Mark 8:34-35
New American Bible (Revised Edition)
The Conditions of Discipleship. 34 He summoned the crowd with his disciples and said[a] to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me.(A) 35 For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the gospel[b] will save it.(B)
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- 8:34–35 This utterance of Jesus challenges all believers to authentic discipleship and total commitment to himself through self-renunciation and acceptance of the cross of suffering, even to the sacrifice of life itself. Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it…will save it: an expression of the ambivalence of life and its contrasting destiny. Life seen as mere self-centered earthly existence and lived in denial of Christ ends in destruction, but when lived in loyalty to Christ, despite earthly death, it arrives at fullness of life.
- 8:35 For my sake and that of the gospel: Mark here, as at Mk 10:29 equates Jesus with the gospel.
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