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NASB | Matthew 16:24 ¶ Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 16:24 ¶ Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. |
Subject: Are you His disciple? |
Bible Note: Doc, I must apologize as in haste; I did not go back and read your first post on the subject. Had I, I would not have addressed you with the question in the fashion that I did. I truly respect your opinion and meant no disrespect in the way that I asked the question. Forgive me if I came across improperly Brother. My concern was that the phrase “take up your cross” was more or less being grossly misused to imply that we could only accomplish that in death for following our Savior. Please understand that I do not use the terms “grossly misused” lightly as this is how I see it when “cross” is limited to physical death and nothing else especially in light of great men who have devoted their life to God and His Word see it otherwise. John MacArthur stated that: “Taking up the cross refers to the willingness to endure persecution, rejection, reproach, shame, suffering, and even martyrdom for the sake of Christ.” It means the suffering we must endure in whatever manner it placed upon us and to whatever end is divinely determined. MacArthur also pointed out that “In our day we are not being martyred for our obedience to Christ, but we still must bear a reproach. Practicing self-denial means identify with Christ and naming His name up to and including the point of death.” Although there are some still being martyred, the gist of it is that physically, we will suffer persecution in diverse ways and must be willing, for our love of our Lord, to endure until we are crowned. And truly, this does not strictly mean death in all cases. That my friend was the point I wished to make. I would also like to remind all that we do not bear our crosses alone, for it is actually His cross and we carry it with His help. What a blessed partnership it is, knowing that Christ Himself will bear the heavy end of our cross for us. He traveled The Via Dolorosa with His long before any of us. He knows better and can truly guide us if only we let Him. WOS |