Chapter # 9 Paragraph # 4 Study # 7
November 22, 2009
Lincolnton, NC
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AV Translation:
23 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.
24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.
27 But I tell you of a truth, there be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
1901 ASV Translation:
23 And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24 For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
25 For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own self?
26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory, and the glory of the Father, and of the holy angels.
27 But I tell you of a truth, There are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God.
Luke's Record:
- I. Jesus' Description of the Requirements of "Coming After Me".
- A. The requirements.
- 1. They follow hard on the declaration of what is to happen to Him in Jerusalem (9:22).
- 2. They involve "self-denial".
- 3. They also involve a "taking up of a cross".
- a. This is "pre-crucifixion" language for Jesus and His disciples. But Luke 14:27 repeats it with, "whosoever doth not bear his cross ... cannot be My disciple." The question is this: how much of an impact did a "cross" have for Jesus' hearers?
- b. It was a very well-known method of Roman capital punishment, but the very idea that "the Christ of the God" might be subject to it was pretty far out. It is more than probable that Jesus used this terminology because of the impact it would make later. Clearly, none of the Twelve were prepared for this kind of discipleship as their fear-filled flight on the night of His arrest displayed.
- c. There were multiple outstanding "issues" of "cross bearing" as they developed later.
- 1) It was completely unwarranted (Jesus did nothing to "deserve" this).
- 2) It was completely without any kind of surrogate (Jesus did have His cross borne by Simon of Cyrene, but not at His instigation).
- 3) It was extremely brutal.
- 4) It was effective beyond anyone's anticipation.
- 5) It became the pattern for "daily" living.
- a) There are few things commanded in the Scriptures with the "daily" adverb attached, but Jesus did not hestitate to say that this is a "daily" requirement.
- b) Paul claimed that he "died daily" (1 Corinthians 15:31).
- c) Paul claimed that it was by the cross that he was "crucified unto the world" (Galatians 6:14).
- 4. They also involve a "following" after. There is little point to self-denial and cross-taking if the direction one takes is still one's own. Paul taught that men will often do the "self-denial" and "cross-bearing" thing for personal "reputation" issues (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). This is taking one's own direction, and it is fruitless in terms of Jesus' teaching.