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"He that loveth father or mother more than Me, is not worthy of Me; and he that
loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me. And he that taketh not his
cross, and followeth after Me is not worthy of Me. He that findeth his soul (psuche) shall
lose it, but he that loses his soul on My account shall find it."
"Then said Jesus unto His disciples, If any one wishes to come after Me, let him deny
himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whosoever may wish to save his soul
shall lose it; and whosoever loses his soul on My account shall find it. For what is a man
profited, if he should gain the whole world and suffer loss of his soul; or what shall a man
give as a ransom for his soul? For the Son of man shall come in the glory of His Father
with His mighty angels, and then shall He reward every man according to his works."
Mark 8: 34-38 is similar to Matt. 16: 24-27, therefore we refrain from quoting it
here. Mark 10: 21 must be read in its context. Someone came and asked the Lord what
he should do that he might inherit aionian life. The Lord referred him to the
commandments. All these he had kept from his youth.
"Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go
thy way, sell whatever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in
heaven, and come, take up the cross and follow Me."
Luke 9: 23-26 is very similar to Matt. 16: 24-27 and Mark 8: 34-38. Luke 14: 27
is set in a context similar to that of Matt. 10: 38 quoted above. The words of Matt., "to
love more than", are exchanged here for a strong figure, "to hate". The passage is
immediately followed by two parables, where the great point is "counting the cost", and
concludes:--
"So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be
My disciple."
Every passage is insistent upon one aspect of truth. The denial of self and all thins
that pertain to this life, even extending to the dearest of earthly kinships. There is also in
each case a reference to future recompense. The cross is associated with the crown, the
suffering with the glory, the loss with the gain. It would be too great a digression to deal
with the use of the word "soul" in these passages. Suffice it to say that these and similar
passages have no connection with salvation in its evangelical sense. This study we can
reserve (together with any other side issues), for the close of this series. We feel that
unless we are fully aware of the context of the Lord's references to the cross as a mark of
self-denying discipleship, we shall possibly miss the true significance of the cross of
Christ itself, and be liable to import lessons and doctrines foreign to it.
The cross of Christ is not referred to in the epistle to the Romans. That such a basic
epistle, dealing with such fundamentals as justification by faith, should be under no
necessity to refer directly to the cross of Christ, is a fact that needs to be kept in mind. In
I Cor. 1: 17, 18 the apostle refers to it:--
"For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel; not with wisdom of words,
lest the cross of Christ be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is to them
that perish foolishness; but unto us that are saved it is the power of God."
So in verse 21 we read of "the foolishness of the proclamation", and in verse 23 of
a "stumbling block" and "foolishness", "that no flesh should boast in His presence. . . .