24Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me.”
Having set forth the change in His ministry from Israel to the church, Jesus now made clear the cost of following Him (16:24-27).
16:24
Then [link to previous section] Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me,
Jesus reminded those He called that there was a price in following Him. Peter’s denial was the opposite of what Jesus expected. To “come after” Christ is to be His disciple.
let him deny himself,
The Greek word “deny” means to utterly separate, to completely disown from something. This is the word Jesus used for Peter’s denial of Him (Mt 26:34). Believers are to deny themselves of selfish purposes. The self to which Jesus refers here is not the person but personal goals. The idea is that the disciple is to put himself on the line for the Lord.
and take up his cross,
Popular Jewish teaching of the day was that the Messiah would come and provide financial prosperity to Israel. Jesus’ message here is the opposite of that kind of hope. Following Jesus may mean leaving family and friends for a mission.
The words “take up” indicate that a person is willing to pay a price for the cross. The Greek tense indicates that he is to do this at once. The “cross” was an apparatus of execution in Jesus’ day. Jesus Himself carried His own cross down the Via Delarosa street to His execution. By taking up His cross, Jesus commenced His death walk with the cross on which He would die.
The disciple is ready to accept what the Lord consigns to him. He is willing to pay any price for Him.
and follow Me.
True discipleship follows Jesus. He has the right to direct our life. This was the opposite of Peter’s rash statement to Jesus (v. 22).
PRINCIPLE:
Denial of self is not the same as self-denial.
APPLICATION:
Denial of self has to do with yielding self-control to God completely. Self-denial can be an ascetic approach to life to gain God’s approbation. The latter is not biblical, but the former is. Taking up the cross refers to willingness to suffer shame or even martyrdom for Jesus. Jesus set the example of orienting His mission around the cross, so we are to orient our lives around our cross. There is a high cost to follow Jesus.
Self-denial strikes at the heart of self-centered preaching today. The message of getting is not the message of the Bible. We cannot find the ideas of health and wealth in the Word of God. We also cannot find the communication of self-esteem, high self-image or self-love in the Bible. The Christian has no divine right to wealth; the Bible indicates that he will suffer for his faith. There is no way that a Christian can make peace with a world hostile to the message of Jesus.
I an a little confused, is the Latter Denial of self , and the former Self-denial?
Daniel, I am using self-denial in the sense of legalistic asceticism. This form of self-denial seeks God’s approbation by self effort rather than accepting God’s provisions.
Hello Grant,
I would like to ask something. I know that New Testament doesn’t say so much about the financial prosperity, however, the old testament does a lot. E.g. book of proverbs and many others. Does it mean that things changed with coming of Christ ? Another question is concerning health prosperity.
How do you understand the Scripture that Jesus took upon himself our sicknesses and we are healed in his wounds ? Isn’t the verse used in New Testament again when Jesus was healing people physicaly ? Why do you believe then that we don’t have the right to be healthy according to God’s promises. Thank you for your respond. To be honest, I’m a bit confused about these 2 topics.
Andrej from Slovakia
Andrej, thanks for your post.
The Bible does not guarantee financial prosperity for the individual. Promises in Proverbs and other Old Testament passage are in the context of a theocratic nation (a nation specially designed to represent God on earth). In the New Testament the Philippians gave out of their poverty. The New Testament principle of giving is grace giving without strings attached. God promises to meet our need, not our desires (Ph 4).
Also, the Bible does not promise or guarantee good health to the individual. See my brief study on Isaiah 53 in Mt 8–http://versebyversecommentary.com/matthew/matthew-814f/ The context of the Matthew quotation demonstrates that Jesus was not quoting Isaiah to prove healing in the Atonement. The quotation of the Isaiah passage in Matthew 8:17 does not mean that Christ’s death on the cross would guarantee freedom from sickness. Instead Matthew highlights the pre-Cross healing ministry of Jesus, which had a specific time-bound purpose to it and was not included in His atoning work. That purpose was to substantiate His messianic claims to the nation Israel, not to establish a guaranteed health plan for all who have enough faith. Sickness is not an moral but is the result from sin, It does not bear the penal character of sin.
Hey Grant,
If your stand on physically healing isn't really God's will, then why did Jesus said in Mark 16 verse 15-towards the end that if we lay hands on the sick, they will recover?
Also, how do you explain the things that God's doing in my life how He's using me to pray for people and see them get healed? If you're curious, you should click the link I posted, I document every encounter I have with people with healing and miracles.
Mark, the passage to which you refer in Mark is not found in the older manuscripts and even questioned by the majority texts (which are not normally accepted over the older). Also, God clearly heals today. The issue is not healing but rather faith-healing that is not biblical.
The quote by our Lord is prior to Passover. Was the clique take up the cross used in the first century? Who would use a form of execution as an example? Could this be inserted by a translator?
James, crucifixion was commonly practiced by the Roman government during the time of Christ. The “cross” here is metaphorical, not literal. The figurative use relates to denial of self in following Christ. There is no manuscript problem with this phrase; it is also used in other passages.
Hey Grant
My question is related to your previous response. so how can we understand the metaphorical language carry in “your own cross.”
Ransom, it means that we are willing to follow Christ even if it means that we pay a price for it.
Good Morning All,
We must be mindful that the scriptures are inspired by the Holy Spirit which is the third of the Godhead and we must remember that we must worship God in spirit and in truth. So I said that to say this, the Bible tells us everything that we are to believe and if we are have a goal in this spiritual life to make Heaven our home, we are to worship God in SPIRIT and in TRUTH. As we take the time to commune with God and study the word by going to worship service, Sunday school or bible study, we will have a better picture of what Jesus is saying. The reason why I am saying this is because satan which is a spirit will always have us questioning people and those things that gives us greater insight of what God will want us to know so that we will not deceive ourselves. Come out of the natural mind trying to comprehend what is spiritual and instead ask GOD to open your eyes to a supernatural understanding of the way to the kingdom which is through Christ Jesus. Just saying that so that we won’t hold one individual accountable for what God has given us all to do.