And He was saying to them all, "If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me." Luke 9:23

Jesus here is teaching the 12 apostles privately and for the first time announcing His soon coming death and resurrection. In N.T. times, being a Christian meant to be "a follower of the way." Essentially, it meant to commit one's life to Jesus Christ, follow Him, and live in obedience to His teaching. A prerequisite to following Jesus is total self-denial. The denial of self is absolutely the hardest thing for a person to do. With the world constantly telling us to "get all the gusto you can get" and "you deserve it" the old deceased sin nature comes alive and says you don't have to live life denying yourself. In addition, one must have reckoned oneself dead (the cross) and separate from the old life if one would follow Jesus. Try it; you will like it!