Luke 9:23-26
Chapter 9
23
Jesus also told everyone:
“If you want to be my follower, deny yourself, take up your cross daily, and follow me!24
For whoever tries to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for my sake will find it.
25
What does it profit you to gain the whole world but lose or forfeit yourself?
26
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and the glory of his Father with his holy angels.
Commentaries
First Announcement of the Passion and Resurrection – Conditions for Being a Disciple.
Jesus immediately explains the fate that awaits him and what this means for his disciples’ lives. Anyone who wants to follow him can’t avoid the path he is on. The true disciple must embrace the Master’s plan and way of life: he denies himself, meaning he doesn’t act on impulse or tailor reality to suit his own interests.