Lk 9:22 And because of the scandal of the cross, Jesus clearly indicates that such a prohibition is given (cf., Lk 9:21), saying in verse 22: because it is necessary — the connection remains the same whether you take it as a recitative or as a causal particle — that the Son of Man suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes. Behold, the Messiah will be rejected and repudiated by those who hold authority in the Jewish commonwealth — by the magistrates, the priests, the teachers of the Law; therefore by all who are leaders of the people, whether by civil power, sacred office, or learning and knowledge.
Does not a plainly sorrowful spectacle open before us? Behold, He is present whom the prophets announced with such solemnity and longed for with the greatest desire — yet the leaders of the people put Him to death! And killed — yet through that very death He will come to triumph, and on the third day rise again. Since in Matthew 16 and here the third day is carefully specified, Weiss thinks this was so precisely determined from the event. How frivolous this claim is may be seen from the fact that the Pharisees ordered the tomb to be guarded until the third day (Matthew 27:64); but if the Pharisees knew that Christ had foretold the third day, why not the disciples? Therefore Matthew and Luke did not more accurately determine Mark 8:31 (“after three days”) from the event, but already before the event both enemies and friends knew that the third day had been assigned by Jesus.
After the disciples had been with Jesus for two years and about a year before the Passion, He finally begins to instruct them also about this mystery. Behold how the most prudent and wise Teacher educates them step by step. Yet how little they wished at first to grasp it is shown, among other examples, by Peter, of whom Matthew 16 and Mark 8 speak.
Lk 9:23 If the Messiah — Redeemer, King, and Head of the Church — must enter into glory through suffering, what then follows for the redeemed, for the subjects of this King, for the members under such a Head? “Since He had said of Himself that the Son of Man must suffer many things, He now draws a certain common and general conclusion” (Theophylact). 23: And He said to all. Since in verse 21 Jesus had addressed the disciples, “all” cannot be referred only to the disciples, as some wish — even accusing the evangelist of clumsy writing — as though, having the conversation with Peter (reported in Mark 8:31) in mind, he now writes that all the disciples are taught by Christ (Holtzmann, Volkmar). Rather, the discourse is directed not only to the disciples but also to the crowd, as Mark 8:34 clearly states. Weiss is troubled that it is not narrated that the crowd was called or was nearby. But let us grant the evangelist that he supposes readers capable of understanding that if Jesus speaks to all, those “all” must have come together beforehand.
If anyone wishes to come after me — “so that no one may excuse himself as lacking grace, therefore He says: if anyone wishes, as if to say that the grace of God is available to us if the will is not lacking” (St. Bonaventure).
Let him deny himself, that is, forgetting himself, not seeking his own advantages, but having at heart the cause, interests, and benefits of Christ; therefore he must oppose his own desires and appetites that are contrary to the law of Christ, not follow them nor consent to them (Toletus); constantly reject and repudiate all such things, even if they are pleasing and delightful, when they are not in accord with the will of God (Lucas); act against rebellious concupiscences and subject them to the rule of reason and the law of God (see on Matthew 16:24).
And let him take up his cross daily. Those condemned to crucifixion had to carry their cross or gibbet; so we must bear tribulations and troubles that arise either from the pursuit of virtue and the struggle against evil inclinations, or from the ill will, hatred, and persecutions of others, or from sickness, adversity, poverty, and the like. Not without emphasis is it said daily: “Christ signifies that just as day follows day, so cross will follow cross — that there will be no end of adversities until we depart from this world — lest anyone think himself finished with bearing the cross if he has borne one patiently; for after enduring many, each must prepare to bear new ones” (Lucas). Since bearing the cross belongs to those led out to crucifixion, they are not mistaken who interpret that we must be ready to pour out life and blood for Christ and the Gospel.
Thus each one, denying himself and bearing his cross, will be a true disciple and imitator of Christ: and let him follow me — let him keep before his eyes the example of Jesus and console himself that by closely pressing in Christ’s footsteps he will follow Him, as now in bearing the cross, so one day in glory. “He adds this partly to console us, partly to teach the manner in which the cross is to be borne; for when this consolation enters the mind — that in bearing the cross we are companions of Christ — all bitterness easily softens; and the manner of bearing the cross so that it may be salutary is that it be borne according to Christ’s example: with equanimity, patience, and willingness, for the sake of justice, and finally for the glory of God as the end” (Lucas). For to follow Christ is to embrace His doctrine and commandments and express them in life (Toletus).
Lk 9:24 How necessary this command is is declared in verse 24: For whoever wishes to save his life — that is, either to preserve his life when it must be poured out for Christ, or to indulge and satisfy his evil desires — will lose it, because he has consigned himself to eternal ruin; but whoever loses his life for my sake — who for Christ either undergoes death or bravely overcomes and mortifies sinful desires — will save it, acquiring true life of the soul: the life of grace now and of glory in the future. To illustrate the manner of speaking, Bede (from Gregory) says: “If you keep grain, you lose it; if you sow it, you renew it.” Or as Victor says: “He who spares the boy loses him; he who does not spare saves him.” The ancients chiefly understood this of martyrdom; nevertheless the saying is entirely general, since it refers to what precedes — namely denying oneself and taking up the cross — which is likewise universal (Toletus).
Lk 9:25 And Christ gives the reason why not even the greatest temporal advantage should cause one to depart from the path of justice and virtue: For what does it profit a man — what benefit does he gain — if he gains the whole world but loses himself and suffers loss? That is, he suffers the loss of himself by casting himself into eternal ruin and damnation. He mentions the greatest gain imaginable — yet never attainable — the goods of the whole world: dominion over the entire earth, riches, pleasures, delights, and whatever other goods exist; yet He says that all these can in no way help a man if he incurs an irreparable and immeasurable loss — the supreme and eternal loss. For temporal things pass quickly and cannot be compared with those that endure forever. If the whole world can bring no benefit, what can a small part of it do?
Jesus then gives the reason why a man, preferring himself to Christ, loses himself: For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words — “by not confessing me in faith and not obeying my commandments, as though ashamed to take up the cross and follow Him who was crucified” (Toletus) — of him the Son of Man will be ashamed, He will not acknowledge him as His own, but with indignation will reject him as one covered with shame and confusion. In Jesus is the whole hope of salvation, since no other name is given by which we must be saved; therefore whoever is not acknowledged by Christ is consigned to eternal destruction.
And that it is worthwhile for all to strive with every effort to follow Christ — and that there can never be any reason to be ashamed to acknowledge and confess Him — He indicates by describing the majesty in which He will come as judge: when He comes in His own glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels — in that glory which belongs to Him as man, which befits the human nature united to the Word and corresponds to the greatness and multitude of His sufferings (cf. Philippians 2:8–9); He will come in the glory of the Father, because there will appear the majesty which, as Son consubstantial with the Father, He receives and shares with the divine nature, showing all that He is God and possesses the same divinity as the Father (Toletus). He will come in the glory of the holy angels, surrounded by the splendid host of the heavenly princes; “for if the majesty of an earthly ruler appears in the retinue of guards and soldiers, how much greater will Christ’s majesty appear with the innumerable multitude of holy angels accompanying Him?” (Toletus).
See also Matthew 16:17 and Mark 8:38.
CONTINUE
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