For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of man also be ashamed when he shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Jesus had just spoken of His own suffering, and said that anyone who follows Him must take up the cross. Verse 38 brings that choice into the open: will you own Him in a world that despises Him, with the day of His return in glory in view?
The warning is not aimed only at outsiders. The disciple closest to Jesus had just recoiled from the thought of a rejected Master, and one writer traces the rebuke of Peter back to an instinct we all share.
Here is proof of what man is. The Jews were the most favoured of men, yet the elders, priests and scribes became the most active in scorning and refusing the Son of Man. And His own disciples do not relish His shame… He rebuked Peter for his fleshly dislike of the cross of Christ, and could say, "Get behind Me, Satan," because it was the flesh's unbelief, selfishness and presumption — no less so for being hidden under a pious form… What was it that so roused our Lord? The very snare we are all so exposed to: the desire to save self, the preference for an easy path over the cross.
Shame here is not a feeling but a choice, and it is measured by whose opinion frightens you more.
The center of the whole matter is what one thinks of Christ. How many are ashamed of Him before an adulterous and sinful generation! They are more afraid of the sneers of ungodly sinners than they are of the judgment of God! They will not confess Jesus as Lord. Yet He has shown His truth, His faithfulness, His grace and mercy for all the world to see. What folly to be ashamed of One who is the only real Friend and protector available to mankind.
Other beliefs do not produce this embarrassment:
Man is never ashamed of a false religion. A Muslim will say his prayers in the market, and if you are making a bargain with him, you may wait until he has finished. A Hindu is not ashamed of the worship of his gods, but a Christian is ashamed of Christ.
The Lord names two things people flinch from: Himself, and what He said. That second half is where the price is usually paid, and one writer draws a blunt test from it.
To lose one's life for Christ's sake and the gospel's is eternal gain. In spirit this applies to everyone, today as much as at any earlier time. It is a solemn word. Confessing Christ still costs, and a confession that costs nothing hardly deserves the name.
The verse gains its weight from who is speaking. The same title used for the suffering One in verse 31 is used for the returning One here.
The Son of Man who would suffer would also reign in heavenly and divine glory. He is God as well as Man, the only begotten Son of the Father.
The title He uses points to what He comes to do.
Mark 8:38 describes the Lord coming with His holy angels as Son of Man. That title is well known to belong to Him as the One who carries out judgment.
The verse gives back exactly what a person gave.
The day was coming when He would come again. He would no longer be in lowly humiliation. He would come as the Son of Man in His own glory over all mankind, in His Father's glory and 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. Solemn reversal of the whole matter!
The very next verse promises that some standing there would see the kingdom of God come with power — and the Transfiguration follows within days. Writers read that as God steadying His people's nerve for the cost He has just described.
He displayed His glory in the kingdom before the time of its establishment in order to strengthen His own in taking up the cross and following the Master. The disciples were like the unbelieving brothers, and like Christendom too. They looked for progress and triumph, and overlooked faith and love tested in suffering with Christ.
Some of those listening would live to see it:
The coming of the Son of Man in glory would have some witnesses who stood there at the time — those who were not ashamed of Him, and who would not die until they had seen the kingdom of God come with power. It was a preview of the kingdom that Peter, James and John saw.
- Shame — the pull is not toward gross sin but toward an easy path. Even Peter disliked the cross, and the Lord answered him, "Get behind Me, Satan."
- Setting — the generation is adulterous and sinful. People carry other beliefs openly, yet go quiet about Christ.
- Cost — the warning covers His words as well as His Person. A confession that costs nothing hardly deserves the name.
- Glory — the Son of Man who suffered returns in His Father's glory with holy angels. That title marks Him out as the One who carries out judgment.
- Reversal — He came in grace and men were ashamed of Him; He comes in glory and is ashamed of them. He gave a preview of the kingdom glory so His own could take up the cross with the end in view.
And he said to them, Verily I say unto you, There are some of those standing here that shall not taste death until they shall have seen the kingdom of God come in power.
Commentary for this verse has not been generated yet.