Then he called the crowd to him along with his disciples and said: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. 

For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it. 

What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? 

Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul?”

Source: Mark 8:34-37 NIV

Comment

The reference to “Cross” is both an allusion to the suffering of the cross upon which Christ was crucified, and a reference to the worst burdens of life; for those condemned to be crucified were required to carry their own cross to the crucifixion site. If the quotation is accurate, the listeners could not have known that the speaker would be crucified, but would have been aware of the second implication.