Mark 8:34

Taking Up One's Cross To Follow Jesus

³³ But He turned around, and looking at His disciples, He rebuked Peter, saying to him, "Get away from me, Satan; for you are not thinking about God's things but about men's." ³⁴ And He called the crowd to Him, along with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny himself [i.e., of always having his own way] and accept his cross [i.e., his responsibilities, with all their difficulties] and then he can become my follower. ³⁵ For whoever would [try to] save his life [i.e., by neglecting spiritual things] will lose it [i.e., miss out on the blessings of God]. But whoever [is willing] to lose his life [i.e., in commitment to God's service] for my sake and [the work of] the Gospel's sake, will save it [i.e., obtain both temporal and spiritual blessings].

Come After Me

Deny Himself

Follow Me

Jesus Said

Take Up His Cross

Put Aside

Whosoever Will Come

Jesus

Mark

No

Matthew 10:38

And the person who does not accept his cross [i.e., his responsibilities with all their difficulties] and become my follower does not deserve me.

Luke 14:26-27

"If anyone comes to me [i.e., to be my disciple], and does not hate his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brothers and sisters and, yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

John 10:27

My sheep listen to my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.

Matthew 7:13-14

"You should enter [God's kingdom] by means of the narrow door, for the wide door and the broad road are the ones that lead to [spiritual and physical] destruction. And many people will enter [that wide door].

Matthew 16:24

Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny self [i.e., of always having its own way] and lift up his cross [of responsibility] and [then he can] become my follower.

Mark 9:43-48

And if your hand becomes the occasion for falling away [from God], cut it off; it would be better for you to enter [never ending] life disabled, rather than keeping both hands and going to hell, into the fire that cannot be put out [i.e., all because it caused you to fall away from God]. {{Verse

Galatians 5:24

And those persons who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified [i.e., put out of their lives, Col. 3:4ff] the sinful cravings of the body, along with their passionate desires.

1 John 3:16

Here is how we can know what genuine love really is: It was [demonstrated by] Jesus laying down His life [on the cross] for us. And [because of that] we [too] should [be willing to] lay down our lives for [the sake of helping] our brothers [and sisters].

Matthew 5:29-30

And if your right eye is what ensnares you into falling away [from God], gouge it out and throw it away from you. For it would be better for you to lose a part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. [Note: This is the word "Gehenna," and because of its Old Testament connotation of burning bodies, II Chron. 33:6, it is used figuratively here, and elsewhere, to describe the place of future, final punishment of the wicked].

Matthew 27:32

As they were leaving [i.e., probably the city of Jerusalem], they met a man from Cyrene [Note: This was a city in the northern African country of Libya]. His name was Simon and they forced him to go with them so he could carry Jesus' cross [i.e., probably only the cross-beam portion].

Mark 10:21

And Jesus looked at him, and filled with love, said to him, "There is one thing you [still] lack. Go and sell your possessions and give [the money] to poor people; become my follower, then you will have treasure in heaven."

Luke 9:23

Then He said to everyone, "If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny self [i.e., of always having its own way] and accept his cross [i.e., his responsibilities, with all their difficulties] everyday, and [then he can] become my follower.

Luke 13:24

"You should try hard to enter [God's kingdom] by means of the narrow door, for I tell you, many people will try to enter it but will not be able to.

Luke 14:33

So therefore, every one of you who does not say 'goodbye' to everything he owns, cannot be my disciple.

Luke 18:22

When Jesus heard this He said to him, " [There is] one thing you still lack. Sell all your possessions and distribute [the money] to poor people; become my follower, [then] you will have treasure in heaven."

Luke 20:45

Then Jesus said to His disciples in the hearing of all the people,

John 13:36-37

Simon Peter said to Jesus, "Lord, where are you going?" Jesus answered, "You cannot follow me where I am going now, but you will [be able to] follow later."

John 19:17

So, they took Jesus [away] and He went out [of the city] carrying the cross by Himself to a place called "The Place of the Skull," [also] called "Golgotha" in the Hebrew language [and "Calvary" in Latin].

John 21:19-20

Now Jesus said this to indicate the kind of death Peter would experience in honoring God. [Note: Some see the "stretching out your hands," verse 18, as a reference to crucifixion]. And after saying this, Jesus said to him, "Be my follower."

Acts 14:22

[Along the way] they strengthened the hearts of the disciples, urging them to continue [to believe and practice] the faith and [explaining] that entering God's [heavenly] kingdom [See II Tim. 4:18] requires enduring many trials.

Romans 6:6

We know that our old self was [figuratively] crucified with Christ, in order that the body of sin [i.e., our whole life of sin] might be destroyed [i.e., become powerless to control our actions and thoughts], so that we should not be enslaved to the practice of sin any longer.

Romans 8:17

And if we are [His] children, then we have an inheritance from God [i.e., blessings here and hereafter] and are fellow-sharers with Christ [of such blessings], providing we [are willing to] suffer with Him, so we can also be honored with Him [i.e., in the future life. See verses 18-25].

Romans 15:1-3

Now those of us who are strong [spiritually] should put up with [or, help] the failings of [spiritually] weak people, and not [simply] do what pleases ourselves.

1 Corinthians 4:9-13

For I think that God has displayed us apostles last in line, as men doomed to die. [Note: The picture here is that of gladiators in the arena]. We are being stared at [i.e., as performers on a theater stage] for the whole world to see, both angels and people.

1 Corinthians 8:13

Therefore, if [eating certain] foods causes my brother to fall away [from God], I will never eat meat again, so I do not cause my brother to fall away.

1 Corinthians 9:19

For although I am free from [being accountable to] all people, I placed myself under obligation to them [as a slave], so as to win as many as possible [to Christ].

1 Corinthians 15:31

I face death every day, I assure you brothers, as surely as I boast of [fellowship with] you in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Galatians 2:20

I have been crucified [i.e., died] with Christ, and so I am not the one who lives [anymore] but rather, it is Christ who lives in my heart. And [now] my entire life is being lived by trusting in the Son of God [to save and keep me], because He loved me and gave Himself up for me.

Galatians 6:14

But the last thing I want to do is brag [about such things]. For [if I had any bragging to do at all], it would be about [salvation through] the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for it is through Him that this [sinful] world has been crucified [i.e., died] as far as I am concerned and I have been crucified [i.e., died] as far as it is concerned.

Philippians 3:7

However, those things which were [once regarded as] gain to me, I have [now] considered to be loss for [the sake of] Christ.

Philippians 3:10

I want to know Christ [as Savior] and to experience the power [produced] by His resurrection, and to share in His sufferings and become like Him in His death,

Colossians 1:24

Now I rejoice in [spite of] my sufferings for your sake, and I am filling up [i.e., completing] in my physical body what was lacking in the afflictions Christ endured for His body's sake, the church.

Colossians 3:5

So, put to death [i.e., stop practicing the desires of] your physical bodies [such as] sexual immorality, [moral] impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is [in reality] idolatry.

2 Thessalonians 3:11

For we hear that some of you are living in idleness, refusing to work, but [instead] are just being busybodies.

Titus 2:12

It instructs us to give up ungodly living and worldly desires and to live sensible, righteous and godly lives in this present age,

Hebrews 13:13

So, we should go out to Him, outside of the camp [Note: This probably signifies separating from the whole system of Judaism, as well as full commitment to Christ], bearing the abuse that He suffered.

1 Peter 4:1

Therefore, since Christ has suffered physically, you people should fortify yourselves with the same attitude He had. For the person who has suffered physically [i.e., in standing for Christ] has quit sinning.

1 Peter 4:13

You should rejoice that you are sharing some of what Christ has suffered, so that you will get to rejoice all the more when He returns in His splendor.

2 Peter 1:14

knowing that [I will] soon put off my "tent" [i.e., I will soon die], even as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.

Revelation 2:10

Do not be afraid of the things you are about to suffer. [For] look, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison, so that you may be tested, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. [But], you should be faithful [to God] even to the point of dying [for Him], and I will give you the crown of [never ending] life.

Mark 7:14

Then He called the crowd to Him again and said to them, "Listen to me, all of you, and understand [what I am saying].