View source for Mt 16:24-28

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'''74.  Test of true discipleship''' (Matt 16:24-28; Mark 8:34-9:1; Luke 9:23-27)

Immediately after telling his disciples of his coming suffering and death, Jesus told them they had to be prepared for similar treatment. The disciples of Jesus are those who have given their lives to Jesus, and they will be obedient to their master even if it leads to hardship, persecution and death. They will no longer rule their own lives, but will deny themselves personal desires in order to please Jesus. In sacrificing the life that puts self first, they will find the only true life. On the other hand those who live for themselves may gain what they want in the present world, but they will lose the only life of lasting value, eternal life (Matt 16:24-27).

Jesus promised his disciples that those who accompanied him in his ministry would, in their present lifetime, see something of the triumph of the Son of man’s glorious kingdom. This was possibly a reference to the victorious expansion of the church after Jesus’ resurrection and ascension (Matt 16:28; Mark 9:1). 

(For the significance of the name ‘Son of man’, see earlier section, ‘Jesus and the Kingdom’.)