cross," in verse seventeen ( above ), has a cross-reference to Luke 14:27, which reads as follows: "27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." Considering this latter statement of Jesus ( see verse three ) together with verse seventeen, bearing one's own cross is the same as Jesus bearing His own cross.
This observation clearly shows that Simon, in bearing the cross of Jesus, was also bearing his own cross, which means that the military service of a Christian ( see Acts 11:26, for example ) is to bear his or her own cross, which is the same as one bearing the cross of Jesus. Verse thirty-two, above ( and please read verses twenty-seven through thirty-two to get the immediate context ), is Scriptural authority for a military draft ( though we do not currently have one here in America ). One conclusion, at which we must arrive, is that it is a sin ( see 1 John 3:4, for example ) to dodge such a draft.
A second conclusion, which is based on the fact that women can be disciples of Jesus and bear their own crosses, is that Christian women can also serve in the military. Please study the Holy Bible ( which is God's word - see Psalm 119:65-73, 142, and 151, John 17:1, 3, and 17, and 2 Timothy 2:15; 3:16, 17, for example ). If you have any questions about the Holy Bible, you can contact me by e-mail at:
<rewillis1_1@juno.com>
<Russell E. Willis>.
NOTE: Please read the Thursday, October 15, 2015 entry to this weblog to find additional facts regarding this subject.
