Don’t be ashamed.

For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

Mark 8:38

The circumstances of this warning from Jesus remind us to never by ashamed of the gospel. In Mark 8:31, Jesus plainly explained to His disciples that He would rejected by the Jewish religious leaders who would kill Him, but three days later He would rise from the dead. Peter pulled Jesus aside for a sidebar, rebuking the Master (Mark 8:32).  But it is Peter’s self-centeredness that gets rebuked when Jesus turns to all the disciples to confront Peter’s worldly-minded rejection of the work God would do (Mark 8:33).

Jesus then calls the crowd close and preaches a short sermon on discipleship, inviting them to the hard call of cross-bearing following of Jesus. He reminds us of the paradox of discipleship: to gain life by dying to it, of losing everything to gain salvation in the gospel (Mark 8:34-35). Nothing is more valuable than gaining eternal life for the everlasting benefit of our souls (Mark 8:36-37).

But to the one who would let the comparison of the glory of the gospel to draw their heart back to this wicked generation, Jesus gives the chilling warning to beware of the severe consequences of being ashamed of Him. For Jesus will return to judge. He will know those who aren’t truly boldly believing. He is ashamed of those who are ashamed of Him.

O Lord,

Deliver this heart from temptation to long after a sinful generation. May I never be ashamed of You or Your gospel. It is the power of God! It is my salvation! I believe You, Lord Jesus!

Amen