Luke 14:27

27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and {follow} me {cannot be} my disciple.

Luke 14:27 Meaning and Commentary

Luke 14:27

Whosoever doth not bear his cross
All reproach, afflictions, persecutions, and death itself, cheerfully and patiently; the Ethiopic version renders it, "of his death the cross"; it signifies whatever is trying and disagreeable to flesh and blood:

and come after me;
bearing his cross; as Christ himself was about to do, and which doubtless he had in view;

cannot be my disciple;
he is not so in reality, nor does he deserve the name.

Luke 14:27 In-Context

25 Now large crowds were going along with him, and he turned around [and] said to them,

26 "If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, and furthermore, even his own life, {he cannot be} my disciple.

27 Whoever does not carry his own cross and {follow} me {cannot be} my disciple.

28 For which of you, wanting to build a tower, does not first sit down [and] calculate the cost [to see] if he has [enough] {to complete it}?

29 {Otherwise} [after] he has laid the foundation and is not able to finish [it], all who see [it] will begin to ridicule him,

Footnotes

• [a]. Literally "come after"
• [b]. Literally "is not able to be"