Luke 9:26 - Printer Friendly

What does Luke 9:26 mean?

ESV: For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

NIV: Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.

NASB: For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when He comes in His glory and the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

CSB: For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his glory and that of the Father and the holy angels.

NLT: If anyone is ashamed of me and my message, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in his glory and in the glory of the Father and the holy angels.

KJV: For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.

NKJV: For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels.

Verse Commentary:

Strangely, although John does not record this story, he does record the words of Jesus that caused many to be ashamed of Him. First, they balked because Jesus called Himself "the bread that came down from heaven." They know he is the son of Joseph, thus seemingly not from heaven (John 6:41–42). Then they objected when Jesus said, "I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. And the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh" (John 6:51). At the thought of eating Jesus' flesh and drinking His blood (John 6:56), many from the larger group of disciples left (John 6:66). Jesus asked the Twelve if they wanted to leave, as well. Peter responded, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God" (John 6:68–69).

To be "ashamed" of Jesus' words means to refuse to publicly align with Him and what He teaches. The ultimate test of this for the disciples is to face rejection by the Jewish religious leaders to the point of crucifixion (Luke 9:22–23). Peter fails this test during Jesus' trials (Luke 22:56–62), but once indwelt by the Spirit (Acts 2:1–3), he boldly and bravely rejoices at the opportunity to join in experiencing persecutions as did Jesus (Acts 5:40–41).

To be "ashamed" means to experience humiliation, regret, and embarrassment because of something. In this chapter, the Twelve are the furthest from ashamed of Jesus they can be. They have used His power to heal the sick, cast out demons, and raise the dead (Luke 9:1–6, 10; Matthew 10:8). Peter has declared Jesus to be "The Christ of God" (Luke 9:20). They mistakenly attempt to defend Jesus' honor from an exorcist (Luke 9:49–50) and an inhospitable Samaritan village (Luke 9:51–55). They have paid personal costs (Luke 9:57–62). But they have yet to see Jesus arrested, beaten, and crucified. When they do, they will find themselves locked in a room, afraid for their lives (John 20:19).

Jesus calls Himself the "Son of Man" many times during His earthly ministry. Here, shortly before the transfiguration displays His glory, the term is especially relevant. Daniel 7:13–14 describes the Son of Man:

I saw in the night visions,
and behold, with the clouds of heaven
there came one like a son of man,
and he came to the Ancient of Days
and was presented before him.
And to Him was given dominion
and glory and a kingdom,
that all peoples, nations, and languages
should serve him;
his dominion is an everlasting dominion,
which shall not pass away,
and his kingdom one
that shall not be destroyed.

Matthew includes, "…and then he will repay each person according to what he has done" (Matthew 16:27b). Bible scholar Darrell Bock explains that the combination of the "Son of Man" and "[coming] in his glory" refers to Jesus' authority at the final judgment. The disciples think this judgment is coming very soon. They don't realize it will be thousands of years before the Great White Throne.

Luke 9:23–27 is another call from Jesus to His disciples to follow Him, with more details of what truly following will cost. Jesus has just said that He is going to suffer and die by the hands of the Jewish religious leaders; now He tells His larger group of disciples to give up their lives for Him. This passage has two challenging concepts: What is the "cross" Jesus tells His followers to carry? Why does Jesus say some standing there will see the kingdom of God? This challenge to commit to Jesus is also found in Matthew 16:24–28 and Mark 8:34—9:1.

Chapter Summary:

Luke 9 completes Jesus' Galilean ministry and begins describing His journey towards Jerusalem. Jesus gives His disciples miraculous power and commissions them to preach. The empowerment thrills the disciples but confuses Herod Antipas. A hungry crowd of thousands and hard teachings about following Jesus, however, shows the disciples' faith is short-lived. The transfiguration and the demonized boy precede stories of the disciples' continued confusion. They still struggle to accurately represent Jesus. Luke 9:51–62 begins the "travelogue" (Luke 9:51—19:27) with examples of the patience and sacrifice needed to represent Jesus as His followers.

Chapter Context:

Luke 9 straddles the two major sections biblical scholars call "Jesus' Galilean Ministry" (Luke 4:14—9:50) and "The Travelogue to Jerusalem" (Luke 9:51—19:27). The Galilean ministry alternates calls to discipleship with stories on Jesus' authority and teachings. The travelogue records what Jesus did and taught to prepare the disciples for His crucifixion. After a final group of stories on how to respond to Jesus (Luke 9:51—11:13) and several examples of how the Jewish religious leaders reject Jesus (Luke 11:14–54), Luke presents Jesus' teaching on the kingdom of God (Luke 12:1—19:27).

Luke was a traveling companion of Paul (Acts 16:10) and a physician (Colossians 4:14). Unlike Matthew, Mark, and John, Luke writes his gospel as an historian, rather than as a first-hand eyewitness. His extensive writings also include the book of Acts (Acts 1:1–3). These are deliberately organized, carefully researched accounts of those events. The gospel of Luke focuses on the earthly ministry of Jesus Christ. Luke's Gentile perspective presents Christ as a Savior for all people, offering both forgiveness and direction to those who follow Him.

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