JJohn Chrysostom
4th centuryChurch Father
As if He would say to Peter, Thou indeed dost rebuke Me, who am willing to undergo My passion, but I tell thee, that not only is it wrong to prevent Me from suffering, but neither canst thou be saved unless thou thyself diest. Again He says, Whosoever wishes to come after me; as if He said, I call you to those good things which a man should wish for, I do not force you to evil and burdensome things; for he who does violence to his hearer, often stands in his way; but he who leaves him free, rather draws him to himself. And a man denies himself when he cares not for his body, so that whether it be scourged, or whatever of like nature it may suffer, he bears it patiently.
But He says not, a man should not spare himself, but what is more, that he should deny himself, as if he had nothing in common with himself, but face danger, and look upon such things as if another were suffering; and this is really to spare himself; for parents then most truly act kindly to their children, when they give them up to their masters, with an injunction not to spare them. Again, He shews the degree to which a man should deny himself, when He says, And take up his cross, by which He means, even to the most shameful death.
And this He says, because it may happen that a man may suffer and yet not follow Christ, that is, when he does not suffer for Christ’s sake; for he follows Christ, who walks after Him, and conforms himself to His death, despising those principalities and powers under whose power, before the coming of Christ, he committed sin. Then there follows, For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the Gospel’s, the same shall save it. I give you these commands, as it were to spare you; for whosoever spares his son, brings him to destruction, but whosoever does not spare him, saves him.
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It is therefore right to be always prepared for death; for if in the battles of this world, he who is prepared for death fights better than others, though none can restore him to life after death, much more is this the case in spiritual battle, when so great a hope of resurrection is set before him, since he who gives up his soul unto death saves it.
As therefore He had said, For who so ever will save his life shall lose it, lest any one should suppose this loss to be equivalent to that salvation, He adds, For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul, &c. As if He said, Think not that he has saved his soul, who has shunned the perils of the cross; for when a man, at the cost of his soul, that is, his life, gains the whole world, what has he besides, now that his soul is perishing? Has he another soul to give for his soul? For a man can give the price of his house in exchange for the house, but in losing his soul, he has not another soul to give. And 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.
And He did not declare the names of those who were about to go up, lest the other disciples should feel some touch of human frailty, and He tells it to them beforehand, that they might come with minds better prepared to be taught all that concerned that vision.
He then who has learned this, is bound zealously to confess Christ without shame. And 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, but has prostrated itself to the devil and taken up the seeds of impiety, for which reason also it is called sinful. Whosoever therefore amongst them has denied the kingdom of Christ, and the words of God revealed in the Gospel, shall receive a reward befitting His impiety, when He hears in the second advent, I know you not. (Matt. 7:23)
But in a mystical sense, Christ is life, and the devil is death, and he tastes of death, who dwells in sin; even now every one, according as he has good or evil doctrines, tastes the bread either of life or of death. And indeed, it is a less evil to see death, a greater to taste of it, still worse to follow it, worst of all to be subject to it.
For a man who denies another, be it brother or father, does not sympathize with him, nor grieve at his fate, though he be wounded and die; thus we ought to despise our body, so that if it should be wounded or hurt in any way, we should not mind its suffering.
For at that time the cross appeared shameful, because malefactors were fixed to it.
But because after the cross we must have a new strength, He adds, and follow me.
Him then who shall have confessed that his God was crucified, Christ Himself also shall confess, not here, where He is esteemed poor and wretched, but in His glory and with a multitude of Angels.
For that faith which only remains in the mind is not sufficient, but the Lord requires also the confession of the mouth; for when the soul is sanctified by faith, the body ought also to be sanctified by confession.
But because He had spoken of His glory, in order to shew that His promises were not vain, He subjoins, Verily I say unto you, That there be some of them that stand here who shall not taste of death, till they have seen the kingdom of God come with power. As if He said, Some, that is, Peter, James, and John, shall not taste of death, until I shew them, in my transfiguration, with what glory I am to come in my second advent; for the transfiguration was nothing else, but an announcement of the second coming of Christ, in which also Christ Himself and the Saints will shine.
Cyrill of Alexandria
5th centuryChurch Father
Since He took on human form through the Holy Virgin, it is affirmed that He who transcends suffering as God endured the trials of His own flesh in His humanity. If He, being divine, became human without losing His divine nature; if He entered into creation yet remained above it; if, as the Lawgiver, He adopted the law (cf. Gal. 4:4) while still being the Lawgiver; if, while reigning in the divine essence, He assumed the form of a servant (cf. Phil. 2:7), all the while preserving His sovereign nature; and if, as the Only Begotten, He became the firstborn among many brothers (cf. Rom. 8:30) while still remaining the Only Begotten, what should astonish us if, after suffering in the flesh according to His humanity, He is still seen as being without passion in His divine nature? Indeed, the wise Apostle Paul proclaims that the Word, who was in the form of God and equal to the Father, became obedient even unto death, specifically the death on the cross (Phil. 2:6-8).
Beda Venerabilis
8th centuryChurch Father
After shewing to His disciples the mystery of His passion and resurrection, He exhorts them, as well as the multitude, to follow the example of His passion. Wherefore it goes on; And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever wishes to come after me, let him deny himself.
For we deny ourselves, when we avoid what we were of old, and strive to reach that point, whither we are newly called. And the cross is taken up by us, when either our body is pained by abstinence, or our soul afflicted by fellow-feeling for our neighbour.
Or else He says this, because in time of persecution, our life is to be laid aside, but in time of peace, our earthly desires are to be broken, which He implies when He says, For what shall it profit a man, &c. But we are often hindered by a habit of shamefacedness, from expressing with our voice the rectitude which we preserve in our hearts; and therefore it is added, For whosoever shall confess me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, him also shall the Son of man confess, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Truly it was done with a loving foresight, in order that they, having tasted for a brief moment the contemplation of everlasting joy, might with the greater strength bear up under adversity.
Or else the present Church is called the kingdom of God; and some of the disciples were to live in the body until they should 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 disciples who were uninstructed, that they might be built up with greater strength for the time to come.
Alexander Gorsky
19th centuryCommentator
The necessity of suffering and death was, given the context and inherent nature of the situation, inevitable for the disciples of Christ. This is true, even if not always in a literal sense, at least in a spiritual one. The concepts of suffering and death may have appeared perplexing and at odds with the vision of Christ's kingdom, not just for Peter but for all. In a pivotal moment, the Lord shifted the discussion from Himself to the Apostles and others present, proclaiming clearly: If anyone desires to follow me, let him deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. He who is ashamed of me and my words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His glory, and the glory of His Father and of the holy angels.
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With these statements, the Lord introduced a new element into the prophetic depiction of His sufferings—namely, the cross—and simultaneously assured His disciples that He would eventually appear in glory on earth. He indicated that the kingdom of God would soon be realized on earth by adding, Some of those standing here shall not taste death until they see the kingdom of God come with power. This assertion further reinforces the truth of what the Lord proclaimed about Himself: that He must endure suffering and die. It was impossible to reject this truth, yet it was challenging to dismiss the widely held beliefs regarding the Messiah that did not consider such sufferings contradictory. This discourse should have profoundly impacted the hearts of the Apostles, especially those nearest to Him, who with fervor and devotion yearned to witness Jesus in His glory, fully revealed in His kingdom on earth.
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