Matthew 16:24–26
Following him means denying yourself and taking up your cross
Study it word by word24Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.
25For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for the sake of me will find it.
26For what will it profit a person if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what will a person give in exchange for his life?
In its context
22And Peter, taking him aside, began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This will never happen to you.”
23But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me, because you are not thinking the things of God but the things of men.”
…
27For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of his Father with his angels, and then he will repay each one according to his conduct.
28Truly I tell you, there are some of those standing here who will certainly not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”
Its words in the original
- ΤότεTote· then
Then, at that time.
- ἸησοῦςIēsous· Jesus
Jesus, the Greek form of the Hebrew Yehoshua (Joshua), which means "YHWH saves". It is the name the angel told Joseph to give him (Matthew 1:21).
- εἶπενeipen· say
Say, speak; in the passive, "be called".
- μαθηταῖςmathētais· disciple
Disciple: someone who learns from a teacher and follows him in order to live as he does.
- θέλειthelei· want, wish
Want, wish, be willing.
- ὀπίσωopisō· behind, after
Behind; after.
- ἐλθεῖνelthein· come, go
Come, arrive; go.
- ἀπαρνησάσθωaparnēsasthō· deny, disown
Deny utterly, disown. To "deny oneself" is to stop living for oneself.
- ἀράτωaratō· lift, take away
Lift up, carry; also take away.
- σταυρὸνstauron· cross
Cross: the wooden stake of Roman execution.
- ἀκολουθείτωakoloutheitō· follow
Follow, go after someone; follow him as a disciple.
- ψυχὴνpsychēn· soul, life
Soul: a person's life, the person himself.
- σῶσαιsōsai· save
Save, rescue from danger or death; also heal from an illness.
- ἀπολέσειapolesei· destroy, perish
Destroy, cause to perish; in the middle voice, perish, be lost.
- ἕνεκενheneken· because of
On account of, for the sake of.
- εὑρήσειheurēsei· find
Find; in the passive, turn out to be, be found to be so.
- ὠφεληθήσεταιōphelēthēsetai· help, benefit
Help, be of use.
- ἄνθρωποςanthrōpos· human being, man
Human being, person, man (without distinguishing male or female).
- κόσμονkosmon· world
World: what God created; also humanity, and humanity living with its back turned to God.
- ὅλονholon· whole, all
Whole, entire, all.
- κερδήσῃkerdēsēi· gain
Gain, win.
- ζημιωθῇzēmiōthēi· lose, suffer loss
Lose, suffer loss.
- δώσειdōsei· give
Give.
- ἀντάλλαγμαantallagma· exchange
Something given in exchange, the price of a trade.