Chapter # 8 Paragraph # 7 Study # 4
November 15, 2022
Moss Bluff, Louisiana

⁽³⁵⁸⁾

1901 ASV

34 And he called unto him the multitude with his disciples, and said unto them, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's shall save it.
36 For what doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life?
37 For what should a man give in exchange for his life?
38 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man also shall be ashamed of him, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

• I. Assuming The Pattern Under The Umbrella Doctrine Of "If Anyone Is Willing To Come After Me..."
  • A. The pattern as a parallel alignment of the statements.
    • 1. "...let him deny himself..." is parallel to "...whosoever would save his soul shall lose it..."
    • 2. "...and take up his cross..." is parallel to "...what doth it profit a man..."
    • 3. "...follow me..." is parallel to "...whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words..."
  • B. The unifying issue is "...to come after Me..."
• II. The Details.
  • A. The first requirement: "...let him deny himself..." is parallel to "...whosoever would save his soul shall lose it..."
  • B. The second requirement: "...and take up his cross..." is parallel to "...what doth it profit a man...?"
    • 1. The first element in this second parallel statement: Let him take up his cross (arato ton stauron autou).
      • a. The "cross" in Mark's Gospel is mentioned in four texts, three of which are in the record of Jesus being crucified (15:21, 30, and 32). The other one is our current text.
        • 1) The "cross" was a well-recognized instrument of crucifixion for certain high crimes in the view of crimes of the Romans.
        • 2) As such an instrument, Jesus turned it into the analogy-language of the use of the physical universe to illustrate the principles of the relational universe.
          • a) In the physical universe of "one-birth" reality (as opposed to the "born again" birth reality of the relational universe), a "cross" signified a painful death by crucifixion (long-lasting, extreme pain, until the body could take no more and was suffocated by its own weight suspended by extended arms).
          • b) As a "death by a cross", one inescapable issue is that such a death was reserved for particularly heinous types of illegal behavior. For one to "take up his cross", the meaning included seeing oneself as "deserving" such a death.
          • c) In the relational universe of a "second birth" reality, Jesus uses the physical "painful death" concept to declare the necessity of such a "death" as an integral aspect of "coming after" Jesus. There may be a strong link here to Paul's declaration, "I die daily" in 1 Corinthians 15:31, as well as his similar idea in his exhortations to believers who, he said, "were crucified together with Christ", (Galatians 2:20) to practice the reality of "relational crucifixion" -- the painful death to the attractions of a world consumed by evil in order to be faithful to "following Christ". The "pain" involved is mostly not "physical", but "of the relational world" of "the soul" and "the spirit".
      • b. "Taking up his cross" is more "analogy language" where the issue is voluntarily engaging in the deliberate "putting to death of anything that would hinder the following". Death to the soul's fixation upon security at all cost, and death to the spirit's fixation upon reputation in the eyes of men.
        • 1) Fundamental to this issue is the perception of one deserving this consequence.
        • 2) Additionally, the concept of extraordinary pain is front and center.
        • 3) And, thirdly, the actual process included being so weighed down by the body that it would eventually kill itself by its failure of strength.
    • 2. In the parallel explanation, Jesus ties the "self-crucifixion" to the "profit" of gaining the whole world at the expense of his "soul" (suffering significant damage to it as 1 Timothy 6:9 teaches).
      • a. The issue is "significant damage" to the "soul".
        • 1) Luke 9:25 is the only place in the four Gospels where there are two ideas of "consequence": "losing" and/or "suffering significant loss". The other two Gospels where the records of this 'teaching" are recorded only focus upon the second of the two addressed by Luke (Matthew 16:26 and Mark 8:36).
        • 2) Luke's reasoning may have been linked to his relationship with Paul and his critically technical language regarding what can happen to the "soul".
        • 3) The language of the New Testament uses this particular word for "loss" in respect to "losses", not "destruction" (1 Corinthians 3:15; 2 Corinthians 7:9; and Philippians 3:8).
      • b. This damage is the pain and sorrow of relationships broken in the pursuit of "gaining the whole world" (this concept being rooted in the focus in the Bible upon a strong link between the "soul" and the issue of having significant relationships of security with others). The "bottom line" is to escape having the soul being subjected to sorrows and fears.
      • c. What is the benefit to a man of gaining the whole world if, in his soul, there is no peace?

(return to the top of the article)


This is article #357.
If you wish, you may contact Darrel as darrelcline at this site.