Jesus was concerned with His disciples, as He is with us today, about their willingness to follow Him in both the good and bad times. Matthew 16:24 says, Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” When Jesus talked about taking up their cross, the disciples knew what he was talking about. Crucifixion was a common form of execution in Roman times and the accused were forced to carry their crosses to the execution site. Being willing to follow Jesus requires our willingness to show everyone who we are and what we believe until the very end.