Christ teaches that if anyone desires to come after Him, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Him. This requirement addresses the personal cost of the God-given life, which begins with the call to abandon attachments to this world and continues as an ongoing death to the old man. The cross symbolizes self-denial and the surrender of one's life for a greater purpose, just as Christ did, rather than any physical object. Because it must be taken up daily, the believer rises each morning to shoulder again the crucifixion of the carnal nature along with anything else God requires to be relinquished. This practice starts at baptism yet persists until the final breath, reminding the called that their lives are not their own to direct. The principle connects directly to the question of whether one truly wants the distinctly different life God has given. Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, while whoever loses his life for Christ's sake will save it. The warning extends beyond obvious sin to anything that interferes with wholehearted following, even pursuits that may seem good yet compete with God's purpose. Those who gain the whole world at the expense of their soul face destruction, and those ashamed of Christ and His words will find Him ashamed of them at His coming. This daily cross-bearing therefore serves as the continual test of commitment amid the pressures of the age, requiring regular evaluation of whether the heart still delights in the life of separation from the world and self-sacrifice for God.

Jesus instructs His disciples in the section of Matthew 16 on taking up the cross and following Him. He explains that they must act in the same sacrificial manner He has demonstrated if the work of building the church and bringing the Kingdom to earth is to succeed. Rewards will come according to how fully each one sacrifices himself to this cause, bears its load, and contributes to its advancement. This teaching forms the immediate background for the Transfiguration, as the disciples spent the following six days mulling over these words along with Jesus' prediction of His own death and resurrection. The requirement to take up the cross corrects their expectation of a political Messiah who would overthrow Rome and establish a physical kingdom without personal cost. Instead, it ties their participation directly to the Suffering Servant's path of self-denial, showing that only through such sacrifice would the spiritual work Jesus described be accomplished.