{"id":32496,"date":"2021-02-23T11:50:11","date_gmt":"2021-02-23T17:50:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/?p=32496"},"modified":"2021-02-23T11:50:11","modified_gmt":"2021-02-23T17:50:11","slug":"is-the-song-follow-me-wrong","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-song-follow-me-wrong\/","title":{"rendered":"Is the song “Follow Me” wrong?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n\t

Question:<\/h2>\n

Would it be considered false teaching to sing “Follow Me” in worship? I always thought that Simon carried the cross for Jesus because of this song. While reading the article “Where did Jesus carry his own cross?<\/a>” it was brought to my attention that the Bible doesn’t say why they made Simon carry Jesus’s Cross. So I’m either not understanding the songwriter or the song is adding something that the Bible doesn’t say: “I fell beneath the load.”<\/p>\n

I really appreciate this website. Thanks.<\/p>\n\t

Answer:<\/h2>\n

The first verse of “Follow Me,” written by Ira Stamphill in 1953, says:<\/p>\n

I traveled down a lonely road
\nAnd no one seemed to care,
\nThe burden on my weary back
\nHad bowed me to despair,
\nI oft complained to Jesus
\nHow folks were treating me,
\nAnd then I heard Him say so tenderly.
\n“My feet were also weary,
\nUpon the Calvary road;
\nThe cross became so heavy,
\nI fell beneath the load,
\nBe faithful, weary pilgrim,
\nThe morning I can see,
\nJust lift your cross and follow close to me.”<\/blockquote>\n

As pointed out in “Where did Jesus carry his own cross?<\/a>” we are told that Jesus started out carrying his own cross, but at some point, Simon of Cyrene was pulled from the crowd watching and forced to carry the cross the rest of the way. None of the gospel writers tell us why. We do know that there was a Roman law that allowed soldiers to force a bystander to carry a load for them up to one mile (Matthew 5:41). The fact that a man was pulled from the crowds tells us that Jesus was not physically able to carry his cross the entire distance and that the soldiers leading him to his death did not want to do the work. The common belief, and a very likely belief, is that Jesus was too weak from the surging and blood loss that occurred shortly before. Jesus’ physical weakness at this moment is not mentioned in the Scriptures, but the explanation does match all the facts presented.<\/p>\n

Ira Stamphill wrote a song to contrast how pride slips into our lives. The first verse talks about how we too often think that our burdens are too much and that we don’t deserve to suffer so much. He countered the view by pointing out that Jesus endured much more. “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it’<\/em>” (Matthew 16:24-25).<\/p>\n

In describing the scene, Mr. Stamphill added his conjecture that Simon was made to carry the cross because Jesus became too weak. While I can’t prove the point absolutely, I would not say it is a falsehood. Those who claim it is false would need to give some logical alternative reason for why Simon was made to carry Jesus’ cross and then prove that their alternative is more likely.<\/p>\n

Generally, we give the poet some flexibility because of the restraints he is working with to create a singable poem. Mr. Stamphill managed in a few words to vividly describe the amount of suffering Jesus underwent and what Jesus meant to “take up his cross and follow Me.” I understand that a small detail was added the scene being painted in words that came from a logical guess. Personally, I don’t see it as significant enough to ban the song, especially when the detail is likely to be true though unstated in the Scriptures.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Question: Would it be considered false teaching to sing “Follow Me” in worship? I always thought that Simon carried the cross for Jesus because of this song. While reading the article “Where did Jesus carry his own cross?” it was brought to my attention that the Bible doesn’t say why they made Simon carry Jesus’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[228,521],"class_list":["post-32496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-crucifixion","tag-songs"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":3719,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/where-did-jesus-carry-his-own-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":32496,"position":0},"title":"Where did Jesus carry his own cross?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 17, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: For school, I'm learning about Easter. Where did Jesus carry his own cross? Answer: It is good to hear that your school is encouraging you to be interested in religious matters. I hope you learn a lot from your assignment. Many myths have grown up around Jesus. The gospels\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"The City of Jerusalem","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160313202144\/http%3A\/\/www.ccel.org\/bible\/phillips\/CNM08-Jerusalem.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160313202144\/http%3A\/\/www.ccel.org\/bible\/phillips\/CNM08-Jerusalem.gif?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/web.archive.org\/web\/20160313202144\/http%3A\/\/www.ccel.org\/bible\/phillips\/CNM08-Jerusalem.gif?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":3699,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-can-you-take-up-a-cross-and-follow-christ-today\/","url_meta":{"origin":32496,"position":1},"title":"How can you take up a cross and follow Christ today?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 11, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Regarding\u00a0Matthew 10:38: What is it to take a cross and follow Christ today? Answer: We see the cross today as the jagged, wooden instrument used in putting to death Jesus Christ our Savior. Yet before His followers had even a slight idea that Jesus would die by that manner,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":9632,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/did-jesus-carry-his-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":32496,"position":2},"title":"Did Jesus carry his cross?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 1, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Jesus never carried the material cross, and he never fell either! Answer: \"Then he delivered Him to them to be crucified. So they took Jesus and led Him away. And He, bearing His cross, went out to a place called the Place of a Skull, which is called in\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14180,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/in-the-stations-of-the-cross-why-is-jesus-shown-carrying-the-cross-after-simeon-carries-the-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":32496,"position":3},"title":"In the stations of the cross, why is Jesus shown carrying the cross after Simeon carries the cross?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"February 12, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: In the stations of the cross, and in Luke, Simeon is made to carry the cross for Jesus.\u00a0 But, in the following stations, Jesus is depicted carrying the cross.\u00a0 I do not understand that if Simeon is carrying it, why Jesus is shown carrying it. Answer: The simple answer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/02\/Stations-of-the-Cross-5-216x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":5216,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/how-far-did-jesus-carry-the-cross\/","url_meta":{"origin":32496,"position":4},"title":"How far did Jesus carry the cross?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"May 10, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: How far did Jesus carry the cross? I have studied several maps of Jerusalem for that time period, but I cannot find one that is to scale. Answer: It is 0.2 miles (0.3 kilometers) from the Praetorium to the traditional location for Golgotha as the crow flies. 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