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What did Christ say during his ministry concerning the cross?
“He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me is not worthy of me” ([Matthew x, 38]; [Luke xiv, 27]).
“Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me” ([Mark viii, 34]).
“If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow me” ([Luke ix, 23]).
These utterances are alleged to have been made early in his ministry. Now, the cross as a Christian symbol is supposed to have been adopted after, and not until after, the crucifixion. Its introduction in the passages quoted suggests one of two things: either that the Synoptics put into the mouth of Jesus words that he never uttered, or that the cross, as a religious symbol, was used before the crucifixion, in which case its adoption by the church is no proof of the crucifixion.