Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8:38 KJV)
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of man also shall be ashamed of him, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8:38 ASV)
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him shall the Son of man also be ashamed when he shall come in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. (Mark 8:38 DBY)
For whoever will be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also will be ashamed of him, when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.” (Mark 8:38 WEB)
for whoever may be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man also shall be ashamed of him, when he may come in the glory of his Father, with the holy messengers. (Mark 8:38 YLT)
Interlinear KJV
Whosoever /hos/ /an/ therefore /gar/ shall be ashamed /epaischunomai/ of me /me/ and /kai/ of my /emos/ words /logos/ in /en/ this /taute/ adulterous /moichalis/ and /kai/ sinful /hamartolos/ generation; /genea/ of him /autos/ also /kai/ shall /epaischunomai/ the Son /huios/ of man /anthropos/ be ashamed, /epaischunomai/ when /hotan/ he cometh /erchomai/ in /en/ the glory /doxa/ of his /autos/ Father /pater/ with /meta/ the holy /hagios/ angels. /aggelos/
Commentary
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me: Being ashamed of Jesus means being unwilling to accept Jesus as one’s Lord and Savior or being unwilling to identify yourself as a faithful follower of Jesus because of fear of embarrassment, humiliation, ridicule, or meeting the disapproval of others.
Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of my words: Being ashamed of Jesus’ words is feeling embarrassed to accept, preach, or live in obedience to the teachings of the Bible. Today, some Christians do not have a problem accepting Jesus or going to church. However, they feel that the Bible and the teachings thereof are out of date and have no place in this scientific age. A good example is that some professing Christians are ashamed to believe and or speak of the biblical creation story because evolution science makes a mockery of it as a myth.
in this adulterous and sinful generation: This age given to wickedness, particularly to adultery.
In the glory of his Father. In the day of judgment. See Barnes for Mt 25:31. The meaning of this verse is, whosoever shall refuse, through pride or wickedness, to acknowledge and serve Christ here, shall be excluded from his kingdom hereafter. He was lowly, meek, and despised. Yet there was an inimitable beauty in his character even then. But he will come again in awful grandeur; not as the babe of Bethlehem; not as the Man of Nazareth; but as the Son of God, in majesty and glory. They that would not acknowledge him here must be rejected by him there; they that would not serve him always will never enjoy him; they that would cast him out and despise him must be cast out by him, and consigned to eternal, hopeless sorrows. {n} “Whosoever” Lu 12:9; 2Ti 1:8 –Albert Barnes
These are some examples of ways Christians express being ashamed of Jesus and His word.
- In places where Christianity is a minority, some Christians express being ashamed of their faith by covering up their Christian identity or they do not let others know they are Christians.
- Christians who are ashamed of Christ hardly say ‘God willing’ (e.g. God willing, I will attend the meeting tomorrow.) or ‘By God’s grace.’ (e.g. By God’s grace, I passed the test.)
- Christians who are ashamed of Christ never show dependency on God and His word, the Bible.
- Believers who are ashamed of Christ associate more with world people than with other believers. He is in friendship with the world.
- Christians who are ashamed of Christ scarcely fast, study the Bible, or pray.
- Christians who are ashamed of Christ Jesus are shy to give a testimony of what God has done in their lives.
- Believers who are ashamed of Jesus Christ feel ashamed of appreciating others with the saying ‘God bless you.’
- Christians who are ashamed of Christ scarcely use Christian stickers.
- Christians who are ashamed of Jesus scarcely evangelize, for they cannot stand the embarrassment of being seen by friends, colleagues, and neighbors preaching the gospel.
- When a believer who is ashamed of Jesus receives an award, in his response, he does not make mention of God nor shows any gratitude to Him.