Jesus was telling us the cost of discipleship

JESUS WAS TELLING US THE COST OF DISCIPLESHIP
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
Matthew 16:24 New InternationalVersion(NIV) 24
Then Jesus said to his disciples,“Whoeverwants to be
my disciplemust deny themselves and take up their
cross and followme.
GreatTexts of the Bible
The Costof Discipleship
Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man would come after me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.—Matthew 16:24.
These words were spokenby our Lord when He first began definitely to
prepare the minds of His disciples for the humiliation, and suffering, and
death which lay before Him. The conceptionof a suffering Messiahwas so
alien to the thought of His time that it became needful to prepare the minds of
His immediate followers for receiving the Divine idea of self-sacrifice, which
He was to reveal in His sufferings and death. “From that time forth began
Jesus to shew unto his disciples, how that he must go unto Jerusalem, and
suffer many things of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed,
and be raised againthe third day.” One of them, with characteristic
impulsiveness, repudiated the idea; and Jesus, reading at once the earthly
thoughts which prompted the remonstrance of Peter, laid down the
indispensable condition of spiritual life, the Divine law of self-sacrifice:“If

any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow me. For whosoeverwouldsave his life, shall lose it; and whosoever
shall lose his life for my sake, shall find it.”
1. There was a specialtruth in these words for the disciples to whom they
were spoken;and to them they were primarily addressed. No one could
become a faithful followerof Jesus without being prepared to renounce
everything, without carrying his life itself in his hand. And the first desire of
Jesus in speaking these words was undoubtedly to make Peterand the rest of
his companions understand clearlythe absolute degree of the self-sacrifice
which they must make in spirit, if they would be thoroughly associatedwith
the Leaderin whom they believed. He was going before them bearing His
cross, submitting beforehand to the ignominy and pain which were to be
openly realized; He was thus submitting, not in spite of His Divine nature, but
because He was the perfectSon of the righteous and loving Father. If His
disciples would cherishthe high ambition of being His friends and followers;
if they would look forward to the joy and the crown with which true sacrifice
was to be rewarded—they also must tread in the steps of the Master, they
must be content to serve and submit, they must gird themselves to the
unreserved offering of themselves to God.
2. The Christian life also is one of service, of submission. Men do not sit and
sing themselves awayto everlasting bliss; the waythither is the way of the
yoke. Christ is very frank about this; He allures no man to follow Him by false
pretences. Whenmen would follow Garibaldi to the liberty of Italy, he warned
them that there would be hunger and thirst and fatigue, battle and wounds
and death to be endured. Those who would follow must be willing to bear the
yoke. When men would follow Christ, He frankly said, “Take my yoke upon
you”—the yoke of service, ofself-denial, of submission. “He that taketh not
his cross, andfollowethafter me, is not worthy of me.”

When Bernard of Quintavalle, convinced of the rare grace grantedby God to
Francis, and longing to come under its power, determined to join him, the
saint, notwithstanding his joy, gave proof of that sound judgment upon which
the commune had learned to draw, by proposing that since the life of
renunciation was hard, they must lay the whole matter before the Lord, who
would Himself be its judge and their counsellor. So they repaired to St.
Nicholas’Church, and, after the office, knelt long in prayer for guidance. The
curate of St. Nicholas was their friend, and he consultedthe gospeltext when
their minds were prepared to acceptits mandates. The first time he opened it
these words met his eyes:“Go thy way, sellwhatsoeverthou hast, and give to
the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up thy cross,
and follow me.” The secondtime, the very gospelwhich had lately impelled
Francis to preach was on the open page (Luke 9:1-6), while the third test of
Bernard’s faith was found to be the greatand strenuous commandment: “If
any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily,
and follow me.” Bernard bowedhis head in obedience to all three, and leaving
the church, he and Francis at once set about selling his houses and
possessions, andbestowing the money realized on hospitals, poor monasteries,
the neediesttownsfolk. Then, having finished this affair, the brothers passed
down to the plain, and a new stage in the Franciscanmovement was initiated.1
[Note:Anna M. Stoddart, Francis of Assisi, 95.]
There are three things in the text—
Self-denial—“Lethim deny himself.”
Cross-bearing—“Andtake up his cross.”
Following—“Andfollow me.”

I
Self-Denial
“Let him deny himself.”
1. “If any man would come after me,” said Jesus, “lethim deny himself, and
take up his cross, andfollow me.” Here Jesus makes the duty of denying self
an essentialrequisite of Christian discipleship. A man cannot be a followerof
Jesus unless he denies himself, or, as the Greek term indicates, denies himself
utterly. The requirement is not the denial of anything, either little or much, to
self, but the utter denial of self—a very important and too often unrecognized
difference.
As the term stands in the Greek, the injunction of our Lord to His every
disciple, to “deny himself,” includes the idea of turning oneselfawayfrom
oneself, of rejecting selfas the desire of self. It suggests the thought of two
centres—selfand Christ—the one to be denied and the other acceptedas an
objectof attractionand devotedness. Its use in the originalseems to say: “If
you would turn toward Me, you must turn awayfrom yourself. If you would
acceptMe as the chief objectof desire, you must renounce yourself as such an
object. If you would henceforwardlive in My service, you must at once cease
to live for your own pleasure and interest.”
It is a very common mistake concerning the nature of self-denial to suppose
that it involves a constantthought of self, in order to the entire subjection of
self. As a matter of fact, he who lives the truest life of self-denialhas very little
trouble with himself. Being absorbed in an object of interest outside of
himself, he forgets himself; living for something worthier of his devotion, he

does not give any worrying thought to that self from which he has turned
awayin his enthusiastic pursuit of a nobler aim. A soldier is worth little as a
soldier until he forgets himself in his interest in his military duties. If he even
thinks of prolonging or protecting his life, he is more likely to lose it than if he
is absorbedin the effort to do his work manfully as a soldier. An unselfish
interest in our fellows causesus to forget ourselves in our loving thought of
others. An unselfish interest in our Friend of friends takes us awayfrom
ourselves, and fills our mind with a simple purpose of pleasing and serving
Him. A life of self-denialis not a life of conflictwith self; it is rather a life
turned awayfrom self in utter self-forgetfulness.
Self-denial is not an outward act, but an inward turning of our being. As the
steamship is turned about by the rudder, which is swung by the means of a
wheel, so there is within our being a rudder, or whateveryou may callit,
which is turned by a small wheel, and as we turn the entire craft either
leewardor windward, we deny either self or God. In its deepestsense we
always deny either the one or the other. When we stand well we deny self; in
all other caseswe deny God. And the internal wheel by which we turn the
entire craft of our ego is our intention. The rudder determines the course of
the ship; not its rigging and cargo, nor the characterof the crew, but its
direction, the destination of the voyage, its final haven. Hence, when we see
our craft steering awayfrom God, we swing the rudder the other way and
compel it to run towardGod.1 [Note: A. Kuyper, The Work of the Holy
Spirit, 505.]
2. We have often to deny ourselves in matters that may be in themselves
allowable. If they tend in our case to withdraw our hearts from Christ, we
must be willing to give them up. Being innocent in themselves, we might be at
liberty to choose themor not as we liked, but we have to think of the discipline
and maturity of our Christian character, and in regard to this such voluntary
sacrifices are in the sight of God of greatprice, moulding us as they do into a
loving and wide embracing obedience to Him. Again and againwe may have

to deny ourselves things that seemfitted for adding to our enjoyment, but
when we think how Christ denied Himself the most ordinary comforts, not
seeking to be ministered unto, but to minister, and giving His life a ransom for
us, shall we for a moment hesitate to drink of His spirit that we may do
likewise? Veryanxiously have we to remember that there is no Christian self-
denial in anything that is done merely as self-denial—thatall true self-
sacrifice is unconscious of itself, strives not to think of itself, but longs simply
to please Christ and to do His will and work, without reckoning the costor
trial.
It is said that prior to the rise of Christianity not one of the Westernlanguages
had any word for self-denial. The austere moralists of India, indeed, had long
since taught the sacrifice ofinclination to lofty ideals of duty. But Greece and
Rome, nay, even Israel, had not contemplatedself-denial as in itself essential
to virtuous or devout character;and so they had coinedno word for it. But
when one by one the Westernnations were subdued by the spiritual weapons
sharpened in the armoury of Christ, the idea and the word “self-denial”
quickly came to the front in preaching and in practice. Norwill any student of
the Gospels deny that this is quite a characteristic and typical utterance of
Jesus:“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me.”1 [Note:R. C. Armstrong, Memoir and Sermons, 195.]
(1) We are constantlytempted to self-indulgence, to do simply what is easy
and pleasantto us, agreeable to our tastes, inclinations, and habits, and leave
others to do or leave undone altogetherthe things that are not according to
our taste or that require from us any care or effort or sacrifice. All analogy,
and all reason, and all Scripture teachus that we must not consult our own
ease and pleasure, that we must not make a kind of pastime of religious
service, that we must not be earnestand self-denying in our ordinary calling,
and then come to Christ’s work as an entertainment for our leisure hours, just
playing with the greatcause of God. We must not do that; we must work if we
would have God to work with us. It is when we do our part that we have any

right at all to expectthat God will do His part; it is when we do our very
best—and we cannot do our very best without much thought, and much
prayer, and much effort; without facing difficulties, without strain, without
doing some hard things, some painful things. We cannot do our best without
all this, and it is when we do our bestthat we canexpect God to do the most.
You have all, I dare say, seenlightning conductors put up on buildings in
London; and perhaps you wonderedwhy they were put up. Well the reasonis
this: the lightning is on the look out for an easyway to come down to the
earth; it finds it very hard to go through the air. That is the reasonwhy we
hear the thunder: it is the noise the lightning makes becauseit has to come
through the air so quickly. And the air tries to stop it coming at all. If it could
get on to anything—on to the spire of this church, for example—andslide
down, it would be a very easywayof getting along. But it wouldn’t be a good
thing for the spire; and so they put up lightning conductors—rods right up
into the air—so that if the lightning is coming anywhere near, it may geton to
the rod and so slip right down into the earth, without doing any harm to the
church. For it is always looking out for the easiestwaydown.1 [Note:J. M.
Gibbon, In the Days of Youth, 60.]
(2) Self-seeking is another form of temptation that we must guard against. We
are tempted to serve ourselves in God’s service, to seek for our ownends when
we are professedlyand really engagedin His work. Sometimes the selfish end
is indirectly soughtby us, as when it is the glory, honour, power, and triumph
of our party or sector denomination that we labour for. Sometimes the selfish
end is directly before us, as when it is our owninfluence, or position, or
honour, or praise that we seek after. The love of man’s approbation is natural
to us, and it is quite legitimate that we should seek it, and that we should
appreciate it; but how very apt it is to degenerate into downright selfishness,
and how very often we are tempted in connexion with God’s own work to seek
chiefly, to seek unduly, our own selfish ends.

You remember that wonderful parable in the PeerGynt of Ibsen. The worn-
out wanderer, grownhoary in selfishness, a past-masterin self-seeking,in a
rare moment of reflectiontakes an onion in his hand, and begins to strip it,
scale by scale, and the fancy takes him that eachscale orflake or lobe or fold
represents some experience of his past, some relation in which he has stood to
others in the long and chequered experience of life. This one is PeerGynt
tossed“in the jolly-boat after the wreck.”This is PeerGynt a steerage
passengersailing westwardoverthe Atlantic. This is PeerGynt the merchant,
this PeerGynt as he played the prophet. What a hostof parts he has played!
What a host of folds lie around the central core or kernel of the onion! When
he comes to the actualcentre, that will stand for PeerGynt himself, his inner
self, apart from all the parts he has played, apart from all the relations to
others he has held. And he strips and strips, smaller and smaller are the
onion-flakes as he nears the centre. What will the centre be? And in his
impatience he tears half a dozen away at once.
There seema terrible lot of flakes,
To get to the core what a time it takes!
Yes, gramercy, it does, one divides and divides;
And there is no kernel:it’s all outsides!
That is the parable as the great Scandinaviandramatist has written it. And it
is a parable which may be variously applied. Strip awayfrom your life, your
soul, every relation in which you stand to other lives, other souls, than your
own. You may think thereby to reachat last your own very life or soul; but
you will find that there is no selfthere. You live only in your relations to

others than yourself. Annihilate these and you are yourself annihilated.1
[Note:R. A. Armstrong, Memoir and Sermons, 223.]
II
Cross-Bearing
“And take up his cross.”
1. Cross-bearing is usually regarded as the bearing of burdens, or the
enduring of trials in Christ’s service, or for Christ’s sake. It is impossible to
give ourselves up to Christ without suffering some loss or trouble. In early
days the consequencemight be martyrdom; in our own day it always involves
some sacrifice. Now, the cross which the Christian has to bear is not inevitable
trouble, such as poverty, sickness,orthe loss of friends by death. These things
would have been in our lot if we had not been Christians. They are our
burdens, our thorns in the flesh. They are sent to us, not takenby us. But the
cross is something additional. This is taken up voluntarily; it is in our power
to refuse to touch it. We bear it, not because we cannotescape,but because it
is a consequence ofour following Christ; and the goodof bearing it is that we
cannot otherwise closelyfollow Him. He, then, is the true Christian who will
bear any cross and endure any hardship that is involved in loyally following
his Lord and Master.
When Jesus found His disciples expectantof honours in His service as the
Messiah, andlonging for places nearestHim when He should be uplifted in
His Kingdom, He told them that they little knew what they were asking. His
first uplifting was to be on a cross. Wouldthey be willing to share that
experience with Him? “Ye know not what ye ask,” He said. “Are ye able to

drink the cup that I drink?” It costs something, He suggested, to be My
follower. A man who enlists in My service must do so with a halter round his
neck. If he cares more for his life than for Me, he is unfitted to be one of My
disciples. “If any man cometh unto me, and hateth not [in comparisonwith
me] his own father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and
sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. Whosoeverdoth
not bear his own cross, and come after me, cannot be my disciple.”
Tertullian, speaking to us out of the secondcentury, tells us how the
Christians of his day were wont to carry about with them everywhere the sign
of the cross, atevery step, at every movement, sealing themselves with it. It is
now honoured and consecrated;our very churches are built in its shape and
ornamented with its figure. But then, to those poor Galileans, who had left all
to follow Christ, who dimly dreamed of kingliness and victor pomp, of thrones
on the right and thrones on the left, and the fulfilment of patriotic dreams—
taking up the cross, itwas a thing strange and abhorrent, and contrary to
their religious convictions, “Cursedis every one that hangeth on the tree.”1
[Note:Canon Newbolt.]
The idea of these words, says Ruskin, “has been exactly reversedby modern
Protestantism, which sees in the Cross, not a furca to which it is to be nailed;
but a raft on which it, and all its valuable properties, are to be floated into
Paradise.” We needbut superficial knowledge ofcurrent ways of speaking
and writing among some religious people to know that there is much that goes
a goodway to excuse or to justify this very severe criticism.2 [Note:E. F.
Sampson, Christ Church Sermons, 265.]
2. Eachhas his particular cross to bear. This we have eachto discoverfor
ourselves, and bear as we follow Him. Neverare we to invent crosses for
ourselves, and most anxiously are we to take heedthat we do not make them
for others, for this would indeed be to sin againstGod, and to bring continued

misery on those beside us. Our owncross is close athand, and we are to see
rising high above it that awful yet most blessedand now vacantcross on
which the Son of God suffered that He might win us back to the Father. We
think how much easierit would be for us, and how much more devout and
vigorous a Christian life we should lead, if we could but “change” ourown
cross for some other one that we imagine we could readily name, thus wishing
even our trials to be bent to our own self-will, and suited to what we think for
our comfort. We think that we can judge of the crosseswhichothers have to
bear, and that ours is often so much heavier than theirs. We may even
magnify our own cross until it almostshuts out of view that awe-inspiring
cross on which our Saviour offeredHimself unto death. We may have sore
trial from some beside us, owing to our “choosing thatgoodpart” which He
sets before us, and we may have daily to bear this cross, which in His wise
permission. He allows to be laid upon us, although we feelthat by only a little
change in their disposition they themselves would be blessed, and all life made
different to us.
There is a poem calledThe ChangedCross. It represents a wearyone who
thought that her cross was surely heavier than those of others whom she saw
about her, and wished that she might choose anotherinsteadof her own. She
slept, and in her dream she was led to a place where many crosseslay, crosses
of divers shapes and sizes. There was a little one most beauteous to behold, set
in jewels and gold. “Ah, this I can wearwith comfort,” she said. So she took it
up, but her weak form shook beneathit. The jewels and the gold were
beautiful, but they were far too heavy for her. Next she saw a lovely cross with
fair flowers entwined around its sculptured form. Surely that was the one for
her. She lifted it, but beneath the flowers were piercing thorns which tore her
flesh. At last, as she went on, she came to a plain cross, withoutjewels, without
carving, with only a few words of love inscribed upon it. This she took up, and
it proved the best of all, the easiestto be borne. And as she lookedupon it,
bathed in the radiance that fell from heaven, she recognizedher own old
cross. She had found it again, and it was the best of all and lightest for her.

God knows bestwhat cross we need to bear. We do not know how heavy other
people’s crossesare. We envy some one who is rich; his is a golden cross set
with jewels. But we do not know how heavy it is. Here is another whose life
seems very lovely. She bears a cross twined with flowers. But we do not know
what sharp thorns are hidden beneath the flowers. If we could try all the other
crossesthat we think lighter than ours, we should at lastfind that not one of
them suited us so well as our own.1 [Note:J. R. Miller, Glimpses Through
Life’s Windows, 31.]
III
Following the Master
“And follow me.”
1. Christ pictures Himself here, not as the Redeemer, but as the Leader and
Pattern. It was a great event for the world when there was born into it the
PerfectMan. Formerly the children of men were aware that they fell short of
the perfectionthat was in God; but they did not suspectthat one born of
woman could actually attain such holiness. Jesus disclosedwhat man could be
and do.
Mechanics are wellaware that the engines on which they spend their powers
are far from perfect. But, if some day a machine immensely superior to any
that had been produced were devised and constructedby one of themselves,
the whole trade would at once undergo a revolution. Employers, designers,
draughtsmen, moulders, finishers, fitters, the whole population of the place,
would vie with one anotherin their efforts to equal or surpass the
achievement. If, perhaps, like ignorant Russianpeasants, they broke the

splendid instrument, or if they put it into a glass case as a mere curiosity, yet,
after a while, a wisercounselwould prevail. Our greatFellow-workman
produced a matchless work;and although for a time His jealous comrades
endeavouredto crush it and to suppress the very mention of it, yet, in the end,
they beganto copy it. The life of Jesus, if it had been an example and nothing
more, must certainly have left its mark on the customs of the world.2 [Note:
C. N. Moody, Love’s Long Campaign, 255.]
2. It has been suggestedthat this phrase, though authentic, may perhaps be
misplaced as we have it here in Matthew, and may refer to an incident of that
dolorous processionin which the Master—Himselffor a little while mastered
by His foes—wasstruggling towards the appointed place of tragedy with the
huge, rough cross upon His shoulder, ere some flickering of pity on the part of
His guards impressed the more muscular Simon of Cyrene to bear the
instrument of death along the road. We are invited to behold Jesus with gentle
fortitude struggling to bear up under the cruel load, and even then, while the
weight of the cross is pressing on His worn and sensitive frame, uttering the
precept which had in that moment illustration so terrible: “If any man would
come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, andfollow me.”
The disciple was to be as his Master, the servant was to be as his Lord; but the
Masterwas to be a crucified Master;the Lord was to be not merely nailed to
the tree, He was to bear His cross to the place of execution. And which of them
all could have foreseenthat awful end? Which of them could have guessed
that the degrading punishment, reservedfor the basestcriminals, would have
been assignedto the pure and sinless Jesus?Whichof them could have
thought that againstthis humble working-man Prophet the power of Rome
would accomplishthat which His own nation could not do? Which of them
who had believed it possible that He would die upon the cross couldhave
realized that, faint and weary with suffering, He Himself would bear His cross
on the road to Calvary, till He could bear it no longer?

Last night I had another mother’s meeting for the mothers of the Free
Kindergarten. This time I gave a magic-lantern show. I was the showman. The
poor, ignorant women satthere bewildered; they had never seena piano, and
many of them had never been close to a foreignerbefore. I showedthem about
a hundred slides, explained through an interpreter until I was hoarse,
gesticulatedand oratedto no purpose. They remained silent, stolid. By and by
there was a stir, heads were raisedand necks craned. A sudden interest swept
over the room. I followedtheir gaze, and saw on the sheetthe picture of Christ
toiling up the mountain under the burden of the cross. The storywas new and
strange to them, but the fact was as old as life itself. At last they had found
something that touched their own lives and brought the quick tears of
sympathy to their eyes.1 [Note:The Lady of the Decoration, 107.]
3. Christ appeals to the will. “If a man wills to come after me.” The cross must
be taken up consciously, deliberately, sympathetically. The sacrifice we see in
nature is unconscious. Whenthe outer row of petals is sacrificedto the
welfare of the guelderrose, the petals are unaware of their immolation; when
the bracts wither which have cradled the young leaves ofthe tree, they perish
without any sense ofmartyrdom. In all their sacrificialwork the ant and wasp
obey blind impulse. It is often little better in society. We suffer and die for
others without realizing the fact. The thought of the genius, the statesman, the
physician, and the nurse is often almost entirely self-regarding;they really
suffer for the commonwealthwithout either consciousness orintention. The
superior civilization also suffers for the inferior unsympathetically. The bee is
a self-centredcreature;when it visits a flowerit does not think of adorning
the plant, of filling the air with sweetness,ofdelighting human eyes;it thinks
only of getting a living, of enjoying itself; yet all the while, unknown to itself, it
conveys the pollen which secures the perfectionand perpetuity of a thousand
flowers. So the European visiting India, Africa, or China does not always
realize the larger missionhe is fulfilling—advancing civilization by sacrifice.
The scientistexplores strange lands for knowledge, the soldier for glory, the
trader for gold, the emigrant for bread; and yet, all unwittingly, above and
beyond their immediate purpose, they impart to the strange regions they
penetrate the ideas and qualities of a higher civilization.

In Christ the principle of self-denial became conscious, voluntary, and
delightful. He enteredinto the work of redemption with clearestknowledge,
entire sympathy, absolute willingness, and overflowing love. From all His
doing and suffering for our salvationcome freedom, readiness, andjoyfulness.
His true disciples share His spirit of intelligent self-sacrifice:consciously,
willingly, lovingly, they serve the world and one another. Self-immolation,
which is unconscious in the brute, which dimly awakesto the knowledge of
itself in reflective humanity, realizes itself lucidly and joyously in the light,
love, and liberty of Christ. “Lo, I come to do thy will, O God.” “I delight to do
thy will, O my God.” Such was the spirit and language of the Masterin the
hour of Gethsemane, in the presence ofCalvary. The disciple must not rest
until he attains something of the same conscioussurrender and joy.
Phillips Brooks reminds us that the sacrifice of old was offered to the sound of
the trumpets with joy, and there ought to be a sort of joy—a real joy—about
self-sacrifice inbearing the cross. The pictures of our Lord on the cross, the
earliestrepresentations, were notlike later ones;they were of a victorious
figure in the prime of life, with no nails through His hands and feet, with an
upright head, and a look of joyful self-sacrifice. And that is what we must aim
at: we must bear the cross joyfully; “take up” the cross—itmakes allthe
difference—lying down under it is one thing, taking it up is another. Take it
up bravely, joyfully, cheerfully, and you will find the cross comparativelyeasy
to bear.1 [Note: A. F. W. Ingram, Joyin God, 178.]
But if Himself He come to thee, and stand
Beside thee, gazing down on thee with eyes
That smile and suffer, that will smite thy heart,

With their own pity, to a passionate peace;
And reachto thee Himself the Holy Cup
(With all its wreathenstems of passion-flowers
And quivering sparkles of the ruby stars),
Pallid and royal, saying, “Drink with Me,”
Wilt thou refuse? Nay, not for Paradise!2 [Note:H. E. Hamilton King.]
4. Discipleshipdemands perseverance. “Lethim follow me.” There is no
discharge in this service. It is a lifelong compact. The disciple must follow the
Masterto the last limit of self-denial and cross-bearing.But the Masterlives
to help us to be and to do what He shows in His own life is the highest of all
goodness andnobleness. So near does He keepto us in His indwelling
Presence thatHe wishes to strengthen us to “walk evenas he walked” (1 John
2:6). We are to feel that though we cannotsee Him with our bodily eyes, yet
there is no such living Powerin the universe as He is; and as we continue to
ponder His life and sufferings we shall seemto see Him standing out before
our hearts “full of grace and truth,” and shall become gradually transformed
into His likeness so as to be fitted for living with Him through eternity in His
unveiled vision, and for engaging in His sinless service.

It is easyto take up one’s cross and stand; easierstill to fold it in the arms and
lie down; but to carry it about—that is the hard thing. All pain shuns
locomotion. It is adverse to collision, adverse to contact, adverse to movement.
It craves to nurse its own bitterness; it longs to be alone. Its burden is never so
heavy as when the bell rings for daily toil. The waters of Marahseek repose. If
I could only rest under my cloud I might endure; but the command is too
much for me—“Go, work to-day in my vineyard.” If I could go without my
cross, it would be something; but I cannot. I can no more escapefrom it than I
can escape my own shadow. It clings to me with that attraction which
repulsion sometimes gives. It says, “Whither thou goest, I will go; and where
thou lodgest, I will lodge.”1 [Note:G. Matheson, Searchingsin the Silence,
56.]
The followers ofChrist are not as Frederick the Great, who in the midst of the
SevenYears’ War wrote thus: “Happy the moment when I took to training
myself in philosophy! There is nothing else that can sustainthe soul in a
situation like mine.” This same Frederick, three years later, wrote that it was
hard for man to bear what he endured: “My philosophy is worn out by
suffering,” he confessed;“I am no saint, like those of whom we read in the
legends;and I will own that I should die content if only I could first inflict a
portion of the misery which I endure.” But Charity never faileth. When
Christians grow wearyof their efforts, when they are tempted to give up their
Christian service because ofdiscouragements in the work, or because of
rebuffs and unkindness from their fellow-workers, theyremember what sort
of Captain they follow, and what sort of strength has been vouchsafedto
them.2 [Note: C. N. Moody, Love’s Long Campaign, 266.]
Drawing his sword, Pizarro traceda line with it on the sand from eastto west.
Then, turning towards the south, “Friends and comrades!” he said, “on that
side are toil, hunger, nakedness, the drenching storm, desertion, and death; on
this side, ease and pleasure. There lies Peru with its riches; here, Panama and
its poverty. Choose, eachman, what best becomes a brave Castilian. For my

part, I go to the south.” So saying he stepped across the line. He was followed
by the brave pilot Ruiz; next by Pedro de Candia, a cavalier, born, as his
name imports, in one of the isles of Greece.Elevenothers successivelycrossed
the line, thus intimating their willingness to abide the fortunes of their leader,
for goodor for evil. Fame, to quote the enthusiastic language ofan ancient
chronicler, has commemoratedthe names of this little band, “who thus, in the
face of difficulties unexampled in history, with death rather than riches for
their reward, preferred it all to abandoning their honour, and stoodfirm by
their leaderas an example of loyalty to future ages.”1[Note:W. H. Prescott,
The Conquestof Peru, bk. ii. chap. iv.]
The Costof Discipleship
BIBLEHUB RESOURCES
The GreatCondition
Matthew 16:24
W.F. Adeney
The heart-searching truths of this verse are too often neglectedin popular
presentations of the gospel. We have a Christianity made easyas an
accommodationto an age which loves personalcomfort. Notonly is this
unfaithful to the truth, no part of which we have any right to keepback;it is
most foolish and shortsighted. It prepares for a surprising disappointment
when the inevitable facts are discovered;and it does not really attract. A
religion of sweetmeatsis sickening. There is that in the better nature of man
which responds to the doctrine of the cross;it is the mistake of the lower
method that it only appeals to the selfish desire of personal safety, and

therefore does not awakenthe better nature at all. Christ sets the example of
the higher and truer method; he does not shun to set before us the dangers
and difficulties of the Christian course. If we meet with them we cannot say
we have not been warned.
I. CHRISTIANITYIS FOLLOWING CHRIST. It is not merely receiving
certain blessings from him. If we think we are to enjoy the fruits of his work
while we remain just as we were, we are profoundly mistaken. He does give us
grace, the result of his life work and atoning death. But the object of this grace
is just that we may have strength to follow him. It is all wastedupon us and
receivedquite in vain if we do not put it to this use. Now, the following of
Christ implies three things.
1. Imitating him.
2. Seeing him.
3. Obeying him. He whose experience comprises these three things is a
Christian; no one else is one.
II. FOLLOWING CHRIST IS CONDITIONEDBY SELF-SURRENDER TO
HIM. This is what be means by self-denial. He was not an ascetic,and he
never required asceticismin his disciples;those who did not understand him
accusedhim of encouraging an opposite mode of life. There is no merit in
putting ourselves to pain for the mere sake of enduring the suffering. Christ
will not be pleasedif we approachhim in agony because we have affixed a
thumb screw to our own person. It is possible to be very hard on one's body
and yet to remain terribly self-willed. What Jesus requires is the surrender of
our will to him - that we may not seek to have our own will, but submit to his
will.
III. SELF-SURRENDERTO CHRIST LEANS TO BEARING THE CROSS
FOR HIM. It is impossible to give ourselves up to Christ without suffering
some loss or trouble. In early days the consequencemight be martyrdom; in
our own day it always involves some sacrifice. Now, the cross which the
Christian has to bear is not inevitable trouble, such as poverty, sickness, or
the loss of friends by death. These things would have been in our lot if we had

not been Christians. They are our burdens, our thorns in the flesh. They are
sent to us, not takenby us. But the cross is something additional. This is taken
up voluntarily; it is in our powerto refuse to touch it. We bear it, not because
we cannot escape, but because it is a consequence ofour following Christ; and
the goodof bearing it is that we cannot otherwise closelyfollow him. He, then,
is the true Christian who will bear any cross and endure any hardship that is
involved in loyally following his Lord and Master. - W.F.A.
Biblical Illustrator
If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself.
Matthew 16:24
Self-denial
J. W. Reeve, M. A.
I. WHAT IS THE PRINCIPLE OF SELF-DENIAL? It may be said to be in
renouncing whatevercomes in competition with the love and service of Christ,

your turning from things lawful when they become occasions ofspiritual
injury either to ourselves or others. Self-denial proceeds onhigh
consideration.
1. Love to Christ, which involves obedience to His word.
2. Living not unto ourselves but unto God and for the welfare of others. These
two must be combined. It is not self-denial to give our goods to feed the poor;
but apart from the principle of love it is not self-denial. Nor is it self-denial for
a man to refuse temporal honours for which God has qualified him, and
which are given in a providential way. No self-denialin Josephrefusing to be
governorover Egypt. Nor is it self-denial to rejecta lawful use of God's
creatures, orto deprive himself of that necessaryto health.
II. How SELF-DENIALIS EXHIBITED. It is the offspring of faith in Christ.
1. It shows itselfin the lowestforms; first, in denying sin, things which the
world allows, but which the Word of God condemns.
2. In denying what may be called righteous self. "Count all loss for Christ."
3. In things lawful but not expedient on accountof their influence on others.
4. In being true to the Word of God.
5. In things agreeable but questionable.
(J. W. Reeve, M. A.)
The Cross and the Crown
J. Vaughan, M. A.
It is a proof of the truth and Divine origin of our religion that it gives such a
distinct notice of the difficulties which its followers will have to encounter.
What other religion could afford to speak thus.

1. It is no wonder that Christ laid clown self-denialas requisite in His
followers, as He emptied Himself, and we cannot in His whole life detecta
point where we can see self.
2. The selfishness ofone man is not the selfishness ofanother; every one
knows the individualities of his own character. There is one man whose self
lies in his intellect. Another man's self is pleasure. Another man's self takes
the aspectofreligion, he wants to be savedin a wayhe has marked out,
3. The believer takes up his cross, notanother person's.
4. He is to take it up, not to go out of his way to seek it.
5. This he is to do by cheerful act, not waiting for compulsion. "Dragged
crossesare very heavy, but carried crosses are very light."
6. What is the cross?not some greatthing to come-by-and-by. There is some
cross to-day, another to-morrow — "daily." The cross is a trial which has
something humiliating in it. and which is painfal to the old nature.
7. We must follow Christ, for what is it worth to "deny one's self," or to take
up a "cross,"if it be not clone with an express intention towards Christ?
(J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Self-denial
L. O. Thompson.
Christianity can never be made popular. It always calls for self-denialand
self-sacrifice (Galatians5:24).
I. THERE ARE THINGS EASY IN RELIGION — those in which the
recipients are passive.
1. Redemption has been fully accomplishedfor us by the Saviour.
2. Christ is offered to all as the Saviour from sin.
3. The acceptance ofChrist is made a matter of choice.

II. THINGS THAT ARE HARD.
1. The renunciation of the world and worldly delights.
2. Self-denial. We must renounce our own wisdom, will. mind, pleasure, etc.
3. Self-sacrifice. Evenlife itself when duty demands.
III. BUT HARD THINGS ARE MADE EASY.
1. When we look at their nature and duration (2 Corinthians 4:17, 18).
2. "Whenwe rely upon God's promise and acceptHis strengthening grace
(Deuteronomy 33:25;2 Corinthians 12:9, 10; Philippians 4:13).
3. When we fully acceptself-denialand cross-bearing as the rule of our life
(Matthew 11:28-30).
4. When we obtain Divine comfort and Christian consolation(2 Corinthians
1:4, 5).
IV. INFERENCES:
1. Let us, in the active duties of religion, "Work out," etc.
2. Let us seek outthe things which require of us self-denial. This will help us
in advance to give them up cheerfully and readily.
3. Let us always look to Jesus and consider His example (Hebrews 12:1-3).
(L. O. Thompson.)
Self-denial
That it is the duty of all that would be Christ's disciples to deny themselves.
I. THIS DOCTRINE IN GENERAL. The extent of this duty.
1. Forthe object — a man's own self; it is a bundle of idols. It seems contrary
to reasonto deny self, since nature teaches man to love himself; grace doth not
disallow it. Therefore(1)you must know when respects to selfare culpable.

There is a lawful self-love. The self we are to deny stands in opposition to God.
Self is sinfully respectedwhendues are paid to the creature which only belong
to God. These are four: —
1. As God is the First Cause He would keepup the respectof the world to His
majesty by dependence and trust.
2. As God is the chiefestgood, so He must have the highestesteem.
3. As God is the highestLord, it is His peculiar prerogative to give laws to the
creature. Self is not to interpose and give laws to us.
4. As God is the lastend of our beings and actions, the supreme cause is to be
the utmost end (Proverbs 16:4).
2. The subject. See the extent of the duty; it reaches allsorts of men — "If any
man," etc. No calling, sex, age, duty, condition of life, is excluded. All men are
to practise it; in all things; always;with all our heart.
(1)We cannot else be conformed to our greatMaster;Jesus Christ came from
heaven on purpose to teach us the lessonof self-denial.
(2)It is practisedby all the fellows in the same school. Christ setthe copy, and
all the saints have written after it.
(3)Jesus Christ may justly require it; all the idols of the world expectit from
their votaries.
(4)Becauseselfis the greatestenemy both to God and man.
(5)Becausethose that are Christ's disciples are not their own men (Romans
14:6).
(6)Becauseit is the most gainful project in the world. Self-denial is the true
way of self-advancing.
(7)Becauseotherwise a man can be nothing in religion, neither do, nor suffer,
therefore we must resolve either to deny self or Christ.
(8)Self-denial is a specialpart of faith.

3. The signs of self-denial.(1)Exclusive. It. is a sign that selfis exalted.
(1)When a man did never sethimself to thwart his owndesires.
(2)By an impatiency in our natures when we are crossedby others.
(3)When a man is loth to be a loserby religion.
(4)When the heart is grieved at the goodof others.
(5)When men care not how it goethwith the public so they may promote their
private interest.
2. Inclusive signs of self-denial.
(1)When a man is swayedby reasons of conscience ratherthan by reasons of
interest, when he is content to be anything so he may be sensible to God's
glory.
(2)By an humble submission to God's will. It is a greatconquestover
ourselves when we conquer our will.
(3)When a man is vile in his own eyes, and reflects with indignation upon his
own sins.
4. The means of self-denial, whereby it may be made more easy.
(1)Lessenyour esteemfor earthly things.
(2)Seek selfin God, this is an innocent diversion. When we cannotweakenthe
affectionlet us change the object.
(3)Resolve upon the worst to please God, though it be with the displeasure of
self and the world.
(4)Take heedof confining thy welfare to outward means, as if thou couldest
not be happy without the creature.
(5)Often act faith, and look within the veil. Send thy thoughts as messengers
into the Land of Promise.

(6)In all debates betweenconscienceand interest observe God's special
providence to thyself.
(7)Considerthe right God has in all that is thine.If you would deny self: —(1)
Everyone must observe the temper and particular constitution of his own
soul.(2)Many may deny themselves in purpose that yet fail when they come to
act.(3)There is nothing in religionthat cannot deny pleasure and delicacyof
life.(4) We must deny ourselves in desire as well as in enjoyments.(5)
Vainglory is as sordid a piece of self, and as much to be denied, as riches and
worldly greatness.(6)We must deny ourselves, not only in ease oftemptation
to direct sin, but also for the generaladvantage of a holy life.(7) In self-denial
regard must be had to the seasons whereinwe live —
(1)Times of judgment;
(2)not to put stumbling-blocks in the way of new converts;
(3)in prosperous times.
II. THE KINDS OF SELF-DENIAL. Self must be denied so far, as 'tis
opposite to God, or put in the place of God. And therefore we may judge of
the kinds of self-denial, according to the distinct privileges of the Godhead.
1. As God is the First Cause, upon whom all things depend in their being and
operation, and so we are to deny self, that is, self-dependence.
2. God is the chiefestgoodand therefore to be valued above all beings,
interests, and concernments in the world, and so we are to deny self, that is,
self-love.
3. God is (and He alone) the highest Lord, and most absolute Sovereign, who
swayethall things by His laws and providence, and so we are to deny self, that
is, self-will, by a willing and full obedience to His laws, and by an absolute
subjection to the dominion of His providence; the one is holiness, and the
other is patience. The one relatethto His governing, the other to His
disposing, will.
4. God is the last end, in which all things do at length terminate, and so we are
to deny self, that is, self-seeking.

(T. Manton, D. D.)
Christian discipleship
John Millar.
I. IN RELIGION, CHRIST IS THE SUPREME LEADER OF MEN.
II. WHAT IS IMPLIED IN FOLLOWING CHRIST? It is to —
1. Think the thoughts of Christ.
2. To feel the feeling of Christ.
3. To work out the will of Christ.
III. THE CONDITIONS OR PERFECTDISCIPLESHIP.
1. Voluntariness.
2. Renunciationof the old life of sin and self.
3. Entire submission to Christ in all things.
4. Perseverance.
(John Millar.)
The callto follow Christ
J. D. Graves.
I. How DOES CHRIST CALL US?
1. By the voice of conscience.
2. By sickness.
3. By the death of friends.
4. By His Word.

5. By His ordinances, ministers, etc. And thus He is now speaking to us. Be not
deaf to these calls.
III. THE CHARACTER REQUIRED OF THOSE WHO HAVE MADE UP
THEIR MINDS TO FOLLOW CHRIST. They must be self-denying, and, if
need be, a suffering people (Titus 2:11, 12). Here we have an unerring
standard to try ourselves by.
(J. D. Graves.)
Self-denial not expected by carnalfancy
T. Manton, D. D.
Carnal fancy imagineth a path strewedwith lilies and roses;we are too
tender-footed to think of briars and thorns.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
The wide meaning of the word "self
T. Manton, D. D.
A capacious word, that doth not only involve our persons, but whatever is
ours, so far as it standeth in opposition to God, or cometh in competition with
Him. A man and all his lusts, a man and all his relations;a man and all his
interests;life, and all the appendages of life, is one aggregatething which in
Scripture is calledself. In short, whatsoeveris of himself, in himself, belonging
to himself, as a corrupt, or carnal, man; all that is to be denied. And indeed,
every man hath many a self within himself; his lusts are himself; his life is
himself; his name is himself; his wealth, liberty, ease, favour, lands, father,
mother, and all relations, they are comprised within the term of self (Luke
14:26).
(T. Manton, D. D.)

Self-denial not partial
T. Manton, D. D.
As Saul slew some of the cattle, but sparedthe fat, and Agag. Many can deny
themselves in many things, but they are loth to give up all to God, without
bounds and reservations.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Self-denial to be expectedon the road to heaven
T. Manton, D. D.
If a man were told that his way to such a place is encumbered with briars and
thorns, and that he must ride through many dirty lanes, and must look for
scratching brambles, and many miry places;now when he seethnothing but a
greenand pleasantpath, he would think he had mistakenand lost his way: so,
when you are told your way to heaven is a strait way, and that religionwill
put you upon self-denialof your pleasure, profit, and carnaldesires;and yet
you never wrestledwith your lusts, nor quitted anything for Christ; and meet
with nothing but pleasure, profit, and delight in the professionofreligion, you
may well think that you are mistakenin the way; and it is a greatsign you are
yet to seek in the duty, which Christ's scholars must practise.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Self-denial the A B C of religion
T. Manton, D. D.
We shall never digestthe inconveniences ofa spiritual life, till we resolve upon
it. We must make over our interests in our lives, and whateveris dear to us,
reckonthe charges (Luke 14:26). A builder spends cheerfully, as long as his
charges are within his allowance, but when that's exceeded, and he goes
beyond what he hath reckonedupon, then every penny is disbursed with

grudging. Mostresolve upon little or no trouble in religion, and from thence it
comes to pass, that when they are crossed, theyprove faint-hearted.
Therefore, put your life in your hand, and resolve to follow Christ,
wheresoeverHe goeth.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Seek gloryin God
T. Manton, D. D.
Seek honour in God. Do but change vainglory for eternal glory. That's a
lawful seeking of self, when we seek it in God (John 5:44).
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Self-denial not temporary
T. Manton, D. D.
We may hang the head for a day like a bulrush.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Self-denial regulatedby service rather than by pleasure
T. Manton, D. D.
As a traveller, when two ways are proposedto him, one pleasant, the other
very craggyand dangerous, he doth not look which way is most pleasant, but
which way conduceth to his journey's end: so a child of Goddoth not look to
what's most grateful to the flesh, but how he may do most work and service,
and glorify God upon earth.
(T. Manton, D. D.)

Self-denial must not be constrainedby providence
T. Manton, D. D.
Not as a mariner, in a storm, casts awayhis goods by force, but as a bride
leaves her father's house (Psalm 45:10). It must be out of a principle of grace,
and out of love to Christ.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Self-denial must not be selfish
T. Manton, D. D.
The devil disguisethhimself into all forms and shapes. As Jacobput on Esau's
clothes, that he might appear rough and hairy, and so getthe blessing;so,
many seemto deny themselves of the comforts of life, but it is but for their
own praise.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Self-denial more possible in Christ than in Christians
T. Manton, D. D.
They that caress themselvesin all the delights of the world, seemto profess
another master than Christ. We are of a base condition, but two or three
degrees distantfrom dust and nothing. The sun can go back ten degrees.
Christ, the Lord of Glory, might go back ten degrees, but we have not so
much to lose.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Self-denial seenmost in the bestChristians

T. Manton, D. D.
They that are the best scholars in this school, mostabhor self-conceitand self-
seeking. As the leaden boughs hang the head, and bend downward, so do the
children of God, that have been most fruitful in the Christian course;as the
sun, the higher it is, doth castthe leastshadows. So forself-seeking.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Self-denial richer for love than for lust
T. Manton, D. D.
Many a covetous man doth shame many a godly man. Religionis a better
thing. Shall lust do more with them, than the love of Christ with thee?
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Self-denial consistentin a followerof Christ
T. Manton, D. D.
When men can remit nothing of their vanity and luxury, they make
Christianity to be but a notion, and an empty pretence; they are men and
women of pleasure, when Jesus Christ was a man of sorrows.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Self-denial aided by a moderate esteemof worldly things
T. Manton, D. D.
When an earthern pitcher is broken, a man is not troubled at it, because he
hath not sethis esteemand heart upon it, being but a trifle.
(T. Manton, D. D.)

Seeking Godin Himself, not in His creatures, aids self-d
T. Manton, D. D.
enial: — The men of the world have only a candle, which is soonblown out, an
estate that may easilybe blasted; but the children of God have the sun, which
can steadthem without a candle (Hosea 2:11, 12). All the wickedman's
happiness is bound up with the vine, and fig-tree, with his estate. Consider,
your happiness doth not lie within yourselves, nor in any other creature, but
in God alone. God in Himself is much better than God in the creature. Now,
carnalmen they prize God in the creature, but not God in Himself. And
therefore, the first thing we must depend upon, is, that God is an all-sufficient
God in Himself; not God in friends, not God in wealth, but God in Himself.
We cannotsee how it canbe well without friends, and wealth, and liberty;
therefore our hearts are glued to them. Oh, take heedof this. All these things
are but severalpipes, to deliver, and convey to us, the influence of the
Supreme cause;therefore still prize God in Himself, before God in the
creature.
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Contentment a great part of self-denial
T. Manton, D. D.
To desire more, it is but to desire more snares. If I had more, I should have
more trouble, more snares, more duty. Greatergates do but open to more
care. I should have more to accountfor, more time, and more opportunity;
and alas, I cannot answerfor what I have already. If a plant be starved in the
valleys, it will never thrive on the mountains. So, if, in a low condition, we are
not able to conquer the temptation of it, what shall we do, if we had more, if
we cannot be responsible to God for what we have?
(T. Manton, D. D.)

Expectations in heaven
T. Manton, D. D.
A man will better quit that he hath upon earth, when he hath strong
expectations ofheaven (Romans 8:18).
(T. Manton, D. D.)
Self-abnegationin the prosecutionof Christ's work
David Thomas, B. A.
I. IN THE WAY OF SELF-INDULGENCE.This appears when in the
promotion of God's work we choose to do what is easyand pleasantand leave
others to do what is not in accordancewith our tastes orwhich requires
sacrifice ofany kind.
1. The moral unseemliness of it must strike us at once;when we refuse self-
indulgence in ordinary pursuits.
2. This self-indulgence shows that we lack a genuine interest in God and in His
work.
3. It hinders our own progress and successin the Christian service.
II. SELF-DEPENDENCEIS ANOTHER FORM OF THE EVIL. In the
former case too little was made of human agency;in this, too much. We do
God's work without His help.
1. The aggravatedungodliness which this self-dependence involves. In worldly
affairs our agencyis little comparedwith God's agency.
2. It hinders the action within us of the Holy Spirit.
III. SELF-SEEKING IS ANOTHER FORM OF THE EVIL.

1. Look at the shocking incongruity which self-seeking in connectionwith
God's work involves. Never more out of place than in working for God's
glory.
2. Look at what the self-seeking man suffers who indulges it. The pain of envy
as he looks atthose working on a higher plane; failure.
3. How much the cause ofChrist suffers for his self-seeking;because of it he
cannot see whatis right and best for the cause.
4. Then the loss which the self-seekersustains shouldbe considered. He loses
influence, honour, praise. It is when we seek the things of others that we find
our own. On these grounds self-abnegationshould be exercisedin God's work.
(David Thomas, B. A.)
God co-operateswith the self-sacrificing effortof man
David Thomas, B. A.
He cooperates withthe husbandman, and gives him the precious fruit of
harvest time, but not with the husbandman who consults only his own repose
and quiet and convenience, andwill do nothing toilsome and irksome in
obedience to the ordinances of nature- No; God does not reward anywhere,
that we can see, sloth, and indolence, and pleasure-loving, and disregard to
His own ordinances, with His co-operationand with His success;and He will
do it leastof all where the work is greatest, and where the service is most
glorious.
(David Thomas, B. A.)
Self-denial one aspectof religion
H. W. Beecher.
This is only one meaning of religion. If I should say of a garden, "It is a place
fenced in," what idea would you have of its clusters of roses, andpyramids of

honeysuckles,and beds of odorous flowers, and rows of blossoming shrubs
and fruit-bearing trees? If I should say of a cathedral, "It is built of stone,
cold stone," whatidea would you have of its wondrous carvings, and its
gorgeous openings fordoor and window, and its evanescing spire? Now, ifyou
regard religionmerely as self-denial, you stop at the fence, and see nothing of
the beauty of the garden; you think only of the stone, and not of the
marvellous beauty into which it is fashioned.
(H. W. Beecher.)
Victory through self-denial
H. W. Beecher.
If you would acquire skill in the handling of tools you can only getit by
earning it. Nobody canacquire it for you. Nor can you acquire it by seeing
others handle tools. Though you know how skilledworkmen bring results to
pass, you cannot bring the same results to pass unless you have yourself had
experience in handling tools. I know preciselyhow an adept musician rolls out
magnificent harmonies on the organ;but when I take his seatI cannot roll out
those harmonies. If I choose to go through suffering enough, if I am willing to
give the necessarytime that I might more pleasantly spend in some other way,
I may accomplishit, but not otherwise.
(H. W. Beecher.)
Utility through restraint
H. W. Beecher.
You may take the finest messengercoltthat ever lived, and he never will be
valuable unless he goes into the trainer's hands. Pass by the yard. See him
with the surcingle tight about him. See him with martingales on, and with his
head brought down by them. See him with bit in mouth, and guiding-reins
behind. See how fractious he is. He has lost his liberty; but he is on the way to

find it. He never would know what he is if it were not for that harness — for a
harness is not an instrument for hindering an animal's strength, but an
instrument for developing his strength. And as by breaking you keepa colt
whole, and have every part of him unwasted, not lost, so it is being broken in,
by having their wildness of nature restrained, that men come to their real
selves in skilland power.
(H. W. Beecher.)
The future goodan argument for self-restraint
H. W. Beecher.
Then Christianity did more, it carried up the whole ideal life. It not only gave
a higher conceptionof character, anda higher conceptionof the qualities that
constitute a true character;but it introduced anotherworld lying over against
this, and bearing a relation to this, just as childhood bears a relation to
manhood, making this a prelude and instrument of the other. As we begin in
childhood to deny the body for the sake ofattaining a higher nature in
manhood, so the whole life on earth is a childhood in which we deny ourselves,
not for the sake oflacking pleasure, but for the sake ofreaping glory and
immortality in the heavenly land.
(H. W. Beecher.)
Self-denial really acquisition
H. W. Beecher.
Men think, "Oh! to be a Christian I have got to give up everything." Good
heavens!Give up everything? Suppose that Newton, talking with a blubber-
eating Nootka Sound Indian, should say, "Come with me to England as my
servant, and I will educate you, and make an astronomerof you;" and
suppose the Indian should say, "No, I will not; I am not going to give up this
delicious blubber and this comfortable wigwamof mine." But what would he

give up compared with that which he would inherit? And at every step in the
Christian life we have treasures that are infinitely greaterthan those which
we lose. We lose only such things as we are a greatdeal better without than
with.
(H. W. Beecher.)
The self-denialChrist requires
J. Jortin.
I. THE SELF-DENIALWHICH CHRIST REQUIRES FROM HIS
FOLLOWERS.
1. Negatively.(a)It cannot mean, to renounce our sensesand our reason;(b)
nor to renounce our desire and hope of salvation, to be perfectly disinterested,
resigned, and annihilated, as the mystical writers callit;(c) nor to renounce
our free agencyand our acts of obedience;(d) nor to rejectthe comforts and
conveniences oflife, and to afflict and torment ourselves whennothing
requires such a sacrifice.
2. Positively.(a)To deny ourselves is to renounce every evil affectionand every
evil work, and to put off the corrupted man, in order to follow Christ;(b) to
deny or renounce our own goodworks, our own righteousness, to renounce
them so far as not to be proud of them, not to rely upon them as perfect and
meritorious;(c) to renounce all those things which concernour worldly
interests and our presentsituation, such as ease and quiet, popularity, riches,
inheritances, preferments, dignities, which we possessorpursue. There is a
way of renouncing or denying these things, in a moral sense, without
forsaking them; and that is, to entertain moderate affections for them, to
possessthem, according to the apostle's expression, as thoughwe possessed
them not; never to prefer them to our known duty in any instance, and to be
ready actually to part with them, if God should require it.
(J. Jortin.)

The duty and difficulty of self-denial
Nicholas Brady.
To row againstthe tide of one's inclinations, to stem the rapid current of one's
appetites and affections, to struggle againstthe violent motions of our will,
and to wrestle with the opposition of our contending faculties;this is an
employment that is laborious and uneasy, this is a performance that we pay
dearly for; and the rewardof such a warfare will certainly be proportionable
to the hardships and difficulties with which we have encountered.
I. EXPLAIN AND STATE RIGHTLY THE GREAT DUTY OF SELF-
DENIAL, and show wherein the exercise of it does properly consist.
1. It does not consistin utterly refusing, without distinction, all such things as
we are inclined to.
2. Neitherdoes the exercise ofself-denial at present consistin such a constant
and entire withdrawing from worldly enjoyments, as was necessarily
practisedby the first converts of Christianity.
3. The exercise of self-denialdoes indispensably consistin a total forbearance
of unlawful enjoyments, howeverfondly we may be inclined or addicted to
them.
4. The exercise of self-denialdoes further consistin weaning ourselves from all
such entertainments, as may withhold or divert us from the service of God.
5. Also in avoiding such things as are neither unlawful nor inconvenient for
us, if by using them we give just offence to our brethren.
6. Also in being habitually prepared to renounce all things, even our most
dear and most lawful enjoyments, wheneverGod or religionshall require it at
our hands.
II. LAY DOWN SOME POWERFULMOTIVES which may forcibly
persuade us to the practice of this duty.
1. The example of our blessedSaviour.

2. The immediate happy consequences ofsucha performance, and the
advantages that will attend it in this present life.
3. The vast reward which is annexed to this performance, and the benefit
which will redound to us from it in another world.
(Nicholas Brady.)
Following Christ
Matthew Hale.
I. A PRIVILEGE TO BE DESIRED AND ASPIRED TO. IN THREE GREAT
DUTIES OR QUALIFICATIONS ANNEXED TO IT.
1. Let him deny himself.(a) Deny our natural selves, that is, our reason, will,
and affections, whenthey oppose the revealedtruths and will of God.(b) Deny
our sinful and sensualselves (Titus 2:12).(c) Deny our worldly selves, thatis,
all earthly possessions, relations, andeven life itself, at His call and in His
cause.(d)Deny our righteous selves, that is, we must renounce all
righteousness ofour own, and desire to be found only in Christ's
righteousness.
2. Let him take up his cross.
3. Let him follow Christ, which includes(a) to follow His doctrine;(b) to follow
His example.
(Matthew Hale.)
Honour put on the self-denying
W. E. Channing.
He whom we love, whose honour we most covet, is he who has most denied
and subdued himself; who has made the most entire sacrifice ofappetites and
passions and private interestto God, and virtue and mankind; who has

walkedin a rugged path, and clung to goodand great ends in persecutionand
pain; who, amidst the solicitations ofambition, ease, andprivate friendship,
and the menaces of tyranny and malice, has listened to the voice of conscience,
and found a recompense for blighted hopes and protracted suffering, in
conscious uprightness and the favour of God. Who is it that is most lovely in
domestic life? It is the martyr to domestic affection, the mother forgetting
herself, and ready to toil, suffer, and die for the happiness and virtue of her
children. Who is it that we honour in public life? It is the martyr to his
country; he who serves her, not when she has honours for his brow and wealth
for his coffers, but who clings to her in her danger and falling glories, and
thinks life a cheapsacrifice to her safety and freedom.
(W. E. Channing.)
What "self" is to be denied
W. E. Channing.
? — Man has various appetites, passions, desires,resting on present
gratification, and on outward objects;some of which we possessin common
with inferior animals, such as sensualappetites and anger;and others belong
more to the mind, such as love of power, love of honour, love of property, love
of amuse-yacht, or a taste for literature and elegantarts; but all referring to
our presentbeing, and terminating chiefly on ourselves, or on a few beings
who are identified with ourselves. These are to be denied or renounced; by
which I mean not exterminated, but renounced as masters, guides, lords, and
brought into strict and entire subordination to our moral and intellectual
powers. It is a false idea that religion requires the extermination of any
principle, desire, appetite, or passion, which our Creatorhas implanted. Our
nature is a whole, a beautiful whole, and no part can be spared. You might as
properly and innocently lop off a limb from a body as eradicate any natural
desire from the mind. All our appetites are in themselves innocent and useful,
ministering to the generalwealof the soul. They are like the elements of the
natural world, parts of a wise and beneficent system;but, like those elements,
are beneficentonly when restrained.

(W. E. Channing.)
Growth of appetites
W. E. Channing.
Our appetites and desires carry with them a principle of growth or tendency
to enlargement. They expand by indulgence and, if not restrained, they fill
and exhaust the soul, and hence are to be strictly watchedover and denied.
Nature has set bounds to the desires of the brute, but not to human desire,
which partakes of the illimitableness of the soul to which it belongs. In brutes,
for example, the animal appetites impel to a certain round of simple
gratifications, beyond which they never pass. But man, having imagination
and invention, is able by these noble faculties to whet his sensualdesires
indefinitely.
(W. E. Channing.)
Duty of self-denial
Bishop Horne.
The Divine wisdom nowhere shines forth more clearly than in this precept.
I. HUMAN NATURE IS IN A STATE OF DEPRAVITY AND
CORRUPTION.Manis not upright. His passions and affections are disposed
to rebel, instead of remaining subordinate to the higher principle.
Consequently, self-denial is necessary, and so far as we practise it we advance
in virtue. We are so far humble, e.g., as we deny ourselves in the matter of
pride; so far heavenly-minded, as we deny our earthly inclinations; so far
charitable, as we deny our tempers of self-love and envy; so far temperate and
pure, as we restrain our lowerpassions and lusts.
II. THE DESIGN OF RELIGION IS TO HEAL AND RESTOREOUR
CORRUPT NATURE. If the disease is to be cured, we must abstain from
everything that tends to feed or aggravate it. Even in things lawful, we may

have to practise self-denial; as he who wishes to avoid a fall from a precipice,
if he be prudent, will not venture too near its edge. The Christian soldier, like
all others, must submit to the discipline of war in the time of peace;otherwise,
when the hour of actual service arrives, he will be found wanting. He who has
accustomedhimself to govern his thoughts and words, will easilygovern his
actions;and he who has learnedat proper seasonsto abstain, will find no
difficulty in being temperate at all times.
III. Another reasonfor self-denial is, THE INFLUENCE WHICH THE
BODY EXERTS UPON THE SOUL. The fall of man seems to have consisted
greatly in the subjection of the soul to the powerand dominion of the body. It
is Christ's work to reverse this, and subordinate the body to the soul. The
body presses downthe soul: it is the business of religion, by means of self-
denial, to remove this weight.
IV. TAKE EXAMPLE BY THE WORLDLY. There is not a votary of wealth,
pleasure, power, or fame, who cannot, and does not, when necessary, practise
self-denial, — though in so much less worthy a cause. And shall we be out-
done by such as these?
V. THINK OF THE REWARDS ANNEXED TO THE PRACTICE OF SELF-
DENIAL.
1. In the presentlife. Lightness of spirits, cheerfulness of heart, serenity of
temper, alacrity of mind, vigour of understanding, freedom from bad desires,
etc.
2. Heaven, forever.
(Bishop Horne.)
Instances of self-denialapart from religious motives
Bishop Horne., H. W. Beecher.
For the sake ofcollecting what is never to be used, and addling to his beloved
heap, the miser will forego the comforts, the conveniences, and almostthe

necessariesofexistence, and voluntarily submit, all his days, to the penances
and austerities of a mendicant. The discipline of a life of fashion is by no
means of the mildest kind; and it is common to meet with those who complain
of being worn down, and ready to sink under it. At the call of honour, a young
man of family and fortune, accustomedto a life of ease and luxury, breaks off
all home ties, and submits at once to all the painful duties and hard fare of a
camp in an enemy's country. He travels through dreary swamps and
inhospitable forests, guided only by the track of savages.He traverses
mountains, he crosses rivers, he marches hundreds of miles, with scarcely
bread to eat, or change of raiment to put on. When night comes, he sleeps on
the ground, or perhaps sleeps not at all; and at the dawn of day, resumes his
labour. At length he is so fortunate as to find his enemy. He braves death,
amid all the horrors of the field. He sees his companions fall around him, —
he is wounded, and carried into a tent, or laid in a waggon, where he is left to
suffer pain and anguish, with the noise of battle sounding in his ears. After
some weeks he recovers, andenters afreshupon duty. And does the Captain of
thy salvation, O thou who stylestthyself the soldier and servantof Jesus
Christ — does He require anything like this at thy hands? Or canstthou deem
Him an austere Master, because thouart enjoined to live in sobriety and
purity, to subdue a turbulent passion, to watch an hour sometimes unto
prayer, or to miss a meal now and then, during the seasonofrepentance and
humiliation? Blush for shame, and hide thy face in the dust.
(Bishop Horne.)Religion, in one sense, is a life of self-denial; just as
husbandry, in one sense, is a work of death. You go and bury a seed, and that
is husbandry; but you bury one, that you may reap a hundredfold. Self-denial
does not belong to religion as characteristicofit: it belongs to human life. The
lowernature must always be denied, when you are trying to rise to a higher
sphere. It is no more necessaryto be self-denying to be a Christian, than it is
to be an artist, or to be an honest man, or to be a man at all in distinction from
a brute.
(H. W. Beecher.)

Self-denial in things necessary
H. W. Beecher.
A greatmany persons deny themselves with the most superfluous self-denial.
They seek for things of which they candeny themselves. But you need not do
that. Let your opportunities for self-denial come to you; but when they do
come, do not flinch. God will send you occasions enoughfor denying yourself.
There is woodenough in every man's forest to build all the crosseshe will
need to carry.
(H. W. Beecher.)
His cross
Lapide.
Every one has his peculiar cross: one has it from his wife, or children, or
relations;another from character;a third from rivals; a fourth from
misfortunes; a fifth from poverty; a sixth from exile, bonds, and so on.
(Lapide.)
COMMENTARIES
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers
(24) Then said Jesus unto his disciples.—St. Mark adds that He “calledthe
multitude with the disciples,” and St. Luke’s “he said unto all “implies
something of the same kind. The teaching as to the unworldliness of His
kingdom which the disciples so much needed was to be generalisedin its
widest possible extent. Those who were following Him, as many did, in idle

wonder, or with the desire of earthly greatness, must do so knowing its
conditions.
If any man will come after me.—The “will” is more than a mere auxiliary;
“willeth,” “desireth” to come after.
Let him deny himself, and take up his cross.—Ourcommonthoughts of “self-
denial,” i.e., the denial to ourselves ofsome pleasure or profit, fall far short of
the meaning of the Greek. The man is to deny his whole self, all his natural
motives and impulses, so far as they come into conflict with the claims of
Christ. If he does not so deny himself, he is in danger, as Peter was (it is
significant that the same word is used in both instances), ofdenying his Lord.
The self-denialhere commanded has, accordingly, its highest type and pattern
in the actby which the Sonof God, in becoming man, “emptied Himself (see
Note on Philippians 2:7) of all that constituted, if we may so speak, the “self”
of His divine nature. The words “take up his cross,”which the disciples had
heard before (see Note on Matthew 10:38), were now clothed with a new and
more distinct meaning, by the words that spoke so clearlyof the death of
which the cross was to be the instrument.
BensonCommentary
Matthew 16:24. Then said Jesus unto his disciples — In Mark we read, When
he had calledthe people unto him, and his disciples also, he said unto them;
and in Luke, He said to them all, If any man will come after me — Ει τις
θελει, If any man be willing, no one is forced:but if any will be a Christian, it
must be on the following terms. Let him deny himself — A rule that can never
be too much observed: let him in all things deny his ownwill, however
pleasing, and do the will of God, howeverpainful. And take up his cross — Of
the origin and meaning of this phrase, see note on Matthew 10:38. And we
may here further learn, that after having undergone many afflictions and
trials, the disciples of Christ may still look for more, which, when laid upon
them, they must endeavour, by the grace of God, to sustain with equal
patience, following their Masterin the footsteps ofhis sufferings. This, indeed,
is a very hard and difficult lesson, but at the same time it is absolutely

necessary. Becauseif we grow impatient under sufferings, and endeavourto
avoid the crosseswhichGod is pleasedto lay upon us, we shall displease God,
grieve his Spirit, and bring ourselves under guilt and condemnation. And
should we not considerall crosses, allthings grievous to flesh and blood, as
what they really are, as opportunities of embracing God’s will, at the expense
of our own? and consequentlyas so many steps by which we may advance in
holiness? We should make a swift progress in the spiritual life, if we were
faithful in this practice. Crosses are so frequent, that whoevermakes
advantage of them will soonbe a greatgainer. Great crosses are occasions of
greatimprovement: and the little ones which come daily, and even hourly,
make up in number what they want in weight. We may, in these daily and
hourly crosses,make effectualoblations of our will to God: which oblations,
so frequently repeated, will soonamount to a greatsum. Let us remember,
then, (what can never be sufficiently inculcated,) that God is the author of all
events: that none is so small or inconsiderable as to escape his notice and
direction. Every event, therefore, declares to us the will of God, to which, thus
declared, we should heartily submit. We should renounce our own to embrace
it. We should approve and choose whathis choice warrants as best for us.
Herein should we exercise ourselvescontinually; this should be our practice
all the day long. We should in humility acceptthe little crossesthatare
dispensed to us, as those that best suit our weakness. Letus bear these little
things, at least, for God’s sake, andprefer his will to our own in matters of so
small importance. And his goodness willacceptthese mean oblations; for he
despisethnot the day of small things.
Matthew Henry's Concise Commentary
16:24-28 A true disciple of Christ is one that does follow him in duty, and shall
follow him to glory. He is one that walks in the same way Christ walkedin, is
led by his Spirit, and treads in his steps, whithersoeverhe goes. Lethim deny
himself. If self-denialbe a hard lesson, it is no more than what our Master
learned and practised, to redeem us, and to teachus. Let him take up his
cross. The cross is here put for every trouble that befalls us. We are apt to
think we could bear another's cross better than our own; but that is best
which is appointed us, and we ought to make the best of it. We must not by
our rashness and folly pull crossesdownupon our own heads, but must take

them up when they are in our way. If any man will have the name and credit
of a disciple, let him follow Christ in the work and duty of a disciple. If all
worldly things are worthless when comparedwith the life of the body, how
forcible the same argument with respectto the soul and its state of never-
ending happiness or misery! Thousands lose their souls for the most trifling
gain, or the most worthless indulgence, nay, often from mere sloth and
negligence. Whateveris the objectfor which men forsake Christ, that is the
price at which Satanbuys their souls. Yet one soul is worth more than all the
world. This is Christ's judgment upon the matter; he knew the price of souls,
for he redeemedthem; nor would he underrate the world, for he made it. The
dying transgressorcannotpurchase one hour's respite to seek mercyfor his
perishing soul. Let us then learn rightly to value our souls, and Christ as the
only Saviour of them.
Barnes'Notes on the Bible
This discourse is also recordedin Mark 8:34-38;Mark 9:1; and Luke 9:23-27.
Let him, deny himself - That is, let him surrender to God his will, his
affections, his body, and his soul. Let him not seek his own happiness as the
supreme object, but be willing to renounce all, and lay down his life also, if
required.
Take up his cross - See the notes at Matthew 10:38.
Jamieson-Fausset-BrownBible Commentary
24. Then said Jesus unto his disciples—Mark (Mr8:34) says, "WhenHe had
calledthe people unto Him, with His disciples also, He said unto them"—
turning the rebuke of one into a warning to all.
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow me.
Matthew Poole's Commentary
Mark hath the same, Mark 8:34, and Luke, Luke 9:23; only Mark saith, when
he had calledthe people unto him with his disciples;Luke saith, he said to

them all. He spake it to his disciples, but not privately, but before all the rest
of the people, who at that time were present.
If any man will come after me; that is, if any man will be my disciple: so it is
expounded by Luke 14:26,27, whichis a text much of the same import with
this, only what Matthew here calletha denying of himself, Luke calleth hating.
The disciples of others are called the followers of them.
Let him deny himself. To deny ourselves, is to put off our natural affections
towards the goodthings of this life, let them be pleasures, profit, honours,
relations, life, or any thing which would keepus from our obedience to the
will of God. Thus Christ did: the apostle saithhe pleasednot himself. I seek
not my own will, but the will of the Father which sent me, John 5:30 4:34,
and take up his cross;willingly and cheerfully bear those trials and afflictions
which the providence of God brings him under for owning and standing to his
profession, all which come under the name of the cross, with respectto
Christ’s cross, onwhich he suffered.
And follow me: in his taking up the cross he shall but do as I shall do,
following my example. Or else this may be lookedupon as a third term of
Christ’s discipleship, viz. yielding a universal obedience to the commandments
of Christ, or living up as near as we can to the example of Christ, 1 Peter 1:15.
This doctrine our Saviour preachethto them upon occasionofPeter’s moving
him to spare himself, by which he did but indulge his own carnal affection,
without respectto the will of God as to what Christ was to suffer for the
redemption of mankind.
Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible

Then said Jesus unto his disciples,.... Knowing that they had all imbibed the
same notion of a temporal kingdom, and were in expectationof worldly
riches, honour, and pleasure; he took this opportunity of preaching the
doctrine of the cross to them, and of letting them know, that they must
prepare for persecutions, sufferings, and death; which they must expect to
endure, as wellas he, if they would be his disciples:
if any man will come after me: that is, be a disciple and followerof him, it
being usual for the masterto go before, and the disciple to follow after him:
now let it be who it will, rich or poor, learned or unlearned, young or old,
male or female, that have any inclination and desire, or have took up a
resolution in the strength of grace, to be a disciple of Christ,
let him deny himself: let him deny sinful self, ungodliness, and worldly lusts;
and part with them, and his former sinful companions, which were as a part
of himself: let him deny righteous self, and renounce all his own works of
righteousness, inthe business of justification and salvation; let him deny
himself the pleasures and profits of this world, when in competition with
Christ; let him drop and banish all his notions and expectations ofan earthly
kingdom, and worldly grandeur, and think of nothing but reproach,
persecution, and death, for the sake of his Lord and Master:and
take up his cross;cheerfully receive, and patiently bear, every affliction and
evil, howevershameful and painful it may be, which is appointed for him, and
he is called unto; which is his peculiar cross, as everyChristian has his own;
to which he should quietly submit, and carry, with an entire resignationto the
will of God, in imitation of his Lord:
and follow me; in the exercise ofgrace, as humility, zeal, patience, and self-
denial; and in the discharge of every duty, moral, or evangelical;and through
sufferings and death, to his kingdom and glory. The allusion is, to Christ's
bearing his own cross, and Simeon's carrying it after him, which afterwards
came to pass.
Geneva Study Bible

{10} Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
(10) No men do more harm to themselves, than they that love themselves more
than God.
EXEGETICAL(ORIGINAL LANGUAGES)
Meyer's NT Commentary
Matthew 16:24 f. Comp. Mark 8:34 ff.; Luke 9:23 ff. As I must suffer, so also
must all my followers!
ὀπίσω μου ἐλθεῖν] as in Matthew 4:19.
ἑαυτόν]i.e. His own natural self; τὸ ἑαυτοῦ θέλημα τὸ φιλήδονον, τὸ
φιλόζωον, Euth. Zigabenus. To that which this θέλημα desires, He says:No!
ἀράτω τ. στ.] let him not shrink from the pain of a violent death such as He
Himself will be calledupon to endure. Comp. note on Matthew 10:38.
καὶ ἀκολ. μοι]that is, after he has takenup his cross. Whatgoes before
indicates the precise kind of following which Jesus requires. John 21:19.
According to the context, it is not a question of moral following generally(καὶ
πᾶσαν τὴν ἄλλην ἀρετὴνἐπιδεικνύσθω, Theophylact, comp. Euth. Zigabenus,
Chrysostom). But, by way of illustrating the idea of self-denial, Theophylact
appropriately refers to the example of Paul, Galatians 2:20.
Matthew 16:25. See note on Matthew 10:30.
Expositor's Greek Testament

Matthew 16:24-28. Generalinstruction on the subject of the two interests.
Cambridge Bible for Schools andColleges
24. take up his cross]StLuke adds “daily.” The expression, ch. Matthew
10:38, differs slightly, “he that taketh not his cross,”where see note.
24–28.Self-renouncementrequired in Christ’s followers. TheirReward. Mark
8:34 to Mark 9:1; Luke 9:23-27
Bengel's Gnomen
Matthew 16:24. Θέλει, κ.τ.λ., wishes, etc.)No one is compelled; but if he
wishes to do so, he must submit to the conditions.—ὀπίσω Μου ἐλθεῖν, to
come after Me) This denotes the state and profession, as ἀκολουθείτω (lethim
follow) does the duty, of a disciple.[766]—ἀπαρνησάσθω, lethim abnegate, or
utterly deny) Weighwell the force of the word in ch. Matthew 26:70. To
abnegate is to renounce oneself. Thus, in Titus 2:12, we have the simple word
ἀρνεῖσθαι, to deny; in Luke 14:33, ἀποτάσσεσθαι, to setapart from himself—
to bid farewellto, or forsake. Theseexpressions are contrastedwith ὁμολογία
confession, oraccordantprofession;see Hebrews 10:23.[767]—καὶ
ἀκολουθείτω Μοι, and follow Me) that he may be where I am.
[766]“Id denotat statum et professionem;sequatur, officium” For a person
may go after or behind another without following in his steps. In the one case,
he appears and professes to walk in his steps; in the other, he really does so:
the one implies profession—the otherinvolves practice.—(I. B.)
[767]Peterdisowns himself, when he suffers himself to do that which he had
done in the disowning of Christ. When the human feelings of Peterdesire this
or that thing, Peterretorts—I do not know Peterany longer; there is no
relationship at all betweenme and him, nor is it evident to me what the man
means or intends. Whoever has gained such poweragainsthimself, to him the

Cross is anything but irksome, and there is nothing sweeterthan the following
of Christ.—V. g.
Pulpit Commentary
Verse 24. - St. Mark tells us that Jesus calledthe multitude unto him together
with the disciples, as about to say something of universal application. The
connectionbetweenthis paragraphand what has precededis well put by St.
Chrysostom. Then. "When? when St. Petersaid, 'Be it far from thee: this
shall not be unto thee,' and was told, 'Get thee behind me, Satan.' ForChrist
was by no means satisfiedwith the mere rebuke of Peter, but, willing more
abundantly to show both the extravagance ofPeter's words and the future
benefit of his Passion, he saith, 'Thy word to me is, "Be it far from thee: this
shall not be unto thee;" but my word to thee is, "Notonly is it hurtful to thee
to impede me and to be displeasedat my Passion, but it will be impossible for
thee even to be saved, unless thou thyself too be continually prepared for
death."' Thus, lest they should think his suffering unworthy of him, not by the
former words only, but by those that were coming, he teaches themthe gain
thereof." If any man will (θέλει, wills to) come after me. To come after Christ
is to be his followerand disciple, and the Lord here declares whatwill be the
life of such a one (see a parallel passage, Matthew 10:38, 39). Jesus mentions
three points which belong to the characterof a true disciple. The first is self-
denial. Let him deny himself. There is no better test of reality and earnestness
in the religious life than this. (See a sermon of Newman's on this subject, vol.
1. serm. 5.) If a man follows Jesus, it must be by his own free will, and he must
voluntarily renounce everything that might hinder his discipleship, denying
himself even in things lawful that he may approachthe likeness ofhis Master.
Take up his cross. This is the secondpoint. St. Luke adds, "daily." He must
not only be resignedto bear what is brought upon him - suffering, shame, and
death, which he cannotescape, but be eagerto endure it, meet it with a solemn
joy, be gladthat he is counted worthy of it. Follow me. The third point. He
must be energetic and active, not passive only and resigned, but with all zeal
tracking his Master's footsteps, whichlead on the way of sorrows. Here too is
comfort; he is not called to a task as yet untried; Christ has gone before, and
in his strength he may be strong.

PRECEPTAUSTIN RESOURCES
"Come Along - and Don't ForgetYour Cross!"
Matthew 16:24-27
Theme: Those who wish to follow Jesus must follow Him by way of the cross.
(Delivered Sunday, July 8, 2007 atBethany Bible Church. Unless otherwise
noted, all Scripture references are takenfrom The Holy Bible, New King
James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
We've been studying togetherfrom a very important portion of Matthew's
Gospel—a truly pivotal point in the story of our Savior's earthly ministry.
Peterhad just made that important confessionaboutJesus—"Youare the
Christ, the Son of the living God" (Matthew 16:16); and Jesus had just
affirmed that confessionas authoritative; saying that it was a word of truth
given to Peter from the heavenly Father Himself. And it's then that we read
this shocking piece ofnews from that very same Christ, the Son of the living
God:
From that time Jesus beganto show to His disciples that He must go to
Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and
scribes, and be killed, and be raisedthe third day (Matthew 16:21).
The cross was a divine necessity. As Jesus Himself said, He "must" go to the
cross. It was the Father's set purpose for Him; because it was there that the
Son of God would lay down His life on behalf of sinners, and die for their sins.
The disciples struggledto graspthis. Petereven found the idea so repulsive
that he dared to pull the Savior aside to rebuke Him for His words. But Jesus

made it clearthat He would not be turned awayfrom the Father's purpose.
He would setHimself to mind the things of God—and not the things of men
(v. 23).
And it's in this remarkable context that we come to our passage this morning.
Immediately after Jesus had assertedthat it was the Father's purpose for Him
to go to the cross and lay down His life for His friends—and that He Himself
was absolutelydetermined to go forward and fulfill the Father's purpose for
Him—He then turns to His disciples and calls them to do as He was now going
to do for them. If they wanted to follow Him, they also would need to go the
way of the cross.
Then Jesus saidto His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him
deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoeverdesires to
save his life will lose it, but whoeverloses his life for My sake will find it. For
what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?
Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man will
come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each
according to his works" (Matthew 16:20-27).
* * * * * * * * * *
I had a chance, not long ago, to visit with an unbelieving friend. We sipped
coffee together, and talkedfor a while about the Christian faith. One of the
things that I love about my friend is that he is very honestand open with me.
And so, in the course ofour conversation, I askedhim about what it was that
was keeping him from turning his life over to Christ and trusting Him fully as
Savior and Lord.
He talked with me about some of the doubts and intellectual questions he had
about the Christian faith; and I tried my best to answerthem. And near the
end of the conversation, Ibelieve we gotto the bottom-line on the matter. He
told me plainly that the ultimate reasonhe didn't want to give his life to Christ
is because he knew where following Christ would lead him in life; and he quite
frankly didn't want to go there. He knew the demands that Christ would
make of him; and he didn't want to give up the things in life that Christ would
require him to surrender.

Though I appreciatedby my friend's honesty, I was saddenedhis choice. And
I'm still praying for him. But one thing that strikes me about my friend is that
he recognizes something that very few people—evensome professing
Christians—seemto recognize. He recognizesthat there is a tremendous cost
involved in following Jesus. Myfriend recognizes thatJesus demands nothing
less than a total commitment from those who choose to follow Him; and that
whoeverfollows Him must be prepared to give Him everything that they are
and have.
This shouldn't come as a surprise. Jesus taughtthis clearly. Luke, in his
Gospelaccount, tells us,
Now greatmultitudes went with Him. And He turned and said to them, “If
anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and
children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannotbe My
disciple. And whoever does not bear his cross andcome after Me cannot be
My disciple. For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down
first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it—lest, after he has
laid the foundation, and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him,
saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish’? Or what king,
going to make war againstanotherking, does not sit down first and consider
whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes againsthim with
twenty thousand? Or else, while the other is still a greatway off, he sends a
delegationand asks conditions of peace. So likewise, whoeverofyou does not
forsake allthat he has cannot be My disciple" (Luke 14:25-33).
Think of that! Jesus didn't just say that, unless we forsake allthat we have, we
would find it 'hard' or 'difficult' to be His disciple. He lays it on the line:
Unless we forsake allthat we have, we "cannot" be His disciple. He said so
three times in that passage alone;that unless the commitment is total, we
“cannot” be His disciple.
It seems to me that Jesus oftensaid this to weed-outmany of His "would-be"
followers. Manybegan to follow Him. But then, in the midst of their following,
He would turn to them and remind them of what "following" Him would
really require of them. And as a result, many of them left Him and followed

Him no further. They had counted the costand decided that they didn't want
to pay it.
I believe Jesus does the same thing to many of us today—evento those of us in
church, and who already claim to be His followers. We may sincerelybelieve
that we are following Jesus, and believe that we have done so for most of our
lives. And suddenly, there comes a crisis moment when Jesus turns to us and
says what He says in this morning's passage. Suddenly, we come face to face—
in a fresh way—with the realcostof following Jesus. Suddenly, we have to
make a decision:Will we genuinely count the costand continue to follow
Him? Or will we stop dead in our tracks, cling to our own life as the most
precious thing to us, and decide that we will follow Him no further?
I'm not sure but that there may even be severaltimes in our lives in which the
Lord finds it necessaryto confronts us with the costof following Him. Because
He loves us so much, and is so jealous for our complete devotion, I suspect
that He is willing to do this again and again in our lives; until He fully weans
us of the vain things of this world, and truly has full possessionof our hearts.
* * * * * * * * * *
In this morning's passage, ourSavioronce again confronts us with the costof
being His disciple. Jesus reminds us that those who wish to follow Him must
follow Him by way of the cross. And I suggestthat we welcome this reminder.
I suggestthat we remember that it comes from Someone who loves us so much
that He willingly laid down His life for us, and who desires, above all else, our
eternal joy with Him in glory. Let's allow the Holy Spirit to use this reminder
to move us to the place in following Jesus that He wants us to be.
First, let's pay particular attention to . . .
1. THE COMMITTMENTJESUS DEMANDSOF THOSE WHO DESIRE
TO COME AFTER HIM (v. 24).
In our passage, Jesus turned to His twelve disciples and spoke. ButHis words
were clearly meant for a largeraudience than just the twelve alone. He gives

an invitation that is wide-opento all of humanity. He says, "If anyone desires
to come after Me . . ."
We often have discussions in our church family about the doctrine of
election—thatGod sovereignlychooses beforehandthose whom He would
redeem. I believe in that doctrine. I believe that we must acceptit, because it's
clearly taught in the Bible. But I often maintain that it's only half the story;
and here, in Jesus'introductory words, is the other half. If anyone—whoever
they may be—genuinely desires to come after Jesus, they're welcomedto do
so. Both doctrines are true. Jesus Himself has affirmed both in just one verse.
He said, "All that the Father gives Me will come to Me, and the one who
comes to Me I will by no means castout" (John 6:37). No one has to fret or
worry about whether or not they are one of 'the elect'before they come to
Jesus. If they want to come to Him, they are welcomedto come and follow. He
invites all to come; and He rejects no one who accepts the invitation.
But take very carefulnote of that important word "if" that we find at the
beginning of that wonderful invitation. It highlights the essentialcondition of
"coming after" Him. "If anyone desires to come after Me," He says, then let
that personfulfill the three crucial requirements that Jesus demands of all
who would come after Him: ". . . [L]et him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow Me."
* * * * * * * * * *
First, Jesus tells us that we must deny ourselves.
Jesus isn't simply speaking here of a minor little actof denying ourselves
something that we want—like a bowl of ice-creamafterdinner. Nor is He
speaking ofthe more extreme forms of self-denialthat we see in many of the
religions of the world. Many have denied themselves many things, and
thought that they were being very spiritual in the process. And yet, they were
actually focusing in on themselves the whole time. Jesus isn't merely speaking
of “denying” ourselves something. He is speaking of nothing less than a full
denial and renunciation of our very "selves".

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