Church Fathers Commentary Luke 9:23-27

"And he said unto all, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. For what is a man profited, if he gain the whole world, and lose or forfeit his own self? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in his own glory, and [the glory] of the Father, and of the holy angels. But I tell you of a truth, There are some of them that stand here, who shall in no wise taste of death, till they see the kingdom of God." — Luke 9:23-27 (ASV)

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Great and noble leaders provoke the mighty in arms to deeds of valor, not only by promising them the honors of victory, but by declaring that suffering is in itself glorious. Such, we see, is the teaching of the Lord Jesus Christ. For He had foretold to His disciples that He must suffer the accusations of the Jews, be slain, and rise again on the third day. So that they would not think that Christ indeed was to suffer persecution for the life of the world, but that they might lead an easy life, He shows them that they must pass through similar struggles if they desire to obtain His glory. Therefore, it is said, "And he said to all."

The Venerable Bede: He rightly addressed all, since He discusses the deeper matters (concerning the belief in His birth and passion) separately with His disciples.

St. John Chrysostom: Now the Savior, in His great mercy and loving-kindness, wants no one to serve Him unwillingly or by compulsion, but only those who come of their own free will and are grateful for being allowed to serve Him. And so, not by compelling people and putting a yoke on them, but by persuasion and kindness, He draws to Himself everywhere those who are willing, saying, "If any man will," etc.

St. Basil the Great: But He has left His own life as an example of blameless conduct for those who are willing to obey Him. As He says, "Come after me," meaning by this not a physical following of His body—for that would be impossible for everyone, since our Lord is in heaven—but a proper imitation of His life according to their abilities.

The Venerable Bede: Now unless a person renounces himself, he does not come near to Him who is above him; therefore, it is said, "Let him deny himself."

St. Basil the Great: A denial of oneself is indeed a total forgetfulness of things past and a forsaking of one's own will and affections.

Origen of Alexandria: A person also denies himself when, by a sufficient change in behavior or by good conduct, he transforms a life of habitual wickedness. He who has long lived in lasciviousness abandons his lustful self when he becomes chaste, and in the same way, forsaking any crime is a denial of oneself.

St. Basil the Great: To desire to suffer death for Christ, to put to death one's members which are on the earth, to have a courageous resolution to undergo any danger for Christ, and to be indifferent toward the present life—this is what it means to take up one's cross. Therefore, it is added, "And let him take up his cross daily."

Theophylact of Ohrid: By the cross, He speaks of an ignominious death, meaning that if anyone wants to follow Christ, he must not, for his own sake, flee even from an ignominious death.

St. Gregory the Great: The cross is also taken up in two ways: either when the body is afflicted through abstinence, or when the mind is touched by sympathy.

Greek Expositors: He rightly joins these two, "Let him deny himself," and "let him take up his cross." For just as one who is prepared to ascend the cross conceives in his mind the intention of death and so goes on, thinking he has no more part in this life, so the one who is willing to follow our Lord must first deny himself, and then take up his cross, so that his will may be ready to endure every calamity.

St. Basil the Great: A person's perfection, then, consists in this: that he should have his affections hardened, even toward life itself, and always have about him the sentence of death, so that he should by no means trust in himself. Perfection begins with the relinquishment of things foreign to it, such as possessions, vainglory, or affection for things that do not profit.

The Venerable Bede: We are then instructed to take up the cross of which we have spoken above, and having taken it, to follow our Lord who bore His own cross. Therefore, it follows, "And let him follow me."

Origen of Alexandria: He gives the reason for this when He adds, For whosoever will save his life shall lose it. That is, whoever, in accordance with the present life, keeps his own soul fixed on worldly things, that person shall lose it, never reaching the realm of true happiness. But on the other hand, He adds, but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake, shall save it. That is, whoever forsakes worldly things to look upon truth, and exposes himself to death—losing his life for Christ, as it were—will all the more save it.

If, then, it is a blessed thing to save our life (referring to the safety that is in God), there must also be a certain good surrender of one's life that is made by looking to Christ. It also seems to me, by analogy to the self-denial spoken of before, that we ought to lose a certain sinful life of ours in order to take up the life that is saved by virtue.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: But that incomparable discipline of the passion of Christ, which surpasses the world's delights and treasures, is alluded to when He adds, What is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away? As if He says, "When a person, by pursuing present delights, gains pleasure and refuses to suffer, choosing instead to live splendidly in his riches, what advantage will he have then, when he has lost his soul?" For the fashion of this world passes away, and pleasant things depart as a shadow. For the treasures of ungodliness will not profit, but righteousness delivers a man from death.

St. Gregory the Great: Since the holy Church has times of persecution and times of peace, our Lord has addressed both situations in His command to us. For in a time of persecution, we must lay down our soul (that is, our life), which He indicated when He said, Whosoever shall lose his life... But in a time of peace, we must vanquish those things that have the greatest power to subdue us: our earthly desires. He indicated this when He said, What does it profit a man... etc.

Now, we commonly despise all fleeting things, but we are still so restrained by that feeling of shame so common to humanity that we are unable to express in words the uprightness we preserve in our hearts. But to this wound, the Lord applies a suitable remedy, saying, For whoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed.

Theophylact of Ohrid: A person is ashamed of Christ who says, "Am I to believe in One who was crucified?" He also is ashamed of His words who despises the simplicity of the Gospel. But the Lord will be ashamed of that person in His kingdom, just as a master of a household would have a bad servant and be ashamed to have him.

St. Cyril of Alexandria: Now He strikes fear into their hearts when He says that He will descend from heaven, not in His former humility and state—which was suited to our capacity to receive Him—but in the glory of the Father, with the angels ministering to Him. For it follows, When he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels. How awful and fatal it will be, then, to be branded as an enemy and as lazy in service, when so great a Judge descends with the armies of angels standing around Him. From this you may perceive that even though He has taken our flesh and blood to Himself, the Son is no less God, seeing that He promises to come in the glory of God the Father and that angels will minister to Him as the Judge of all—He who was made man like us.

St. Ambrose of Milan: While our Lord always raises us to look to the future reward of virtue and teaches us how good it is to despise worldly things, He also supports the weakness of the human mind with a present reward. For it is a hard thing to take up the cross, to expose your life to danger, and your body to death. It is hard to give up what you are when you wish to be what you are not. Even the loftiest virtue seldom exchanges present things for future ones. The good Master, then, so that no one would be broken down by despair or weariness, immediately promises that He will be seen by the faithful, saying, But I say to you, there are some standing here who shall not taste of death till they see the kingdom of God.

Theophylact of Ohrid: That is, the glory in which the righteous will be. He said this about His transfiguration, which was a type of the glory to come. It is as if He said, "There are some standing here—Peter, James, and John—who will not die before they have seen at the time of My transfiguration what the glory of those who confess Me will be."

St. Gregory the Great: Or, the kingdom of God in this passage means the present Church, and some of His disciples were to remain alive in the body until that time when they would behold the Church of God built and raised up against the glory of this world.

St. Ambrose of Milan: If we also wish not to fear death, let us stand where Christ is. For only those who are able to stand with Christ cannot taste death. From the nature of the word itself, we may consider that those who are deemed worthy to obtain union with Christ will not experience even the slightest perception of death. Let us at least suppose that the death of the body is tasted by touch, while the life of the soul is preserved by possession. For here it is not the death of the body that is denied, but the death of the soul.