This coming Sunday is the 23rd Sunday (Year C) with the gospel from Luke 14:25-33. The expression carry his own cross is a metaphor of discipleship. In terms of dedication, one is to live as already condemned to death, “oblivious to the pursuit of noble status, find no interest in securing one’s future via future obligations from others or by stockpiling possessions, free to identify with Jesus in his dishonorable suffering” [Green, 566].

Many scholars interpret “carrying the cross” as a vivid metaphor for complete renunciation of self-will and self-preservation. Roman crucifixion was public, humiliating, and painful. In the Roman world, carrying one’s cross was literally the path to execution—a condemned man would carry the beam of his own instrument of death. So Jesus’ words suggest that following Him requires being willing to lose one’s life, ambitions, or status. It is a stark image suggesting to his followers that a disciple should expect to walk as Jesus did: a path of suffering, shame, and possible martyrdom.

Luke places this saying before Jesus’ own crucifixion, and many scholars see it as foreshadowing the Passion narrative. Jesus is not just teaching; he is inviting disciples to follow him on the same path he will walk. This gives the phrase both a prophetic and participatory tone—to be a disciple means to share in the cross-bearing mission of the Messiah. Later in Luke 23:26, Simon of Cyrene is literally made to carry Jesus’ cross—perhaps reflecting how disciples might be asked to carry his cross or their own.

Given that our pericope ends with this stark conclusion: “In the same way, everyone of you who does not renounce all his possessions cannot be my disciple” (Luke 14:33) some hold that carrying the cross is not simply about enduring suffering, but about detaching from anything that competes with Christ—whether possessions, relationships, or one’s own ego.

It is also noteworthy that Culpepper (293) offers a comment on the expression “carry one’s cross” in our everyday language:

The language of cross bearing has been corrupted by overuse. Bearing a cross has nothing to do with chronic illness, painful physical conditions, or trying family relationships. It is instead what we do voluntarily as a consequence of our commitment to Jesus Christ. Cross bearing requires deliberate sacrifice and exposure to risk and ridicule in order to follow Jesus. This commitment is not just a way of life, however. It is a commitment to a person. A disciple follows another person and learns a new way of life.

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