Jesus had promised to build his church upon the truth that he is the Christ, the Son of the living God. He then announced to his disciples that he must go into Jerusalem, suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and scribes. Further, he said that he would be killed and raised again the third day. This was more than Peter could take; so, he took Jesus aside, and began to rebuke him, saying (and kept on saying), “Lord: this shall not be unto thee.” But Jesus then turned and rebuked Peter, saying, “Get thee behind me, Satan: thou art an offence unto me: for thou savourest not the things that be of God, but those that be of men.” (Matt. 16:23.) Just a short time before Peter was boldly professing Jesus Christ as the Son of God, but now he was the instrument of the devil. Bruce said, “None are more formidable instruments of temptation than well-meaning friends, who care more for our comfort than for our character.” How true it is. After this little exchange, our Lord said unto his disciples: “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” (Matthew 16:24.)
“If any man will come after me….” Jesus said. Many men desire for others to follow them, but they are not the leaders Jesus is. They are inferior. They are sinners, but Jesus was without sin. Paul mentioned to the elders of Ephesus about wolves in sheep’s clothing who would try to draw away disciples after them. He warned: “For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them. Therefore watch, and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears.” (Acts 20:29-31.)
“Man” in this context means a person. It would include a man or a woman. “If any man will come” implies that one has the freedom of volition to come. Man is not a computer in which God from the foundation of the world programmed him to behave or act a certain way. Man can choose to follow, or he can choose not to follow. No one is forced to follow Jesus. It is not: Be a Christian or die by the sword. However, Islam in its beginning forced the inhabitants of Medina to become Muslims or be killed.
In this verse, Jesus gives three requirements to following him: (1) Deny self; (2) Take up the cross; (3) Follow Jesus. Let us consider them briefly.
First, one must deny himself. Perhaps this is the most difficult of the three. The word “deny” means to “deny utterly.” Grimm says it means “let him lose sight of himself and his own interests.” (Moulton and Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, p. 53.) We live in a society which is absorbed with the “me-syndrome.” It is all about me. Commercials and advertisements bombard us from all directions in everyplace. They are on television, internet, radio and even when one is pumping gas at a service station. Each advertisement is pushing products that you are told you NEED! There are commercials about food, medicine, cars, insurance – all appeal to one’s own self-interest.
Second, one must take up his cross. Criminals to be executed were made to carry their own crosses to the place of execution. Carrying the cross was heavy, painful and shameful. In the case of Jesus, Simon of Cyrene was compelled to bear the cross after Jesus. Note the text does not say one is to bear Jesus’ cross; but one is to bear “his cross,” meaning one’s own cross. In order to follow Jesus, there will be a cross to bear. Not everyone will necessarily have the same cross, or burden to bear; but each must bear his own cross. (Gal. 6:5.) It might be the cross that one has to bear is family related. Maybe to follow Jesus, one may have a discouraging wife, as did Job in ages gone by. She said, “Curse God, and die.” There have been men who in order to preach the gospel have had to put up with a wife who did not want them to preach. Or, as in the case of Abigail, she had a mean, foolish husband named Nabal. Or, maybe one has a family member who does not treat him or her right. Or perhaps one is suffering with debilitating health issues that make it tough to attend services. These are crosses that one or some may have to bear in order to follow Jesus, but the Lord must come first. (Luke 14:26-33.) The cross that one might bear is worth the crown that one will wear.
The bearing of one’s cross is a daily thing. Jesus said, “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.) There may be some significance to the verb tenses in verse as well as the parallel. Both “deny” and “take up” are in the aorist tense, indicating one time action; but “follow” is in the present tense, indicating continuous action. We are to deny self once and for all, take up the cross once and for all, and then continue to follow Jesus.
Third, we are to follow Jesus. The Greek word means, “to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him: Matt 4:25; to join one as a disciple, become or be his disciple; side with his party, (A.V., follow him): Matt 4:20, 22” (Thayer.) Have you ever tried to follow someone in a car who takes off and leaves you? One does not need to worry about Jesus doing that as long as we continue to follow him. The word “follow” as stated indicates also one’s joining him as his attendant, or to accompany him. What better company can we have than Jesus?