The Meaning of Matthew 16:24 Explained

Matthew 16:24

KJV: 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.

YLT: Then said Jesus to his disciples, 'If any one doth will to come after me, let him disown himself, and take up his cross, and follow me,

Darby: Then Jesus said to his disciples, If any one desires to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

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

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Matthew 16:24 Mean?

Verse Meaning

Discipleship would require self-denial in the most fundamental areas of individuality. What Jesus said applies to anyone who really wants to follow Him. The Jews had renounced Jesus, but His disciples must renounce themselves (cf. Matthew 10:33; Romans 14:7-9; Romans 15:2-3). The Romans customarily compelled someone condemned to crucifixion to carry at least part of his own cross. This act gave public testimony to his being under and submissive to the rule he had opposed. This was both a punishment and a humiliation. Likewise Jesus" disciples must publicly declare their submission to the One whom they formerly rebelled against. [1]
Jesus did not explicitly identify the method of His death until later ( Matthew 20:19), but the disciples understood at least initially what Jesus meant about the price they would have to pay.
"Death to self is not so much a prerequisite of discipleship to Jesus as a continuing characteristic of it ..." [2]
"(I once met a lady who told me her asthma was the cross she had to bear!)" [3]
Asthma, or another similar affliction, is not the type of cross that Jesus had in mind. Self-denial as Jesus taught it does not involve denying oneself things as much as it does denying one"s own authority over his or her life (cf. Matthew 4:19; John 12:23-26). This is the great challenge. The three verbs in this challenge are significant. The first two, "deny" and "take up," are aorist imperatives indicating a decisive action. The last one, "follow," is a present imperative indicating a continuing action.

Context Summary

Matthew 16:21-28 - Bear The Cross For Jesus
The gospel has two parts: Jesus is the Christ; and the Christ must suffer, if He shall enter His glory. Our Lord made sure of the first, before He held to the second. There had been veiled hints of His death before, as in John 2:19; Matthew 9:15; Matthew 12:40; but henceforth it was taught without a veil. The Cross had always cast its shadow over our Lord's path. He did not die as the martyr on whom death comes unexpectedly, but He stepped from the throne and became incarnate that He might die. Notice that solemn must, Matthew 16:21.
How soon Peter fell from his high estate! Beware! The voice that bids us spare ourselves is Satan's. Self-pleasing ends in destruction. Self-denial and self-sacrifice are the divine path to life. Let us be more eager to lose ourselves than to find ourselves; more set on the cross than on the glory; more eager to promote the well-being of others than our own. We do not choose or make our cross; Christ gives each a little bit of His true Cross to bear as He pleases. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 16

1  The Pharisees require a sign
5  Jesus warns his disciples of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees
13  The people's opinion of Jesus,
16  and Peter's confession of him
21  Jesus foretells his death;
23  reproves Peter for dissuading him from it;
24  and admonishes those who will follow him, to bear the cross

Greek Commentary for Matthew 16:24

Take up his cross [αρατω τον σταυρον αυτου]
Pick up at once, aorist tense. This same saying in Matthew 10:38, which see. But pertinent here also in explanation of Christ‘s rebuke to Peter. Christ‘s own cross faces him. Peter had dared to pull Christ away from his destiny. He would do better to face squarely his own cross and to bear it after Jesus. The disciples would be familiar with cross-bearing as a figure of speech by reason of the crucifixion of criminals in Jerusalem. [source]
Follow [ακαλουτειτω]
Present tense. Keep on following. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 16:24

Matthew 27:32 His cross [τον σταυρον αυτου]
Jesus had used the term cross about himself (Matthew 16:24). It was a familiar enough picture under Roman rule. Jesus had long foreseen and foretold this horrible form of death for himself (Matthew 20:19; Matthew 23:24; Matthew 26:2). He had heard the cry of the mob to Pilate that he be crucified (Matthew 27:22) and Pilate‘s surrender (Matthew 27:26) and he was on the way to the Cross (Matthew 27:31). There were various kinds of crosses and we do not know precisely the shape of the Cross on which Jesus was crucified, though probably the one usually presented is correct. Usually the victim was nailed (hands and feet) to the cross before it was raised and it was not very high. The crucifixion was done by the soldiers (Matthew 27:35) in charge and two robbers were crucified on each side of Jesus, three crosses standing in a row (Matthew 27:38). [source]
Mark 8:34 Deny himself [απαρνησαστω εαυτον]
Say no to himself, a difficult thing to do. Note reflexive along with the middle voice. Ingressive first aorist imperative. See note on Matthew 16:24 about taking up the Cross. The shadow of Christ‘s Cross was already on him (Mark 8:31) and one faces everyone. [source]
Luke 14:27 His own cross [τον σταυρον εαυτο]
This familiar figure we have had already (Luke 9:23; Mark 8:34; Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24). Each follower has a cross which he must bear as Jesus did his. ασταζω — Bastazō is used of cross bearing in the N.T. only here (figuratively) and John 19:17 literally of Jesus. Crucifixion was common enough in Palestine since the days of Antiochus Epiphanes and Alexander Jannaeus. [source]
Luke 9:23 He said unto all [ελεγεν δε προς παντας]
This is like Luke (cf. Luke 9:43). Jesus wanted all (the multitude with his disciples, as Mark 8:34 has it) to understand the lesson of self-sacrifice. They could not yet understand the full meaning of Christ‘s words as applied to his approaching death of which he had been speaking. But certainly the shadow of the cross is already across the path of Jesus as he is here speaking. For details (soul, life, forfeit, gain, profit, lose, world) see notes on Matthew 16:24-26 and note on Mark 8:34-37. The word for lose (απολεσει — apolesei from απολλυμι — apollumi a very common verb) is used in the sense of destroy, kill, lose, as here. Note the mercantile terms in this passage (gain, lose, fine or forfeit, exchange). [source]
John 1:43 Follow [ἀκολούθει]
Often used in the New Testament with the special sense of following as a disciple or partisan. See Matthew 4:20, Matthew 4:22; Matthew 9:9; Mark 1:18; John 8:12. Also with the meaning of cleaving steadfastly to one and conforming to his example. See Matthew 10:38; Matthew 16:24; John 12:26. The verb occurs but once outside of the writings of the Evangelists, 1 Corinthians 10:4. It appears in the noun acolyte, or acolyth, or acolothist, a church-servant ranking next below a subdeacon, whose duty it was to trim the lamps, light the church, prepare the sacramental elements, etc. Under the Byzantine emperors the captain of the emperor's bodyguard was called Acolouthos, or the Follower. See Scott's “Count Robert of Paris.” [source]
1 Thessalonians 3:3 We are appointed [κείμεθα]
As Luke 2:34(see note); Philemon 1:17. Comp. Acts 14:22, in which occur four of the words used here. For the thought, see Matthew 5:10; Matthew 10:17; Matthew 16:24; 1 Peter 2:21ff.; 1 Peter 4:12; 2 Timothy 3:12. [source]
1 Timothy 5:15 After Satan [οπισω του Σατανα]
“Behind Satan.” Late use of οπισω — opisō (behind) as a preposition. Used by Jesus of disciples coming behind (after) him (Matthew 16:24). [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 16:24 mean?

Then - Jesus said to disciples of Him If anyone desires after Me to come let him deny himself and take up the cross follow Me
Τότε Ἰησοῦς εἶπεν τοῖς μαθηταῖς αὐτοῦ Εἴ τις θέλει ὀπίσω μου ἐλθεῖν ἀπαρνησάσθω ἑαυτὸν καὶ ἀράτω τὸν σταυρὸν ἀκολουθείτω μοι

  - 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
Ἰησοῦς  Jesus 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: Ἰησοῦς  
Sense: Joshua was the famous captain of the Israelites, Moses’ successor.
εἶπεν  said 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: λέγω  
Sense: to speak, say.
μαθηταῖς  disciples 
Parse: Noun, Dative Masculine Plural
Root: μαθητής  
Sense: a learner, pupil, disciple.
αὐτοῦ  of  Him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
τις  anyone 
Parse: Interrogative / Indefinite Pronoun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: τὶς  
Sense: a certain, a certain one.
θέλει  desires 
Parse: Verb, Present Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: θέλω  
Sense: to will, have in mind, intend.
ὀπίσω  after 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ὀπίσω 
Sense: back, behind, after, afterwards.
μου  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
ἐλθεῖν  to  come 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Infinitive Active
Root: ἔρχομαι  
Sense: to come.
ἀπαρνησάσθω  let  him  deny 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Middle, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀπαρνέομαι  
Sense: to deny.
ἑαυτὸν  himself 
Parse: Reflexive Pronoun, Accusative Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἑαυτοῦ  
Sense: himself, herself, itself, themselves.
ἀράτω  take  up 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: αἴρω  
Sense: to raise up, elevate, lift up.
σταυρὸν  cross 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: σταυρός  
Sense: an upright stake, esp.
ἀκολουθείτω  follow 
Parse: Verb, Present Imperative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀκολουθέω  
Sense: to follow one who precedes, join him as his attendant, accompany him.
μοι  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Dative 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.