“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.”
My Notes
What Does Luke 9:26 Mean?
"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." Jesus draws a direct parallel between how we treat him now and how he'll treat us then. The word "ashamed" (epaischynō) means to be embarrassed by, to distance yourself from, to downplay your association with. It's not outright denial — it's the quieter, more socially acceptable version of it.
The triple glory mentioned — his own, the Father's, and the holy angels' — emphasizes the cosmic significance of the moment of reckoning. The same Jesus who can be dismissed as irrelevant or embarrassing in polite conversation will return in a glory so overwhelming that every evaluation will be reversed. What was shameful will be vindicated; what was sophisticated will be exposed.
Reflection Questions
- 1.In what social contexts are you most tempted to downplay or hide your faith?
- 2.What's the difference between being wisely discreet and being ashamed of Jesus?
- 3.Whose opinion about your faith do you fear more than God's — and why?
- 4.How would your daily life change if you truly believed Jesus was returning in glory?
Devotional
Ashamed. Not denying. Not betraying. Ashamed. There's a difference, and Jesus knows it. Peter's denial was dramatic — cursing and swearing he didn't know Jesus. But most of us don't deny Jesus like Peter. We're just quietly embarrassed by him. We downplay our faith in professional settings. We edit our language depending on the audience. We believe everything but advertise nothing.
Jesus calls that being ashamed of him. And the consequence is devastating: "of him shall the Son of man be ashamed." The relationship is reciprocal. How you treat him in a world that finds him irrelevant is how he'll treat you in a moment of glory that finds everything else irrelevant.
This isn't about being obnoxious or confrontational. It's about honesty. When the opportunity arises — when someone asks what you believe, when a conversation touches on faith, when your identity as a follower of Jesus is the relevant information — do you offer it freely or hide it instinctively?
The triple glory — his own, the Father's, the holy angels' — is meant to recalibrate your sense of whose opinion matters. The colleague whose eyebrow raise makes you nervous. The friend group where faith feels uncool. The culture that treats sincere belief as unsophisticated. None of them will be in the room when the Son of Man arrives in glory. But you will.
Commentary
Trusted original commentary from respected historical Bible scholars and theologians.
And it came to pass, about an eight days after those sayings,.... About a week after he had declared the above things,…
See the Mat 16:13-27 notes; Mar 8:27-38 notes. Luk 9:20 The Christ of God - The “Anointed” of God. The “Messiah”…
In these verses, we have Christ discoursing with his disciples about the great things that pertained to the kingdom of…
whosoever shall be ashamed of me Compare Luk 12:9; 2Ti 1:8; 2Ti 1:12; 2Ti 2:12.
Cross References
Related passages throughout Scripture