Commentaries:
Adam Clarke
Whosoever - shall be ashamed of me - Our Lord hints here at one of the principal reasons of the incredulity of the Jews, - they saw nothing in the person of Jesus Christ which corresponded to the pompous notions which they had formed of the Messiah.
If Jesus Christ had come into the world as a mighty and opulent man, clothed with earthly glories and honors, he would have had a multitude of partisans, and most of them hypocrites.
And of my words - This was another subject of offense to the Jews: the doctrine of the cross must be believed; a suffering Messiah must be acknowledged; and poverty and affliction must be borne; and death, perhaps, suffered in consequence of becoming his disciples.
Of him, and of his words, in this sense, the world is, to this day, ashamed.
Of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed - As he refused to acknowledge me before men, so will I refuse to acknowledge him before God and his angels. Terrible consequence of the rejection of Christ! And who can help him whom the only Savior eternally disowns. Reader! Lay this subject seriously to heart; and see the notes on Matthew 16:24, etc., and at the end of that chapter.
All the subjects contained in this chapter are very interesting; but particularly:
1.The miraculous feeding of the multitudes, which is a full, unequivocal proof of the supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ: in this miracle he truly appears in his creative energy, with which he has associated the tenderest benevolence and humanity. The subject of such a prince must ever be safe; the servant of such a master must ever have kind usage; the follower of such a teacher can never want nor go astray.
2.The necessity of keeping the doctrine of the Gospel uncorrupt, is strongly inculcated in the caution to avoid the leaven of the Pharisees and of Herod: the doctrine of the cross must not only be observed and held inviolate, but that doctrine must never be mixed with worldly politics.
Time-serving is abominable in the sight of God: it shows that the person has either no fixed principle of religion, or that he is not under the influence of any.
Other Adam Clarke entries containing Mark 8:38:
Luke 9:26
2 Thessalonians 1:7
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