Take Up Your Cross

²³ And He was saying to them all, “^(A)If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me. ²⁴ For ^(B)whoever wishes to save his ^[a]life will lose it, but whoever loses his ^[b]life for My sake, he is the one who will save it. ²⁵ For what is a man profited if he gains the whole world, and ^(C)loses or forfeits himself? ^26 (D)For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory, and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. ²⁷ But I say to you truthfully, ^(E)there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God.”

⁸ By faith ^(A)Abraham, when he was called, obeyed ^[a]by going out to a place which he was to ^(B)receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. ⁹ By faith he sojourned in ^(C)the land of promise, as in a foreign land, ^(D)dwelling in tents with Isaac and Jacob, ^(E)fellow heirs of the same promise, ¹⁰ for he was looking for ^(F)the city which has ^(G)foundations, ^(H)whose architect and builder is God. ¹¹ By faith even ^(I)Sarah herself ^[b]received ^[c]ability to conceive, even beyond the proper time of life, since she regarded Him ^(J)faithful who had promised. ¹² Therefore there were born even of one man, and ^(K)him as good as dead ^[d]at that, as many ^(L)as the stars of heaven in number, and innumerable as the sand which is by the seashore.

^13 (M)All these died in faith, ^(N)without receiving the promises, but ^(O)having seen them and having welcomed them from a distance, and ^(P)having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. ¹⁴ For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. ¹⁵ And indeed if they had been remembering that country from which they went out, ^(Q)they would have had opportunity to return. ¹⁶ But now, they aspire to a better country, that is, a ^(R)heavenly one. Therefore ^(S)God is not ^[e]ashamed to be ^(T)called their God, for ^(U)He prepared a city for them.

¹⁷ By faith ^(V)Abraham, when he was tested, offered up Isaac, and he who had ^(W)received the promises was offering up his only son, ¹⁸ to whom it was said, “^(X)In Isaac your seed shall be called.” ^19 [f]He considered that ^(Y)God is able to raise people even from the dead, from which, ^[g](Z)figuratively speaking, he also received him back.