Luke 9:23

23 And he said to them all, "If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me. ¹

Luke 9:23 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 9:23

And he said to them all
Not only to all the disciples, but "to the multitude", as the Arabic version renders it, who were now called unto him, with his disciples, as is clear from ( Mark 8:34 ) ,

any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross daily, and follow me;
the same is said here, as in ( Matthew 16:24 ) ( Mark 8:34 ) , (See Gill on Matthew 16:24), (See Gill on Mark 8:34), only here the word, "daily", is added; and which, though as Beza observes, is not in the Complutensian edition, nor in five ancient copies; yet is in others, and in the Vulgate Latin, and in all the Oriental versions; and to be retained, as having a very considerable emphasis in it; showing that afflictions, trials, and persecutions of one sort or another, are to be expected every day by the people of God, and to be continually submitted to, and borne with cheerfulness.

Luke 9:23 In-Context

21 Then Jesus gave them strict orders not to tell this to anyone.

22 He also told them, "The Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the teachers of the Law. He will be put to death, but three days later he will be raised to life."

23 And he said to them all, "If you want to come with me, you must forget yourself, take up your cross every day, and follow me.

24 For if you want to save your own life, you will lose it, but if you lose your life for my sake, you will save it.

25 Will you gain anything if you win the whole world but are yourself lost or defeated? Of course not!

Cross References

• 1. 9.23Matthew 10.38;Luke 14.27.