Church Fathers Commentary Mark 8:34-38

"And he called unto him the multitude with his disciples, and said unto them, If any man would come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. For whosoever would save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel`s shall save it. For what doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and forfeit his life? For what should a man give in exchange for his life? For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man also shall be ashamed of him, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels." — Mark 8:34-38 (ASV)

The Venerable Bede: After showing His disciples the mystery of His passion and resurrection, He exhorts them, as well as the multitude, to follow the example of His passion.

Therefore, the text continues, And when He had called the people to Him with His disciples also, He said to them, Whoever wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself.

St. John Chrysostom: It is as if He were saying to Peter, "You rebuke Me for being willing to undergo My passion, but I tell you that not only is it wrong to prevent Me from suffering, but you cannot be saved unless you yourself die."¹

Again He says, Whoever wishes to come after Me; it is as if He said, "I call you to good things that a person should desire; I do not force you into evil and burdensome things." For someone who compels his listener often stands in his way, but one who leaves him free is more likely to draw him to himself. A person denies himself when he does not care for his body, so that whether it is scourged or suffers anything of a similar nature, he bears it patiently.

Theophylact of Ohrid: For a person who denies another, whether a brother or a father, does not sympathize with him or grieve at his fate, even if he is wounded and dies. In the same way, we ought to despise our body, so that if it should be wounded or hurt in any way, we should not be concerned with its suffering.

St. John Chrysostom: But He does not say a person should not spare himself, but something more: that he should deny himself, as if he had nothing in common with himself. He should face danger and look upon such things as if another were suffering. This is how one truly spares himself, for parents act most kindly toward their children when they entrust them to teachers with the instruction not to spare them. He then shows the degree to which a person should deny himself when He says, And take up his cross, by which He means a death of the utmost shame.

Theophylact of Ohrid: For at that time the cross was seen as shameful, because criminals were fastened to it.

Pseudo-Jerome: Alternatively, like a skillful pilot who foresees a storm during a calm and wants his sailors to be prepared, so also the Lord says, If anyone will follow me...

The Venerable Bede: For we deny ourselves when we turn away from what we were in the past and strive to reach that state to which we are newly called. And we take up the cross when our body is pained by abstinence or our soul is afflicted by compassion for our neighbor.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But because we must have a new strength after the cross, He adds, and follow me.

St. John Chrysostom: He says this because it is possible for a person to suffer and yet not follow Christ—that is, when he does not suffer for Christ's sake. For he who follows Christ is one who walks after Him and conforms himself to His death, despising the principalities and powers under whose influence he committed sin before the coming of Christ.

Then follows the verse: For whoever will save his life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life for My sake and the Gospel's, the same shall save it.

I give you these commands, so to speak, to spare you. For whoever spares his son brings him to destruction, but whoever does not spare him saves him. It is therefore right to be always prepared for death. If in the battles of this world, the one who is prepared for death fights better than others—even though no one can restore him to life after death—how much more is this true in spiritual battle? For in this battle, such a great hope of resurrection is set before him, since he who gives up his soul to death truly saves it.

Remigius of Auxerre: In this passage, "life" should be understood as the present life, not the substance of the soul itself.

St. John Chrysostom: And so, after He had said, For whoever will save his life shall lose it, He added, For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? He did this so that no one would suppose this loss is equivalent to that salvation. It is as if He said, "Do not think that he has saved his soul who has shunned the perils of the cross. For when a person, at the cost of his soul—that is, his life—gains the whole world, what else does he have, now that his soul is perishing?"

Does he have another soul to give for his own? A person can give money in exchange for a house, but in losing his soul, he does not have another soul to give. It is with a purpose that He says, Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? For God, in exchange for our salvation, has given the precious blood of Jesus Christ.

The Venerable Bede: Alternatively, He says this because in a time of persecution, our life is to be laid aside, but in a time of peace, our earthly desires are to be broken. He implies this when He says, For what shall it profit a man...²

But we are often hindered by shame from expressing with our voice the righteousness we preserve in our hearts. Therefore, it is added, For whoever shall confess Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, him also shall the Son of man confess, when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.

Theophylact of Ohrid: For faith that remains only in the mind is not sufficient; the Lord also requires confession with the mouth. For when the soul is sanctified by faith, the body ought also to be sanctified by confession.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: He who has learned this, then, is bound to confess Christ zealously and without shame. This generation is called "adulterous" because it has left God, the true Bridegroom of the soul, and has refused to follow the doctrine of Christ. Instead, it has submitted itself to the devil and has taken up the seeds of impiety, for which reason it is also called "sinful." Whoever among them, therefore, has denied the kingdom of Christ and the words of God revealed in the Gospel will receive a reward fitting his impiety, when he hears at the second advent, I know you not (Matthew 7:23).³

Theophylact of Ohrid: Christ Himself will also confess the one who has confessed that his God was crucified—not here, where Christ is regarded as poor and wretched, but in His glory and with a multitude of angels.

St. Gregory the Great: There are some, however, who confess Christ simply because they see that everyone else is a Christian. If the name of Christ were not held in such great glory today, the Holy Church would not have so many who profess faith. Therefore, a verbal profession is not a sufficient test of faith as long as the profession of the majority shields it from shame.⁴

In a time of peace, therefore, there is another way by which we may know ourselves. We are always fearful of being despised by our neighbors and consider it a shame to endure insulting words. If, perhaps, we have quarreled with our neighbor, we blush to be the first to offer amends, for our carnal heart, in seeking the glory of this life, disdains humility.

Theophylact of Ohrid: But because He had spoken of His glory, He adds the following to show that His promises were not empty: Truly I say to you, that there are some of them that stand here who shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

It is as if He said, "Some of them—that is, Peter, James, and John—shall not taste death until I show them in my transfiguration the glory with which I am to come in my second advent." For the transfiguration was nothing less than a preview of the second coming of Christ, in which Christ Himself and the saints will shine.

The Venerable Bede: Truly, this was done with loving foresight, so that having tasted for a brief moment the contemplation of everlasting joy, they might bear up under adversity with greater strength.⁵

St. John Chrysostom: And He did not declare the names of those who were about to go up the mountain, lest the other disciples should feel some touch of human frailty. He told them beforehand so that they might come with minds better prepared to be taught all that concerned that vision.⁶

The Venerable Bede: Alternatively, the present Church is called the kingdom of God. Some of the disciples were to live in the body until they could see the Church built up and raised against the glory of the world. For it was right to make some promises concerning this life to the uninstructed disciples, so that they might be built up with greater strength for the time to come.

Pseudo-Chrysostom: But in a mystical sense, Christ is life and the devil is death, and he who dwells in sin is one who tastes of death. Even now, everyone, according to whether he has good or evil doctrines, tastes the bread of either life or death. Indeed, it is a lesser evil to see death, a greater one to taste it, still worse to follow it, and worst of all to be subject to it.⁷

1. Hom. in Matt., 55
2. in Marc. 2, 36
3. Vict. Ant. e Cat. in Marc.
4. Hom. in 32, in Evang.
5. in Marc., 3, 36
6. Hom. in Matt., 56
7. Orig. in Matt. tom., 12, 33, 35