And it came to pass as he was praying alone, his disciples were with him, and he asked them saying, Who do the crowds say that I am?
The Lord steps away from the crowds to pray, and His disciples are there with Him. Then He turns and asks them a question: what are people saying about who He is?
This is not the first time Luke shows Him praying.
He had gone apart — as this part of Luke's Gospel shows — to pray. This is the fourth place in Luke's Gospel where we find this blessed, dependent Man praying before God. He was alone, that is, He had withdrawn from the world. Still, His disciples were with Him, and they had clearly watched Him pray.
The pattern runs through the whole book, and it has a consistent outcome.
When the blessed Son of God became a man, He was not Himself a creature. Yet He took man's place of dependence so fully that we find He prayed all the time… So He began His ministry with prayer (Luke 3:21). And may we not say, as a rule of Christian life, that what begins with prayer will end in praise? … Before He chose the apostles, He spent the night in prayer to God (Luke 6:12-13). Again, in Luke 9:18, we find Him "praying alone." It was while He prayed on the mountain of transfiguration that the appearance of His face was changed… He did not go up the mountain to be glorified. He went up "to pray" — and glory followed. The object was prayer, the result was glory.
The verse looks like a contradiction: He was alone, and yet the disciples were with Him.
There is no record of the Lord praying with His disciples. He taught them to pray. He prayed about them and prayed for them, but not with them. His own position was unique… He could draw near to God in His own right, in the dignity of His own person; we come only in His name. This explains a verse that would otherwise look like a contradiction. "As he was praying alone, the disciples were with him" (Luke 9:18). The disciples were there, but He was praying alone.
His question shows what was on His mind as He prayed.
Again we find Him in prayer. Men's unbelief is casting its shadow over His soul, with all its sorrow and its bitter fruits. We may infer this from the question He asks next. He rises from prayer to ask His disciples, "Who do the crowds say that I am?"
Commentators read that burden differently. One sees His coming death pressing on Him, with no one near enough to share it.
In contrast to the Lord's dealings with the crowd, we find Him in verse 18 deeply affected by a burden of soul He carried alone. The disciples were with Him, yet He was "praying alone." The context makes clear what weighed on Him: the solemn expectation of His coming suffering and death. Not one of His disciples could grasp what that ordeal, so close at hand, would really be.
He asked, but not for information.
He Himself knew the answer, as He must know all things, but He asked this question for their sakes. It would be good for them not only to think it in a vague way in their hearts. It would be good to say it plainly with their lips: the world was against their Master's claims, and the best of men's judgments fell short of the truth. That judgment therefore damaged the Lord's person, His glory and His kingdom.
The replies were not insults. That is what makes them so telling.
What was the opinion of the common people — those who "heard Him gladly"? What they said about Him was not evil. It did not openly dishonour His name. Yet in essence they too took away from His glory. Some said He was John the Baptist. Others said Elijah, or Jeremiah, or perhaps one of the prophets. Clearly they thought He was a good man, a man who would bring them some words from God.
Set beside the men they named, the mismatch is obvious.
How else could they mistake the meek and lowly Saviour for Elijah? Elijah was the prophet of consuming fire from heaven and famine on earth… How else could they mistake Him for John the Baptist, who fiercely condemned the sins of Israel? In their blindness the people failed to see the grace and truth that came through Jesus Christ.
- Prayer first. Luke shows Him praying at every turning point — His baptism, the choosing of the apostles, this scene, and the mountain where His face changed. He went up to pray, and glory followed: the object was prayer, the result was glory.
- Alone by right. He prayed for the disciples and about them, never with them. He could draw near to God in His own person; we come in His name.
- A burden carried. Man's unbelief cast its shadow over His soul, and no disciple could enter into what lay ahead of Him.
- A question for their sake. He already knew the answer. He asked so they would say out loud what they only half-thought: men's best judgment of Him fell short.
- Compliments are not faith. John the Baptist, Elijah, one of the old prophets — respectful guesses that still robbed Him of His glory. The people never saw the grace and truth in Him.
But they answering said, John the baptist; but others, Elias; and others, that one of the old prophets has risen again.
Jesus was praying alone when He asked His disciples what the crowds said about Him. Their answer came back as three respectful names, and not one of them was true.
The question came out of prayer. The One who asked it already carried a heavier weight.
In verse 18 we find Him deeply affected by the loneliness of His inward struggle. The disciples were with Him, yet He was "praying alone." The context makes clear what was weighing on His soul: His coming suffering and death. Not one of His disciples had the understanding to enter into the reality of that ordeal so close at hand. Yet He sought to stir up the same concern in their hearts, when He asked them what people in general thought of who He was. Their answer showed that there was little serious, honest concern about this among the people, but idle speculation. It was inexcusable ignorance to say He was John the Baptist risen from the dead. To suppose He was Elijah or any other prophet raised again was clear ignorance of the Word of God.
The disciples' list sounds varied. The same report had already reached Herod's court.
He had shown what He was, and all the blessings held in store for Israel, but there was no real faith in the people. There was, to a certain extent, a sense of need. They were willing enough to receive what was for the body and the present life, but their desires stop there. The Lord proved this by His questions, because these revealed the restlessness of men's minds and their lack of faith. Whether it was Herod and his servants, or Christ with the disciples, the same story is heard: uncertainty that varies, unbelief that never changes.
These were not the words of His enemies. They came from admirers — and admiration still fell short.
He is not speaking of people who openly rejected Him, and their answer does not take its colour from the hostility of the scribes and Pharisees. "John the Baptist," "Elijah," a prophet of long ago risen from the dead — these are the guesses of people who mean to honour Him. But they are guesses only, not faith, and none of them rise up to the reality. They all fail to grasp the glory of His Person, and so they miss the purpose for which He has come. The light of His glory who is among them has not shone into their souls; He is not their Saviour — not the Christ.
Speculation about Christ is not harmless. It shows what is missing in the person who speculates.
The reply shows that, despite a perfect testimony, men could only put forward idle opinions and speculations, which left them in hopeless uncertainty. Men are content to speculate about Christ and willing to remain in uncertainty. That is solemn proof that they have no sense of need on the one hand and no faith on the other. With a sense of need, they would have had discernment, and with faith, they would have obtained certainty. Moreover, with all their speculations, never once did they come near the truth.
One question decides everything, and the guessing did not end with that crowd.
Notice how the question of Christ's Person is always the test. That is the point around which everything revolves: "Who do the crowds say that I am?" One thing you find here is that all around is speculation. That is what is in the world today about God's Christ and God's truth — speculation... One says you are Elijah; another, that you are one of the prophets. It was all speculative reasoning — curiosity, if you please — but nothing certain, nothing reached from God at all.
This unbelief marks a turn. What comes next is His death and the Father's own witness to Him.
Now He is about to disclose His death. The unbelief of the people filled His soul with the sense of His entire rejection. The Father was about to give the most direct personal witness of His glory, and to show what the Kingdom held in store for Him.
- Prayer first — the question came out of prayer. The answer met a soul already facing suffering and death.
- Guesses, not faith — the three names came from people who meant to honour Him. Guesses are not faith, and none of them reached the glory of His Person.
- Variety without difference — Herod's court and the crowds used different words. Both showed uncertainty on the surface and unbelief underneath.
- Contentment with uncertainty — to speculate about Christ and stay unsure proves there is no sense of need and no faith. Need brings discernment; faith brings certainty.
- The test question — everything turns on who He is. An opinion about Jesus is not the same as knowing Him.
And he said to them, But *ye*, who do ye say that I am? And Peter answering said, The Christ of God.
Jesus is praying alone, with His disciples nearby, and He asks them what the crowds are saying about Him. Their answers are guesses about some prophet come back to life — then He turns the question on the disciples themselves.
The crowd was not hostile. It was only guessing, and who Jesus is has always been the test.
Notice, beloved friends, how the question of Christ's Person is always the touchstone. That is the point around which everything revolves: "Who do the crowds say that I am?" And now two very important things come out here. One is that all around is speculation... They answer, One says you are Elijah; another, that you are one of the prophets. That is to say, it was all a kind of speculative reasoning — curiosity, if you like — but nothing certain or divinely reached at all.
Peter's reply carries no hedging, and the source of that steadiness is not his own feelings.
Here is one of the most remarkable instances of the absolute certainty a soul has when taught from above. Peter says, "The Christ of God." Do you think he was afraid to say that? Was there any uncertainty? He knew it. How? Not because of the effect in his own heart; not because there was happiness in his own breast. It was a revelation to him.
"Christ" means Anointed. Peter is naming Him as the One the prophets had been pointing to all along.
To Peter He was the Anointed One of God, the Messiah, the theme of the old prophets (1 Sam. 2:10, 35; Psalm 2:2; Dan. 9:25-26), but therefore clearly not one of those prophets Himself. There was light for any simple soul to discern who He was. Peter had profited by it, and had answered correctly.
God had unveiled Christ's glory to these few. Peter does not just say "the Christ" — he says "the Christ of God."
In that little group around the Lord there were hearts to whom God had unveiled the glory of Christ. Christ loved to hear it said — not for His own sake, but for God's sake, and for theirs too. In divine love He listened to their confession of who He is... There is only the acknowledgment of Christ as the true Messiah, the anointed of God; not one anointed by human hands, but the Christ of God.
In Matthew, Peter says more: "the Christ, the Son of the living God." Luke leaves that out. Each title belongs to a different group.
It is remarkable how Luke here omits what Matthew records. In fact Peter acknowledged Him as the Son of God as well; but only Matthew records this... Israel will hail the Christ as the Son of David. The world, all mankind, will be blessed by Christ as the Son of man. But the Christian and the Church have their joy in Him as the Son of the living God. It is clearly the most elevated and properly divine of His titles.
Peter's answer is right, yet they are told to tell no one. The reason lies in how people had already treated Him.
Why withhold from people that He was the Christ of God? Why this reserve about His being the Messiah? It was useless to bring it forward. Some said one thing, and some another. No man had faith in Him except those who were born of God. Man, as man, rejected Him. The Jews rejected Him. The disciples confessed Him, Peter above all; but it was no use to go on preaching Him as the Christ or Messiah of Israel.
Jesus accepts the confession, then names Himself differently — and that name stays with Him.
Notice that at this turning point the Lord Jesus takes a new title, and it stays with Him ever after. Tell no one, He says, that I am the Christ of God, the Messiah; the time for that testimony is past. "The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected... and be killed, and on the third day be raised." That is the new title He now takes: "the Son of Man." He takes it because they refused Him and rejected Him. He was going to be crucified where He should have been crowned.
The change of title is a widening, not a loss.
He was not to be acknowledged under any attractive title honoured only in that one nation. Instead, He would do a much larger and more important work through this very rejection.
- Question. The question of who Jesus is settles everything. The crowd only guessed — "nothing certain or divinely reached at all."
- Confession. "The Christ of God" means God's Anointed One, "not one anointed by human hands." He is the One the old prophets wrote about.
- Certainty. Peter's confidence did not come from happy feelings inside him. It was a revelation, and that is why he could speak without hesitating.
- Silence. Peter was right, yet told to say nothing. It was too late to keep offering Him to Israel as Messiah, because "man, as man, rejected Him."
- Widening. In place of the refused title He takes "Son of Man." He was crucified where He should have been crowned, and that rejection opened a far larger work.
But, earnestly charging them, he enjoined [them] to say this to no man,
Peter has just answered the Lord's question with the clearest confession he could give: "The Christ of God." The reply is not applause but a strict order of silence. Why would Jesus accept a true confession and then forbid the disciples to repeat it?
The command is startling, because what He told them to hide was true. One writer puts the difficulty plainly and then answers it from the state of the nation:
Why keep it from people that He was the Christ of God? It was useless to bring it forward. Some said one thing, and some another. No man had faith in Him except those who were born of God. Man, as man, rejected Him. The Jews rejected Him. The disciples confessed Him, Peter above all; but it was no use to go on preaching Him as the Christ or Messiah of Israel. He was the Anointed of God, but in truth He was going to suffer... Had the people received Him, He would have reigned as Messiah. But, morally speaking, that could not be. On the one hand man was unbelieving, wicked, and lost. On the other hand, God's counsel was that Jesus should be put to death on the cross, and rise into a new creation in which He would have men as His fellows.
The ban was not a correction of Peter. The Lord accepted what Peter said. He held back the title itself, because of what had to happen first.
To Peter He was the Anointed One of God, the Messiah, the theme of the old prophets... The Lord accepted the answer as correct. But He told them not to tell anyone that He was the Christ. His death must come first, before His day of exaltation as the Christ.
In the very next breath He calls Himself "the Son of Man." He lays one name aside and takes up another. The new name covers far more ground.
Men met Him with personal hatred. That hatred came to its peak when Jews and Gentiles joined forces to crucify Him. In view of this He took the title Son of man — a title of wider limits than Son of David... A great proportion of the passages in the Gospels containing this term refer to His approaching death. Most of the rest refer to His resurrection, ascension, and glorification. They also refer to the future showing of His kingdom in judgment and glory. That kingdom will be not only national but universal in its reach.
The order held only for a season. Another writer marks the point where the message could go out again:
His people had rejected Him as the promised Messiah. He is now to go on towards Jerusalem, to be handed over and then raised from the dead. Then He would be announced as Lord and Christ. So He told His disciples not to proclaim Him as the Christ.
The change of title changes the disciples' position too. The Lord had been praying alone when this conversation began, and what follows the charge is a new road — for Him first, and then for them.
In verse 18 we find Him again as the dependent Man, praying. He forbids them to announce Him as the Christ of God. He tells them the Son of man must suffer. This was the path He was now entering on. What comes before us now is a suffering Son of man in the One who could show Jehovah's power — not Israel's Christ. And this was to be the disciples' path, and blessing was in resurrection after death. This is clearly a great moral change in the whole position.
That path has a fixed order, and the passage presses it on every reader:
At the hands of men He was to "suffer many things," to be "rejected" and "killed." Then, on the Mount of Transfiguration, we have a passing vision of the glory and honour. It is God's purpose to crown the Son of Man with that glory... it clearly shows that if His disciples have the privilege to share in His glory, they are also first called to share in His sufferings.
- Confessed. Peter's answer was correct and the Lord accepted it — Jesus is the Anointed One of God, the promised King of Israel.
- Silenced. Israel had seen the proofs and refused them. Announcing Him under that title was now useless, and the nation's chance to crown Him had passed.
- Exchanged. In place of "Christ" He takes up "Son of Man." It is a name of wider reach than Son of David. It ties to His death and to a glory that is universal, not just national.
- Delayed. The silence had a term. He would go to Jerusalem, be handed over, and rise again. Then He would be announced as Lord and Christ.
- Shared. His road became the disciples' road. Suffering comes first, then blessing in resurrection, then glory.
saying, The Son of man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and the third day be raised up.
Peter has just confessed Jesus as the Christ of God. Instead of moving on to a throne, the Lord silences that confession and speaks of suffering, rejection and death. Why forbid the announcement? And why does the cross come in as something that must happen?
The command to tell no one sounds strange. One writer ties the silence to two things: the nation's unbelief, and God's own purpose:
This is a remarkable word. Why withhold from people that He was the Christ of God? It was useless to bring it forward. No man had faith in Him except those who were born of God. Man, as man, rejected Him. The Jews rejected Him. The disciples confessed Him, Peter above all; but it was no use to go on preaching Him as the Christ or Messiah of Israel. He was the Anointed of God. But in truth He was going to suffer. So the Lord brings in another title, tied to His cross… Had the people received Him, He would have reigned as Messiah. But, morally speaking, that could not be. On the one hand man was unbelieving, wicked, and lost. On the other hand God's own purpose was that Jesus should be put to death on the cross, and rise into a new creation.
Refused as Messiah, He takes a different name for Himself — one that carries His cross with it:
Note the break at this point. The Lord Jesus takes a new title, and it stays with Him ever after. Tell no one, He says, that I am the Christ of God, the Messiah. The time for that testimony is past… "The Son of man" is the new title He takes now, because they refused Him, rejected Him. He was going to be crucified where He ought to have been crowned. And He shows us here not His atoning sufferings, but His sufferings as a martyr.
The men who reject Him are named one by one. Each group stands for something:
The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders (the most experienced) and chief priests (the most religious) and scribes (the most learned).
Why "must" He suffer? One writer answers with a question of his own:
The Lord, knowing all, said to His disciples over and over again, The Son of Man must suffer. How was a race of ruined sinners to be saved? How were we to be saved? The Son of Man came not only to set up the Kingdom in righteousness, but the Son of Man must suffer, and He suffered as no one else did. He was spat upon, scourged, shamefully treated, and put to death. His death was an absolute necessity. Without it God could not establish the Kingdom, and we could not be saved.
Death is not the last word. And what Luke sets beside it is not an account of the atonement but a call to self-denial:
Here our Saviour does not speak of putting away man's guilt. He speaks as the One rejected, suffering to the utmost because of man's — Israel's — unbelief. This is not a revelation of the effective sacrifice on God's part. The heads of earthly religion kill Him; but He is raised the third day. What comes next is not an unfolding of the blessed results of the atonement — however sure it is that God was about to do that very work at that very time. Luke, as his habit is, ties Christ's rejection and death to the great moral principle: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself."
Suffering is not the end of what He announces. The next scene, on the mountain, belongs with this one:
Luke 9:22-36 movingly presents the sufferings of the Son of Man and the glory that follows. At the hands of men He was to "suffer many things," to be "rejected" and "killed." Then, on the Mount of Transfiguration, we get a brief sight of the glory and honour with which God purposes to crown the Son of Man. The passage also challenges our hearts. It shows that if His disciples have the privilege of sharing in His glory, they are first called to share in His sufferings.
- Rejected — Man, as man, refused Him. So it was no use preaching Him as Israel's Messiah, and He silenced Peter's confession.
- Renamed — Refused as the Christ, He takes up "Son of Man," the title that stays with Him. He is crucified where He should have been crowned.
- Required — The "must" is no accident. Without His death God could not establish the Kingdom or save sinners.
- Raised — The heads of earthly religion kill Him. The third day answers them, and He rises into a new creation.
- Retraced — His road becomes the disciple's own. Those who will share His glory are first called to share His sufferings.
And he said to [them] all, If any one will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me;
Peter has just confessed that Jesus is the Christ. The Lord has answered by announcing His own rejection, death, and rising again. Then He turns to everyone listening and says what it costs to follow Him. Three things come in order: saying no to self, taking up a cross, and following.
The words come straight out of the announcement of His suffering. One writer notes that Luke moves straight from Christ's rejection to a moral principle for the disciple.
Luke, as he usually does, ties Christ's rejection and death to a great moral principle: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself." The Lord wants the cross to be real not only for the man, but in him too. It is a blessing to know what God has done for us in the cross of Christ. We must also learn what the cross says about the world and about human nature.
This call goes to people who already know Him. One writer draws a line between the first step and the second, and warns that many stop at the first.
To come after Jesus is a hard task in itself. Anyone who does not know the Master might well shrink back from it. It is knowing the gracious and glorious person of the Lord Jesus Christ that awakens the sincere, whole-hearted response men ought to give to His call to follow Him... Many people know something of our Lord Jesus. They answered His invitation and came to Him in their distress, weariness and repentance. They found rest in Him and peace for their conscience — but they have never followed Him!
The phrase is often softened into giving up a few comforts. One writer shows how that softened version feeds the very thing it claims to cut.
People talk about self-denial. They even hold self-denial weeks, by which they mean giving up certain things for a set time to help a good cause. But this is the very opposite of denying self. It adds to self-satisfaction and lifts self up. Denying self is not just giving up certain things. It is denying the person who craves these things. Denying self is ignoring self altogether so that we serve others in love.
Denying self and carrying a cross are not the same act repeated. One writer on the matching account in Mark separates them.
To say "no" to yourself is to accept death inside, in your own spirit. To take up your cross is to accept death outside, at the hands of the world. That is what following Him must mean, since we follow the Christ who died, rejected by the world.
People often confuse that outward side with hardship in general — illness, money worries, difficult people.
The cross is not the ordinary trouble of everyday life, though the disciple will meet that too. Someone under pressure may say, "I have a heavy cross to bear." That is not the thought here.
The word does not appear in Matthew's record of the same saying.
Matthew 16:24 does not include the word "daily." There the stress falls on the first decision. Luke stresses a daily practice.
That daily repetition is where the real weight falls — heavier, one writer argues, than a single heroic act.
It has been well said that it is very hard to keep denying yourself every day, with no one knowing anything about it... A man might go bravely to death, once for all, to defend the truth. His name could be passed down for generations and a monument raised in his memory. But taking up your cross daily, denying yourself daily, is a very different thing.
No one can work this up by effort or willpower. The strength comes from God, and it reaches us through love.
We will not find the power we need within ourselves, and we cannot work it up by religious exercises. It is in God alone. But it reaches us in a very simple way... Let the bright rays of the love of God break into any heart, however dark, and at once that heart knows a new driving power, and following Him begins.
- Come first. He calls people to come after Him who have already come to Him. Resting in Him for peace is the gate, not the road.
- Deny self. This is not giving up certain things, which can feed self-satisfaction. It is denying the person who craves them, and ignoring self so that we serve others in love.
- Carry the cross. Saying no to self accepts death inside. Taking up the cross accepts death outside, at the hands of the world. That is not the same as ordinary trouble.
- Daily. Matthew records the once-for-all decision. Luke adds the word that makes it a daily practice. Unseen daily denial tests a person more than a single heroic death.
- Follow. A rejected Christ shapes the path. No one generates the power to walk it. That power starts when the love of God breaks into the heart.
for whosoever shall desire to save his life shall lose it, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, *he* shall save it.
Jesus has just told His followers that He will be rejected, killed, and raised. He now lays down the rule that follows, and it sounds like a riddle: saving ends in losing, and losing ends in saving.
The word behind "life" is usually translated "soul." One writer explains what that word covers:
The word translated "life" here is usually translated "soul." It refers to the "soul life" that marks man in his natural fallen condition. The soul is not the same as the spirit. The spirit is the higher part of man, able to put him in intelligent touch with God. The soul is the seat of our natural desires and longings. So "soul life" is the life of enjoying everything that appeals to us by nature.
The saying works on two levels. What a man keeps on one level, he loses on the other:
Everything now depends on eternal life. It is no longer a question of living long on the earth. This was, and will be, all very well for the Jew. But the cross of Christ is the burial of all Jewish thoughts. So if a man is careful to save his life now, he will lose it. He may save it in a lower sense, but he will lose it in a deeper. He may save it in this world, but lose it for eternity. But if I am willing to lose it in the lower, I shall save it in the best — the eternal — sense.
Jesus says this right after announcing His own rejection. The quotes never say Luke alone records the daily cross:
The Lord announces to all the plain consequence. If anyone will follow after Him, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Him. He was not going to have the present glory of Messiah. He was going a sorrowful journey right to the end, even to death. And this was the daily character of the service... And whoever would save his life would lose it... Whoever should lose his life for Christ's sake should find it really.
Talk of saving and losing can sound like a price you pay to be saved. One writer rules that out:
The Lord speaks these words to the disciples, not to unbelievers. It is therefore not a question of salvation. We are not asked to deny self and take up the cross to be saved. These words tell us that the way the Lord went is the way of all His true disciples. It is not only possible to believe in the Lord and not follow Him; it is the most common thing we see around us today.
For some believers, losing their life has meant dying. But the principle reaches further:
Someone may attach himself to this world. He may seek his life in it, or keep it as a life he clings to, over against the rejected Christ. Such a man loses it. We are not always called to give up our lives in fact, though this can happen, and often has. But in moral terms it always applies. Whoever loves his life, and holds on to it as if it belonged to this world, loses it. It is a life of vanity, as cut off from God as the world it attaches itself to, and it ends only in death.
What looks like the safe choice turns out to be the losing one:
Suppose someone wants to save his life — that is, to escape the dangers that come with true discipleship. In the end he would only lose his life. But if he willingly lost his life for Christ's sake, he would truly save it, in its real and lasting worth.
This saying comes back in the Gospels more often than anything else Jesus said:
Of all His wonderful words in the Gospels, this is the only one, as far as I know, that comes back again and again. With slight variations, it appears no less than six times. Read these passages: Matthew 10:39; 16:25; Mark 8:35; Luke 9:24; 17:33. Together with the one in John 12, they make six. So He pressed this truth home on four occasions: when He sent out His twelve disciples; just before His transfiguration; when giving a prophetic address not long before the end of His ministry; and within a few days of His death.
- Life — the word means "soul": the natural life of desires and enjoyments that fallen man lives for.
- Lower — you can keep that life at the lower level and still lose it at the deeper, eternal one.
- Loss — losing it for Christ's sake may mean death. It always means letting go of a life that belongs to this world.
- Daily — the cross is not a one-time crisis. It is the daily shape of following a rejected Christ.
- Repeated — the Lord said this more often than anything else on record. He said it to disciples, not as the price of salvation, but as the road they walk.
For what shall a man profit if he shall have gained the whole world, and have destroyed, or come under the penalty of the loss of himself?
Jesus has just spoken of His own suffering and called His followers to take up the cross. Now He weighs the biggest prize anyone could win against the loss of himself, and asks whether that trade pays.
One writer links the disciple's road straight to the Lord's own suffering:
This suffering of the Son of Man at once defines the path for the disciple. "He said to them all, If anyone wants to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." It was in no way the enjoyment of earthly things. That would be right and fitting in the Kingdom when He reigns as the Christ... But that is not the character of Christianity. The cross shows us our true path. If Christ suffered, the Christian cannot expect to be above his Master.
The choice here has only two sides:
You see, it comes down to one of two things: either give up everything for Christ, or go after everything apart from Him.
Scripture elsewhere speaks of losing "his soul." Luke says "himself." One writer explains why that wording matters:
The parallel place in Luke 9:25 shows that "his soul" is just the equivalent of "himself"... The finding and losing of the soul in the present world are reversed in the world to come. The finding becomes losing, the losing finding there. He who makes himself the object of his life loses himself and is cast away. He who sacrifices self and its interests for Christ's sake is really preserving all for the world to come.
The same writer adds that this does not require an actual martyr's death: "the actual laying down of life in martyrdom is not necessary at all to the application."
Profit and loss depend on how far ahead you count:
Everything now depends on eternal life. It is no longer a question of living long on the earth... So if a man is careful to save his life now, he will lose it. He may save it in a lower sense, but he will lose it in a deeper. He may save it in this world, but lose it for eternity. But if I am willing to lose it in the lower sense, I will save it in the best — the eternal — sense.
The world cannot be held anyway, which is what makes the bargain absurd:
It comes to this: that if you spare the flesh in this life, you will lose your life in the next... It is giving up the world for eternal life, or for eternal misery — that is the real question. "What is a man advantaged?" You must give it up; you cannot keep it.
Saving your own life can look like plain good sense. One writer shows what it really costs:
If someone wants to save his life — that is, to escape the dangers that come with true discipleship — in the end he will only lose it. One may think he is saving his life by gaining the world or piling up great riches. But he can do all this and still lose himself, or be cast away as useless. Many are snared by such delusions. Such things involve being ashamed of Christ Himself and of His words. They mean being ashamed of the One who did not seek gain or honour for Himself in the world, but who willingly accepted the place of rejection.
So what is a single soul worth? One writer looks in one place for the answer:
What is the worth of your soul? The blessed Son of God gave Himself for my soul. If I want to know the value of the soul, I look at the cross. I look at this holy, sinless, spotless One going down to death to redeem it. That is the value of the human soul.
- Cross first. Christ suffered first, and His road is the disciple's road. The follower does not rise above his Master.
- Profit next. The verse asks about profit. The biggest possible gain still buys nothing you can keep.
- Self is the stake. Luke's "himself" and "his soul" mean the same thing. A man does not just lose things; he loses himself.
- Timing decides. Save your life in the lower sense and you lose it in the deeper. Let it go for Christ, and you keep it for eternity.
- Price revealed. The whole world cannot buy one soul. The cross shows what a soul is worth.
For whosoever shall have been ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of man be ashamed when he shall come in his glory, and [in that] of the Father, and of the holy angels.
Peter has just confessed Jesus as the Christ. The Lord answers by foretelling His own rejection and death, and by calling anyone who follows Him to take up a cross. This verse adds a warning to that call. Shame felt now, before a hostile world, meets its answer on the day the Son of Man appears in glory.
Luke keeps a practical principle in view:
Luke, as he usually does, links Christ's rejection and death to a great moral principle: "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself." The Lord will have the cross be real, not only for a man, but to him too. It is a blessing to know what God has worked for us in the cross of Christ. But we must also learn what verdict the cross passes on the world and on human nature.
The world we walk through has not changed its mind about Him.
We pass through a world that is hostile to Christ, and confessing Him costs something in such a place. He gives no reason to expect its spirit to change for the better — rather the opposite.
The Lord names two things a person can be ashamed of: Himself, and what He said.
Chasing gain in this world means being ashamed of Christ Himself and of His words — ashamed of the One who did not seek gain or honour for Himself here, but gladly took the place of rejection. The day was coming when He would come again. He would come no longer in humble lowliness, but as the Son of Man in His own glory over all mankind, in His Father's glory and in the glory of the holy angels, all giving Him the place of great dignity. Then He would be ashamed of those who were ashamed of Him and His words when He came in grace. A solemn reversal of the whole matter!
One writer turns it on himself, then on the reader:
I used to be ashamed of Jesus, and now I am ashamed that I ever was. My dear friend, I hope you may from now on be ashamed that you have ever been ashamed of Jesus. Ashamed of Jesus! Ashamed of love! Ashamed of infinite grace! Ashamed of the One who gave up everything for us, who did everything for us.
Each of the three glories says something different about Him:
Matthew and Mark say the angels attend Him when He comes in His Father's glory. But Luke points us to three displays: the glory of the Son of Man, the glory of the Father, and the glory of the holy angels. What a blaze of glory will meet the eyes of those who see Him! His own glory was won by His humiliation, suffering and death, and it will show how great the work is that He has done... The Father's glory shines in the One who sought it and secured it while He was here on earth, in life and in death. It marks Him out as the One in whom the Father finds His deep delight.
The presence of angels around a man is itself the point:
It is a rejected Man Who is exalted on high... Being a man did not take away any of His divine rights. The angels were all subject to Him as man. He had a title above them because He was God. And He had won a further title above them because He had died on the cross.
One writer marks off which coming this is:
Here we find the glory displayed in this threefold way. It is that glory when He appears. And here it is a matter of His being ashamed of those who have been ashamed of Him. They could not give up present advantage. I am not speaking here of the Father's house, which of course is a different thing. Here it is the kingdom shown in its glory to the earth.
What happens next on the mountain is a sample of that glory:
At once the Lord spoke of their seeing the kingdom of God. Three chosen disciples saw it displayed before their eyes on the holy mountain. The glory of the Son of Man showed in His white and shining clothes, and His personal glory in the light of His face. His Father's glory was there too, in the cloud out of which the Father's voice came.
- Shame now — the world has not changed its mind about Christ, so confessing Him costs something.
- Shame then — the One who was despised will appear in glory, and He will be ashamed of those who were ashamed of Him. A solemn reversal.
- Three glories — Luke names all three. His own glory, won by suffering and death. His Father's glory, shining in the Son who sought it and secured it. And the glory of angels, who are subject to Him as man.
- Which day — this is His public appearing and the kingdom shown to the earth, not the Father's house.
- Preview given — on the holy mountain three disciples saw that glory in advance: His shining clothes, His face, and the Father's voice from the cloud.
But I say unto you of a truth, There are some of those standing here who shall not taste death until they shall have seen the kingdom of God.
Jesus has just spoken of His rejection, His death, and the cost of following Him. Then He promises that some of the people listening will see the kingdom of God before they die. Who were they, what did they see, and when was it fulfilled?
Commentators say the promise points to three of the men listening.
This was a bright witness. It was designed to strengthen those who were meant to be at the front and at the head of things in God's testimony and in the Church. The reference is to Peter, James, and John, who were allowed a sight of the kingdom of God before it comes in power.
Jesus had just said that He would be killed. That changed all talk of reigning now.
There was no longer any question about setting up the kingdom in Israel at that time... The point was this: He was going to die; He was about to be cast off shortly by the chief priests, elders, and scribes. What was the use, then, of talking about reigning now?... The mount of transfiguration showed a sample of the kingdom as it will be. The system of glory is only postponed, and in no way given up.
Matthew records the same promise as "until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom." One writer explains what that sight was, and what it was not.
Peter, James, and John had the privilege of seeing a specimen, a sample, a foreshadowing of the glory of this kingdom. They saw it a few days after these words were spoken. Compare the passage with 2 Peter 1:16-18. It shows the sense in which they saw the Son of Man coming in His kingdom. It was a type or pledge. It revealed even to their senses what the glory of that kingdom will be. This was not the kingdom as it exists now in mystery, but as it will exist in open display later on.
On the mountain the three saw Jesus in glory, with Moses and Elijah beside Him. Each figure there stood for a group in the coming kingdom.
Moses and Elijah stood for the saints who enjoy a heavenly portion. Peter, James and John stood for the saints on earth. The heavenly saints were with Him, and they understood His thoughts as they talked with Him. His presence blessed the earthly saints, though His glory dazzled them. It was a sight of "the Son of Man coming in his kingdom" (Matt. 16:28); a sight of "the kingdom of God after it has come with power" (Mark 9:1); a sight of "the kingdom of God" (Luke 9:27).
Luke also keeps pointing to the kingdom as something still ahead.
Compare in particular Luke 9:27, 14:15, 19:11, 21:31, 22:16, 18, and 23:51. In each of these passages the "kingdom" is plainly future.
Others explain the verse in different ways. One writer, commenting on the same promise in Matthew, lists two common views and sets them aside.
The favourite explanations run like this. Some say the Lord meant "the destruction of Jerusalem." Others tell us "they were to see the Lord coming in the triumphs of the Gospel," and so on... All these opinions are the opinions of men. Some of those standing there did not taste death until they saw Him coming. After six days Peter, James and John saw Him in His power and glory. That was a pattern of the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.
The writers quoted here agree: the transfiguration is what the Lord meant.
The promise comes right after the call to self-denial and the cross. That order is the lesson.
He added that some standing there would not taste death till they had seen the kingdom of God. If the Lord encourages us in true self-denial and in bearing the reproach of the cross, He also encourages us to look ahead to the future glory of the Lord Jesus in His coming kingdom. Suffering must come first, but glory is sure to follow.
- Cross first. The promise follows His announcement of death. Reigning now was off the table. The glory was postponed, never cancelled.
- Promise named. "Some standing here" means Peter, James and John, given a sight of the kingdom before it comes in power.
- Preview, not mystery. What they saw was a sample and pledge of the kingdom in open display, not of its present hidden form.
- Full picture. Moses and Elijah stood for the heavenly saints. The three disciples stood for the earthly saints. It was the whole kingdom in miniature, with Christ at the centre.
- Glory follows. The vision shows those who bear reproach now how the road ends: suffering first, then glory.