And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
Parallel translations
- WEB He said to all, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
- BSB Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
- NKJV Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
- NASB And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
- NLT Then he said to the crowd, “If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me.
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
Jesus calls anyone who would follow Him to deny self, take up his cross daily, and follow Him. Discipleship means daily death to self for the sake of Christ.
Overview
Having spoken of His own suffering, Jesus extends the pattern to all His followers. Taking up the cross meant accepting shame, suffering, and even death, a daily and ongoing surrender. To follow Christ is to renounce self-rule and live under His lordship every day.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 10
- Matt 10:38–39And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
- Luke 14:26–27If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.
- Rom 8:13For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
- John 12:25–26He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
- Mark 8:34–38And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
- Col 3:5Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry:
- Titus 2:12Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;
- 2 Tim 3:12Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.
- Matt 16:22–25Then Peter took him, and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from thee, Lord: this shall not be unto thee.
- 1 Cor 15:30–31And why stand we in jeopardy every hour?
Themes, concepts, people & topics
Resources, by level
Commentaries & study tools
Free animated overview and word-study videos for this book.
Sermons and teaching on this passage from across YouTube.
Clear, readable, conservative exposition — the best free place to start on any passage.
Matthew Henry, Barnes, Gill, the Pulpit Commentary, Ellicott, Cambridge, and more — stacked on one page for this exact verse.
The beloved Puritan exposition of this whole book — warm, devotional, and verse by verse (free, CCEL).
Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
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 9:23 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.