and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
Parallel translations
- WEB He who doesn’t take his cross and follow after me, isn’t worthy of me.
- KJV And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
- ESV And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.
- NKJV And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
- NASB And the one who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of Me.
- NLT If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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
True discipleship means taking up one's cross and following Jesus. It requires self-denial and willingness to suffer for His sake.
Overview
The cross was an instrument of shameful execution; to 'take it up' meant readiness to die. Jesus calls would-be followers to die to self and embrace whatever suffering loyalty to Him brings. Spoken before His own crucifixion, the call finds its meaning in the cross He would bear for sinners, which His people are summoned to follow.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 7
- Luke 14:27And whoever does not carry his cross and follow Me cannot be My disciple.
- Mark 8:34Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
- Matt 16:24Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
- Luke 9:23–24Then 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.
- John 19:17Carrying His own cross, He went out to The Place of the Skull, which in Hebrew is called Golgotha.
- Mark 10:21Jesus looked at him, loved him, and said to him, “There is one thing you lack: Go, sell everything you own and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”
- Matt 27:32Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 10:38 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.