Mark 8:34

King James Version (KJV)

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Translations

Mark 8:34 - Amplified Bible

And Jesus called [to Him] the throng with His disciples and said to them, If anyone intends to come after Me, let him deny himself [forget, ignore, disown, and with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me].

Mark 8:34 - American Standard Version

And he called unto him the multitude with his disciples, and said unto them, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mark 8:34 - Bible in Basic English

And turning to the mass of people with his disciples, he said to them, If any man has the desire to come after me, let him give up all other desires, and take up his cross and come after me.

Mark 8:34 - Darby Bible

And having called the crowd with his disciples, he said to them, Whoever desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.

Mark 8:34 - English Standard Version

And calling the crowd to him with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.

Mark 8:34 - King James Version

And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mark 8:34 - La Biblia de las Americas

Y llamando a la multitud y a sus discìpulos, les dijo: Si alguno quiere venir en pos de mì, niéguese a sì mismo, tome su cruz, y sìgame.

Mark 8:34 - The Message

Calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, "Anyone who intends to come with me has to let me lead. You’re not in the driver’s seat; I am. Don’t run from suffering; embrace it. Follow me and I’ll show you how. Self-help is no help at all. Self-sacrifice is the way, my way, to saving yourself, your true self. What good would it do to get everything you want and lose you, the real you? What could you ever trade your soul for?

Mark 8:34 - New American Standard Bible

And He summoned the crowd with His disciples, and said to them, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me.

Mark 8:34 - Nueva Biblia Latinoamericana de Hoy

Llamando Jesùs a la multitud y a Sus discìpulos, les dijo: "Si alguien quiere venir conmigo, niéguese a sì mismo, tome su cruz, y sìgame.

Mark 8:34 - World English Bible

He called the multitude to himself with his disciples, and said to them, "Whoever wants to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Mark 8:34 - Young's Living Translation

And having called near the multitude, with his disciples, he said to them, `Whoever doth will to come after me -- let him disown himself, and take up his cross, and follow me;

Mark 8:34 - Additional Comments

Most people at this point probably were coming to Jesus because they either needing healing or they wanted to see His healing miracles (or possibly the casting out of demons). This was the ultimate bate-and-switch, because they were drown to the physical healing being offered, and then here Jesus is asking them to follow Him for spiritual healing.
As part of that bait-and-switch, most people probably came for selfish reasons - they needed fixing or wanted the thrill of watching the spectacular. Instead of what they could get, Jesus tells them the focus should be on what they can give. And this giving is to the extreme - they are to empty themselves for others.
This statement comes right after Peter said that Jesus should not go to His death (vs 32). Jesus was saying not only am I to do to my death, but in effect you need to do the same.
Denying self requires us to give up anything that we would want or seek that would hinder our doing the will of God. This does not mean that, if we want something, it is necessarily wrong. It means we must take our wants and desires down from the throne and place Jesus and His will as the governing power in our lives.
"Take up your cross" is in effect marching towards your death. It might be compared to the final walk towards the electric chair.
Why is the cross the perfect symbol of what Jesus was asking? Because there is no greater and complete commitment than death. Jesus is asking for a full and complete commitment to Him and to people.
Jesus in Matthew challenged us to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and to love our neighbor as ourself (Mat 22:37-40). Here he in effect is saying to put that into action.
Jesus said He did not come to be served but to serve (Mark 10:45), and He is asking no less of us.
The challenge is that this is not a one time decision, but we need to be making this decision every day (Luke 9:23). This means that every time there is a conflict between your will and God's will, Jesus is asking you to set your will aside.
This morning, when you got out of bed, did you set aside your will for God's? How about interacting with your family before work or church? How about as you went through the say? How about when you were driving? How about when you were eating? Reading? Watching TV? How about when you were talking to your family, your spouse? How about when you prepared for bed? How about as you drifted off to sleep? Wow, this is hard, I'm not ready for this. God doesn't expect a complete change overnight, just progress. God doesn't say "show Me perfection", He just says "show me progress".

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