Take Up the Cross and Follow Him(A)

23 (B)Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross [a]daily, and follow Me. 24 (C)For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 9:23 M omits daily

23 And He was saying to them all, (A)If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For (B)whoever wants to save his [a]life will lose it, but whoever loses his [b]life for My sake, this is the one who will save it.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 9:24 Or soul
  2. Luke 9:24 Or soul

23 And He was saying to them all, “If anyone wishes to follow Me [as My disciple], he must deny himself [set aside selfish interests], and take up his cross daily [expressing a willingness to endure whatever may come] and follow Me [believing in Me, conforming to My example in living and, if need be, suffering or perhaps dying because of faith in Me]. 24 For whoever wishes to save his life [in this world] will [eventually] lose it [through death], but whoever loses his life [in this world] for My sake, he is the one who will save it [from the consequences of sin and separation from God].

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23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.

24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.

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33 So likewise, whoever of you (A)does not forsake all that he has cannot be My disciple.

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33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who (A)does not [a]give up all his own possessions.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 14:33 Or renounce

33 So then, none of you can be My disciple who does not [carefully consider the cost and then for My sake] [a]give up all his own possessions.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 14:33 Jesus probably is referring to a willingness and commitment to do so when necessary. Discipleship does not require poverty.

33 So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple.

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14 (A)Pursue peace with all people, and holiness, (B)without which no one will see the Lord:

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14 (A)Pursue peace with all people, and the (B)holiness without which no one will (C)see the Lord.

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14 Continually pursue peace with everyone, and the sanctification without which no one will [ever] see the Lord.

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14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

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Jesus Counsels the Rich Young Ruler(A)

16 (B)Now behold, one came and said to Him, (C)“Good[a] Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”

17 So He said to him, [b]“Why do you call Me good? [c]No one is (D)good but One, that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, (E)keep the commandments.”

18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”

Jesus said, (F)“‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 (G)‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, (H)‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’

20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have (I)kept [d]from my youth. What do I still lack?”

21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, (J)go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 19:16 NU omits Good
  2. Matthew 19:17 NU Why do you ask Me about what is good?
  3. Matthew 19:17 NU There is One who is good. But
  4. Matthew 19:20 NU omits from my youth

The Rich Young Ruler

16 (A)And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what good thing shall I do so that I may obtain (B)eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why are you asking Me about what is good? There is only One who is good; but (C)if you want to enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 Then he *said to Him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, (D)You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony; 19 (E)Honor your father and mother; and (F)You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man *said to Him, “All these I have kept; what am I still lacking?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be [a]complete, go and (G)sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have (H)treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”

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Footnotes

  1. Matthew 19:21 Or perfect

The Rich Young Ruler

16 And someone came to Him and said, “Teacher, what [essentially] good thing shall I do to obtain eternal life [that is, eternal salvation in the Messiah’s kingdom]?”(A) 17 Jesus answered, “Why are you asking Me about what is [essentially] good? There is only One who is [essentially] good; but if you wish to enter into eternal life, keep the commandments.”(B) 18 He said to Jesus, “Which commandments?” And Jesus answered, You shall not commit murder; You shall not commit adultery; You shall not steal; You shall not give false testimony;(C) 19 Honor your father and mother; and love your neighbor as yourself [that is, unselfishly seek the best or higher good for others].(D) 20 The young man said to Him, “I have kept all these things [from my youth]; what do I still lack?”(E) 21 Jesus answered him, “If you wish to be perfect [that is, have the spiritual maturity that accompanies godly character with no moral or ethical deficiencies], go and sell what you have and give [the money] to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me [becoming My disciple, believing and trusting in Me and walking the same path of life that I walk].”

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16 And, behold, one came and said unto him, Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?

17 And he said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.

18 He saith unto him, Which? Jesus said, Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness,

19 Honour thy father and thy mother: and, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

20 The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet?

21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.

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48 (A)Therefore you shall be perfect, just (B)as your Father in heaven is perfect.

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48 Therefore (A)you shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

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48 You, therefore, will be perfect [growing into spiritual maturity both in mind and character, actively integrating godly values into your daily life], as your heavenly Father is perfect.(A)

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48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

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36 (A)Therefore be merciful, just as your Father also is merciful.

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36 [a]Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

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Footnotes

  1. Luke 6:36 Or Prove yourselves merciful

36 Be merciful (responsive, compassionate, tender) just as your [heavenly] Father is merciful.

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36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.

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Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. (A)He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, (B)that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been (C)born of God does not sin, for (D)His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God.

The Imperative of Love(E)

10 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

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(A)Little children, make sure no one (B)deceives you; (C)the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous; the one who practices sin is (D)of the devil; for the devil [a]has been sinning from the beginning. (E)The Son of God (F)appeared for this purpose, (G)to destroy the works of the devil. No one who has been (H)born of God practices sin, because His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin continually, because he has been born of God. 10 By this the (I)children of God and the (J)children of the devil are obvious: [b]anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who (K)does not love his (L)brother and sister.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 John 3:8 Lit sins
  2. 1 John 3:10 Lit everyone

Little children (believers, dear ones), do not let anyone lead you astray. The one who practices righteousness [the one who strives to live a consistently honorable life—in private as well as in public—and to conform to God’s precepts] is righteous, just as He is righteous. The one who practices sin [separating himself from God, and offending Him by acts of disobedience, indifference, or rebellion] is of the devil [and takes his inner character and moral values from him, not God]; for the devil has sinned and violated God’s law from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, to destroy the works of the devil. No one who is born of God [deliberately, knowingly, and habitually] practices sin, because [a]God’s seed [His principle of life, the essence of His righteous character] remains [permanently] in him [who is born again—who is reborn from above—spiritually transformed, renewed, and set apart for His purpose]; and he [who is born again] cannot habitually [live a life characterized by] sin, because he is born of God and longs to please Him. 10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are clearly identified: anyone who does not practice righteousness [who does not seek God’s will in thought, action, and purpose] is not of God, nor is the one who does not [unselfishly] [b]love his [believing] brother.

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Footnotes

  1. 1 John 3:9 I.e. in human terms, God’s seed is like a divine “genetic code” which is passed on to His children and produces in them the desire to live in a way which pleases Him.
  2. 1 John 3:10 See note 2:10.

Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous.

He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil.

Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.

10 In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.

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