Mark 8:34 - Plain English Version34 Then Jesus called out to all the people that were there. He called them to come up close, with his followers, and he said to them all, “If any of you wants to follow me properly, you have to stop thinking only about yourself. You have to live like me. You have to be ready to die, yes, die like a criminal on a cross, just like I will die. Ver CapítuloMás versionesKing James Version (Oxford) 176934 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. Ver CapítuloAmplified Bible - Classic Edition34 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 lose sight of himself and his own interests] and take up his cross, and [joining Me as a disciple and siding with My party] follow with Me [continually, cleaving steadfastly to Me]. Ver CapítuloAmerican Standard Version (1901)34 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. Ver CapítuloCommon English Bible34 After calling the crowd together with his disciples, Jesus said to them, “All who want to come after me must say no to themselves, take up their cross, and follow me. Ver CapítuloCatholic Public Domain Version34 And calling together the crowd with his disciples, he said to them, "If anyone chooses to follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. Ver Capítulo |
You see, sometimes doing bad things makes people feel good. But people that belong to Jesus Christ stop doing those bad things. That bad part inside them might make them feel like doing those bad things, but they don’t take any notice of it any more. It is like they nailed it to a cross and killed it.
We joined up with Jesus Christ, God’s son, so we are part of God’s family now, and we will get some of the good things that God gives to his son. But people gave Jesus a lot of trouble, and they will give us a lot of trouble too, because we belong to him. Yes, we will get trouble, and we will get good things too.
So now you have to stop doing bad things. If that bad part inside you wants you to do something bad, don’t do it. It’s like you have to kill that old bad part inside you. Don’t listen to it. Don’t sleep with anyone that is not your wife or your husband, as if you are married to them. And don’t think bad, dirty thoughts. Don’t think about doing bad things. Don’t be greedy, wanting lots of money and things. Greedy people respect money and things more than they respect God.
Then Jesus said, “It is the same for you. If you want to be one of my followers, you have to think about it. You see, your life will be hard. You will have to leave everything you own, and then you can follow me.” (We have not yet translated 14:34-35. You can read those messages in Mark 9:50; Matthew 5:13.)
Yes, I tell people the message about Jesus. Some people don’t like it, and they give me trouble. But that doesn’t matter, that message helps people that believe it. You believe it, so it helps you. So I am happy, and I keep on telling it. You know that Jesus Christ got a lot of trouble. In the same way, I get a lot of trouble. But I want to keep on helping his people. They are the church. They are like the body of Jesus Christ.
Jesus looked at him, and he loved him. And Jesus said, “There is still one more thing you have to do. Go and sell all your things to get some money, and give all that money to people that haven’t got anything. After you do that, God will be really happy with you. And later, in heaven, he will give you lots of other good things. So go and do what I told you, then come with me, and follow me.”