And He called the crowd to Him, along with His disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to be my follower, he should deny himself [i.e., of always having his own way] and accept his cross [i.e., his responsibilities, with all their difficulties] and then he can become my follower.
And He said to them, “You are people who claim to be just in the eyes of [other] people, but God knows [what is in] your hearts. For that which is held up as most important among people [i.e., fame or fortune (?)] is disgusting in the eyes of God.
For they did not know about God’s way of making people right with Himself, so they attempted to establish their own way. In doing this they did not submit to God’s way for being made right with Him.
Now it is evident that no person can be made right with God by [obeying all the requirements of] the Law of Moses for [Hab. 2:4 says], “The righteous person will obtain life by [his] faith [in God].”