The Cross and Pen

There’s a saying in intelligence communities - “admit nothing, deny everything, make counter accusations.” This phrase reminds me of something Jesus said in Matthew. “If anyone desires to come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” (Matthew 16:24, NKJV). But what does it mean to deny oneself? I pondered this concept of denial. When we think of someone denying something, we typically associate it with intentional refusal to acknowledge, recognize, or admit something. We say things like, “He’s in denial” or “She denies any knowledge of the event” and so on. In essence, denial is a deliberate refusal. Now, in some cases, one might deny something known to be true in order to evade consequences. Consider one of many crime dramas where a suspect is being interrogated and denies knowledge of an alleged crime to avoid prosecution even though it might be true. Such a denial is a lie.  So, what did Jesus mean when He said, “deny himself?” Surely, He didn’t mean...