And the one who does not take his cross and follow after 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.
- BSB and anyone who does not take up 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.
- NLT If you refuse to take up your cross and follow me, you are not worthy of being mine.
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 14:27Whoever doesn’t bear his own cross, and come after me, can’t be my disciple.
- Mark 8:34He 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.
- Matt 16:24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
- Luke 9:23–24He said to all, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.
- John 19:17He went out, bearing his cross, to the place called “The Place of a Skull”, which is called in Hebrew, “Golgotha”,
- 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.”
- Matt 27:32As they came out, they found a man of Cyrene, Simon by name, and they compelled him to go with them, that he might carry his cross.
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.