Luke 9:23

Then Jesus said to all of them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me.

Berean Standard Bible

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Study note

Setting — Jesus addresses all listeners immediately after predicting His suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection, framing discipleship as a conditional requirement for anyone who desires to follow Him.

The words — Ἔλεγεν (Elegen) denotes continuous action as "He was saying," while ὀπίσω (opisō) literally means "after," establishing the spatial and relational direction of the call.

The thread — The demand to bear a cross and follow appears in Matthew 10:38, the radical priority requirement in Luke 14:26, and the parallel instruction to put to death bodily deeds in Romans 8:13.

Why it lands — The text requires any listener who wants to come after Jesus to deny himself, carry his cross daily, and pursue His path, directly tying daily self-renunciation to the act of following.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

Cross-references

Matthew 10:38 and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me.
Luke 14:26 “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters—yes, even his own life—he cannot be My disciple.
Romans 8:13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
John 12:25 Whoever loves his life will lose it, but whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life.
Mark 8:34 Then Jesus called the crowd to Him along with His disciples, and He told them, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.
Colossians 3:5 Put to death, therefore, the components of your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed, which is idolatry.
Titus 2:12 It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
2 Timothy 3:12 Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,
Matthew 16:22 Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”
1 Corinthians 15:30 And why do we endanger ourselves every hour?