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Observe here, 1. How our blessed Saviour recommends his religion to everyone's election and choice, not attempting by force and violence to compel any person to the embracing of it. If any man will come after me: that is, if any man chooses and resolves to be a Christian.
Observe, 2. Our Saviour's terms propounded; namely, self-denial, gospel-suffering, and gospel-service.
1. Self-denial; Let him deny himself. By which we are not to understand, either the denying of our senses in matters of faith, or the renouncing of our reason in the matters of religion; but a willingness to part with all our earthly comforts, and temporal enjoyments, for the sake of Christ, when called thereunto.
2. Gospel-suffering; He must take up his cross. An allusion to the Roman custom, that the malefactor who was to be crucified, took his cross upon his shoulder, and carried it to the place of execution.
Where note, That not the making of the cross, but the patient bearing of it, when God has made it, and laid it upon our shoulders, is the duty enjoined. Let him take up his cross.
3. Gospel-service; Let him follow me, says Christ: that is, obey my commands, and imitate my example. He must set my life and doctrine continually before him, and be daily correcting and reforming his life by that rule and pattern.
Observe, 3. The reasons urged by our Saviour to induce men to a willingness to lay down their lives for the sake of Christ and his holy religion; He that will save his life, shall lose it; and he that is willing to lose his life for the gospel's sake, the same shall find it.
Intimating to us, 1. That the love of this temporal life is a great temptation to men to deny Christ, and to renounce his holy religion.
And, 2. That the surest way to attain eternal life, is cheerfully to lay down our temporal life, when the glory of Christ, and the honour of religion, requires it at our hand.