Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 16:24

"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." — Matthew 16:24 (ASV)

Just as our Lord, to fulfill His destiny, must sacrifice Himself, so also must everyone who would be His follower. To remain close to our Lord (which He means by the words come after me), we must be done with self, because He denied Himself to redeem His people. We must not acknowledge self, nor consent to it; instead, we must each deny himself. In doing this, each one must cheerfully shoulder his own personal burden of sorrow and service, carrying it with self-sacrifice, just as Jesus carried His cross.

He had told them of His cross; now He tells them of their own crosses. They could now choose again whether they were able and willing to follow Him. With their increased understanding of His destiny, the question was again put before them: whether they would follow or forsake Him. If they were to continue as His followers, it would have to be as cross-bearers and self-deniers.

Nor are the terms altered in our own time. Do we accept them? Can we keep step in the long procession of cross-bearers, 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 self-denial He demands? Our own wisdom, if it leads us to think lightly of the precious blood, must be utterly denied and even abhorred.