Every one who would be Jesus his follower must sacrifice himself

24. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

As our Lord, to fulfill his destiny, must sacrifice himself, so also must every one who would be his follower. To keep close to our Lord (which he intends by the words “come after me,”) we must have done with self, for he denied himself to redeem his people. We must not know self, nor assent to it, but we must each one “deny himself.” Doing this, each man must cheerfully shoulder his own personal burden of sorrow and service, and carry it with self-sacrifice, as Jesus carried his cross.

He had told them of his cross, now he tells them of their own crosses. They might now choose again whether they could and would follow him. With their increased information as to his destiny, the question was again set before them, whether they would follow or forsake him. If they did continue to be his followers, it must be as cross-bearers and self-deniers.

Nor are the terms altered in these days. Do we accept them?
Can we keep step in the long procession of crosscarriers, or will we fall in with the spirit of the age, and say fine things about Jesus, while we deny his substitutionary sacrifice, and shirk the personal selfdenial which he demands?
Our own wisdom, if it leads us to think lightly of “the precious blood,” must be utterly denied and even abhorred.

– Charles H. Spurgeon

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Preceding

Meaning of Sacrifice

We are redeemed; we are “bought with a price”

More than just a man with authority of speaking

Matthew 7:13-23 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The True Disciple #5 Matthew 7:28-29 – The Crowd’s Reaction

Matthew 9:32-34 – How others look at the blind, speechless and demoniac being healed

Matthew 9:35-38 – Looking at Jesus our shepherd

Matthew 10:24-31 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Do Not Fear – Preach!

Matthew 10:32-39 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: I Came to Cause Division

Matthew 12:46-50 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The True Family of Messiah

Matthew 16 Asking for signs from heaven

Matthew 16 Calvin’s view

Matthew 16 Spurgeon’s view

Matthew 16:1-4 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: The Signs of the Times

Matthew 16:5-12 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Watch Out for the Leaven of False Teaching

Matthew 16:13-20 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Building a Hades-Proof Congregation

Matthew 16:21-23 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: Think God’s Thoughts

Matthew 16:24-28 – The Nazarene’s Commentary: A Disciple Must Disown Self

Demanding signs or denying yourself

To follow Christ

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Additional reading

1. Self-preservation is the highest law of nature
2. A treasure which can give me everything I need
3. To sacrifice our being for Christ
4. The Realm of profession in Christianity

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Related

1. I truly believed, and most definitely behaved, as if I was somebody.
2. Deepening our Faith in Christ
3. Loss & Found
4. Fruit Bearer
5. I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God
6. St. John’s Contemplative Gospel – Selfless Serving Of Others (Chapter 13)
7. Do We Look at Them and Love Them?
8. Standing out and blending in
9. Selflessness vs. Self-care, the Perpetual Dilemma
10. B.B. Warfield – Christ’s Self-Sacrifice and Our’s
11. Are You Sacrificing Yourself