And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38 KJV)
And he that doth not take his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38 ASV)
And he who does not take up his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38 DBY)
He who doesn’t take his cross and follow after me, isn’t worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38 WEB)
and whoever doth not receive his cross and follow after me, is not worthy of me. (Matthew 10:38 YLT)
Interlinear
And <kai> he <hos> that taketh <lambano> not <ou> his <autos> cross, <stauros> and <kai> followeth <akoloutheo> after <opiso> me, <mou> is <esti> not <ou> worthy <axios> of me. <mou> (Matthew 10:38 KJV)
Commentary
He that taketh not his cross means that he who is not willing and ready to undergo the trials, and afflictions, and persecutions, which God in the way of his providence shall lay upon him, for Christ’s sake, is not worthy to be counted among my disciples nor to receive the reward of my disciples.
In the year 250 AD, the Roman emperor Decius issued a decree that everybody in the empire, except the Jews, must sacrifice and burn incense to the Roman gods as a prayer for the well-being of the emperor and receive a certificate. A large number of Christians defied the emperor’s decree and did not sacrifice to the gods nor obtain the certificated thereof. Those Christians who refused were arrested. Upon their arrest, they were kept in custody and given time to change their mind. Though many held fast to their faith and refused to deny Jesus, history has it that some Christians denied their faith to save their lives from dying through torture, being fed to the lions in the arena, or being burnt, or being crucified, or being beheaded, etc.
The question is, are these Christian wrong for making this decision?
Matthew 10:38 is the answer. It is not the pastor, nor the elders, nor the deacons, but Jesus Christ of Nazareth Himself counts these Christians who denied Him to avoid suffering and death as unworthy; they are not worthy to be counted among His disciples and not worthy to receive His salvation. In effect, Jesus does not regard them as His disciples any longer, neither are they saved upon their denial.
Jesus suffered and died on the cross for our salvation. And He has commanded us and expects us to do the same for Him as proof of our love and loyalty; that is, we should be willing at any time to suffer and die for Him to prove that we love Him dearly and are ever loyal. Not all Christians shall die as martyrs or not all Christians shall be persecuted to death. However, Christ expects every Christian to prepare his heart and mind for affliction and death if they come his way.