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. (Luke 9:23 KJV)
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. (Luke 9:23 ASV)
And he said to [them] all, If any one will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me; (Luke 9:23 DBY)
He said to all, “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. (Luke 9:23 WEB)
And he said unto all, `If any one doth will to come after me, let him disown himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me; (Luke 9:23 YLT)
Interlinear
And <de> he said <lego> to <pros> them all, <pas> If any man <ei tis> will <thelo> come <erchomai> after <opiso> me, <mou> let him deny <aparneomai> himself, <heautou> and <kai> take up <airo> his <autos> cross <stauros> daily <hemera>, <kata> and <kai> follow <akoloutheo> me. <moi> (Luke 9:23 KJV)
Commentary
One of the characteristics of a disciple is that he does not follow his own path, but the path already set for him by his master and leader. Being a disciple consists in self-denial. And denying yourself as a disciple of Jesus means you are not going to do what pleases you in life but what pleases the Lord.
A cross was a symbol of suffering and death. It was a symbol of suffering because when a person is condemned to crucifixion, as part of the sentence, he is made to carry his cross from Jerusalem to Golgotha and it was no small task. Even Jesus, when He was condemned to crucifixion, was made to carry His cross; and the weight of the cross, coupled with fatigue weighed Him down to the point where He could no longer carry the cross; hence, Simon of Cyrene was called to carry the cross on His behalf.
The cross was also a symbol of death. This is because when the person carrying the cross gets to Golgotha, he is nailed to the same cross he carried. After which the cross is erected to stand upright whiles the victim is hanging on it. And he is left to pain, thirst, starvation, the elements, etc. until he dies.
To take up your cross was a figure of speech Jesus coined. Considering was a cross represented, taking up your cross and following Jesus can be explained as being willing and ready to suffer even to death for the course of following Jesus Christ. Or being willing and ready to endure any suffering, tribulation, or even death for Christ’s sake.
How loyal are you as a Christian? What would you die for? If you are not willing and ready to suffer and or die for the course of following Jesus, then you mean to say that Jesus is not worthy of you. Consequently, Jesus does not also regard you as one worthy to share in the benefits of His suffering and sacrificial death on the cross.
It does not take any pain, nor struggle, nor suffering, nor payment to come to accept Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior and to receive from Him salvation and other blessings. However, after having come to Christ Jesus, and having received from Him salvation and other blessings, Jesus expects you to prove yourself worthy – worthy of being counted among His disciples.
Many professing Christians today only know about the sweet side of Christianity – that is, being blessed by God to acquire wealth and riches – and nothing more. However, in the early days of Christianity, most of those who became Christians took up their cross and followed Jesus. In fact, all the twelve disciples, except Judas Iscariot, took up their cross to follow Jesus. One very good example of taking up your cross to follow Jesus is this:
The disciples of Jesus were in the temple of Jerusalem teaching the people. They knew very well that it was dangerous but they did not care about the consequences to come. Then they were arrested while preaching and were brought before a council composed of all the religious leaders and elites of Israel. Now after long deliberation, they took the apostles, then beat them and charged them not to speak in the name of Jesus again, and then let them go. Guess what! The apostles left the presence of the council, rejoicing that they were counted worthy to suffer dishonor for Jesus’ name. Even after suffering beatings, every day, in the temple and from house to house, they did not cease teaching and preaching that Jesus is the Christ. Indeed, these are men who have denied themselves and have taken up their cross to follow Jesus.