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Luke 9:23 is a joke.

"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."

Say what? Does anyone really think Jesus ever used the phrase "take up his cross"? Before the crucifixion? Does anyone actually think this was a current phrase prior to the crucifixion of Jesus? It's ridiculous. The cross only became a symbol of spiritual suffering after Christianity was long established. Sure, criminals were crucified by the Romans, but there is no way they ever told each other to "take up your cross." In the first place, it wasn't a cross they carried, it was a cross-beam. And the crucifixion tree was in the shape of a T, not a t. And why would anyone want to take up their cross-beam, when only condemned criminals had to do so? No, it is totally absurd to think that this line of the Bible was actually spoken by Jesus. It was written long after his death.

"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." Say what? Does anyone really think Jesus ever used the phrase "take up his cross"? Before the crucifixion? Does anyone actually think this was a current phrase prior to the crucifixion of Jesus? It's ridiculous. The cross only became a symbol of spiritual suffering after Christianity was long established. Sure, criminals were crucified by the Romans, but there is no way they ever told each other to "take up your cross." In the first place, it wasn't a cross they carried, it was a cross-beam. And the crucifixion tree was in the shape of a T, not a t. And why would anyone want to take up their cross-beam, when only condemned criminals had to do so? No, it is totally absurd to think that this line of the Bible was actually spoken by Jesus. It was written long after his death.

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[–] • 1 pt

“Take up your cross” is an acknowledgment of sin unto death. The gruesome image, very familiar to the first century audience, was that of the death penalty, and the idea that with perennial sin, we must regularly condemn our sinful lifestyles, most importantly our pride, and move forward in a new frame of life.

Christ, as God, also has a little thing called omniscience.