The Greek verb bastazō means to bear or carry — a burden, a cross, a child, a vessel, or the weight of another person's weakness. It is used literally (carrying a jar of water, lifting a sandal) and figuratively (bearing one another's burdens, carrying the cross, enduring a teaching). It conveys the sustained effort of carrying something weighty through time.
Bastazō is used when Jesus says 'take up your cross and follow me' (Luke 14:27). Most profoundly, Isaiah 53:4 and Matthew 8:17 declare that Jesus bore our infirmities. Paul declares he bears on his body the marks of Jesus (Galatians 6:17). The Savior carries what we cannot — and calls His followers to carry one another's loads in the same spirit.