Whoever does not carry his own cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
Parallel translations
- WEB Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my disciple.
- KJV And whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.
- BSB And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.
- NKJV And whoever does not bear his cross and come after Me cannot be My disciple.
- NLT And if you do not carry your own cross and follow me, you cannot be my disciple.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Whoever does not bear his own cross and follow Jesus cannot be His disciple. Discipleship means willingness to suffer and die to self for Christ.
Overview
Bearing one's cross evokes the condemned man carrying the instrument of his execution. It calls for daily self-denial and readiness to face shame and death for following Jesus. This points to the cross Christ Himself would bear and the path of cross-shaped obedience for all who follow Him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 11
- Matt 10:38He who doesn’t take his cross and follow after me, isn’t worthy of me.
- Luke 9:23–25He said to all, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
- Matt 16:24–26Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
- Mark 10:21Jesus looking at him loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack. Go, sell whatever you have, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me, taking up the cross.”
- Mark 8:34–37He called the multitude to himself with his disciples, and said to them, “Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
- Acts 14:22confirming the souls of the disciples, exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that through many afflictions we must enter into God’s Kingdom.
- 2 Tim 3:12Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution.
- Matt 13:21yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while. When oppression or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.
- 2 Tim 1:12For this cause I also suffer these things. Yet I am not ashamed, for I know him whom I have believed, and I am persuaded that he is able to guard that which I have committed to him against that day.
- John 19:17He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called “The Place of a Skull”, which is called in Hebrew, “Golgotha”,
- Mark 15:21They compelled one passing by, coming from the country, Simon of Cyrene, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to go with them, that he might bear his cross.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Luke shows Jesus the Savior for all — outsiders, the poor, the nations — the one who, on the Emmaus road, opened all the Scriptures to show they were about himself.
How Luke 14:27 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.