I have often thought about a huge difference between a couple of verses. Mat. 16:24 says, (Jesus speaking) "If any man will come after me, let him first deny himself and then " take up his cross," and follow me." John 8:32 says, "And ye shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free." I just gave one example of the word, "free," in the above context, but it appears the same in most of the New Testament and means total freedom. No encumberances, no bonds, no slavery to sin, nothing binding or holding us back. From Exagorazo to Apolutrosis we are free from anything that might enslave us or hold us down. But, Mat 16:24 seem to place a huge weight on us. Why? The answer might be in the Greek word for "take up." Airo. The word is a verb form and indeed does mean Take Up, but it also means to Put Away, Stow, Put Aside.........or in other words........Take up your cross or whatever is holding you back and Put It Away. There should be nothing at all between us and Jesus Christ. After all, Jesus left his cross, and came back from the dead. He never carried it again, and I doubt seriously if He truthfully wants us to loaded down with one either. As Christians, we are just In the world. Drop whatever the world has thrown at you and inhibiting you from being the best child of God you can be. Because......we are not OF the world any longer. Just something to think about.
Nice intrupritation, (sp),Bobby. I have often been confused by the Bible's use of language. One of my children bought me a Living Bible just after they came out, and it did help in many instances. But at the same time, i wondered who and how they decided on the intrupritations.
Neither translators or interpreters are always in agreement on every issue. Like any other language, the languages of the Bible often include words that can be interpreted in various ways. Sometimes these differences have led to some of the differences that we have in the church, called denominations.
I think, looking deeper (logically) into asking these questions about the Scriptures: Who wrote it, when, to whom it was written for or addressed to, and why it was written....
I believe the books of the Bible were written by holy inspiration, and that same Spirit brings illumination and revelation, as these words are interpreted and as they are read. We can read and understand God's Word, without commentaries,or any other book. The same Spirit who dictated it to the writer's also translates it to our hearts. We are currently reading The Message Bible, and enjoying it A person should have and read more than one version.