³⁴ And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. ³⁵ For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. ³⁶ For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? ³⁷ For what can a man give in return for his soul? ³⁸ For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

1) What does it mean to deny oneself?
Using a Bible dictionary, we see that in this case, deny means “to forget one’s self, lose sight of one’s self and one’s own interests.” Jesus is saying that to truly follow Him, you have to love Him more than you love yourself, and care about His purposes more than you care about your own interests.

2) What does it mean to take up one’s cross?
To a first-century Jew, a cross meant one thing—an instrument of death. Crucifixion was a well-known form of capital punishment, and criminals were made to carry the cross upon which they would be executed. When Jesus tells his followers that they must take up their cross, He is saying that they must be prepared to submit to the weight of the sufferings and persecutions that come with being a Christ-follower. The cost of following Jesus means laying down selfish ambition and pride and choosing instead to surrender to the Savior. For some, it might even mean literal death.

3) In verse 35, is Jesus talking about physical life or something else?
Verse 36 gives the answer here. Christ is talking about physical life and the eternal soul. If a person is concerned about saving his physical life, and determines that following Christ carries too great a cost, he will lose his eternal soul (when he dies and is separated from Christ forever in hell). But a person who regards Christ and the gospel as worthy of giving his life for will save his eternal soul, even if he physically dies. This is not to say that martyrs go to heaven simply because they were martyrs—that is a works-based salvation that is not taught anywhere in the Bible. But those who spend their lives for Christ show by their actions that their hearts truly believe and trust in Him. Amassing great wealth and accomplishments in this world will not help you in eternity if your soul is not hidden in Christ.

4) What does it mean to be ashamed of Jesus in this passage?
Using the context of this passage, being ashamed of Jesus means rejecting Him and His message. Christ was not the valiant, conquering king that the Jewish people were expecting their Messiah to be. Instead, He was telling them that following Him would involve suffering—and this message made many people ashamed of Him, unwilling to lose their earthly lives for His sake.

1) What does it mean to deny oneself?
Do I truly deny myself daily to follow Christ? Or am I just trying to fit Him in around my own interests? Consider ways you have been usurping Christ’s rightful place as king of your heart by placing yourself on the throne. Where have you pushed Him aside to let you and your own agendas reign?

2) What does it mean to take up one’s cross?
Understanding the Gospel and knowing God better make it easy to choose a cross over an easy life. If you are feeling afraid of suffering, your view of God may need to increase. Ask God to show Himself to you through His word and through those around you this week. The glory we will one day gain, far surpasses any suffering we might endure here on earth; the question we need to answer is, are we all in for Christ?

3) In verse 35, is Jesus talking about physical life or something else?
It can be so difficult to keep our attention away from pursuing the comforts of this life more than the purposes of Christ. Is there something in your life that you have placed above Christ? Repent of your idolatry, and ask Him to help you seek Him first.

4) What does it mean to be ashamed of Jesus in this passage?
Even those of us who have already placed our faith and trust in Christ can still be tempted to be ashamed of Him. When we choose not to tell someone about Him because we are afraid of what they might think of us, we are showing that we are still somewhat ashamed of Him. Ask God to make you fully convinced that He is better than any comfort, and ask Him to help you to glorify Him in front of everyone!

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We love getting help while we study and www.studylight.org is one of many excellent resources.  Just type in the verse you’re looking at and Boom! It’s right in front of you in English and Hebrew (Old Testament) or Greek (New Testament), which are the original languages the Bible was written in.

Want to know more about a specific word in a verse? Click on “Strong’s Interlinear Bible” then click the word you’d like to study. Find super awesome stuff like “origin”, “definition”, and even all the different ways that single word has been translated into English! If you want to be geeky, you can even click the word and hear its original pronunciation – That Is Awesome!

Want to get more background on a word or phrasing or passage? Click “Study Tools”, then pick a few commentaries to read their scholarly approach, keeping in mind that just because a commentary says it, doesn’t mean it’s true. (just like the internet :-))

Finding the original meaning is a huge deal when we study Scripture and can make all the difference in our understanding as we apply God’s truths to our everyday lives.

In our modern-day relationships, we want people to understand our original intention as we communicate; how much more so between God and humanity?!

Here’s a little bit more on why we take Digging Deeper so seriously.

Embracing God’s fullness in our lives is rooted in scripture and memorizing His word is vital to our continued growth and depth with Jesus.
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