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.
Jesus spoke these words to a crowd that included both followers and skeptics, immediately after telling his disciples plainly that he would suffer and be killed — news they were struggling to accept. He's making a serious statement about allegiance: how a person responds to him in ordinary, earthly life has real consequences that extend beyond this life. "The Son of Man" was a phrase Jesus used to refer to himself, drawing on a vision in the Old Testament book of Daniel of a heavenly figure who arrives with divine authority at the end of the age. "His Father's glory with the holy angels" points to that final coming of God's kingdom. "Adulterous and sinful generation" uses strong language — "adulterous" here means spiritually unfaithful, devoted to things other than God.
Jesus, forgive me for the times I've gone quiet when I should have spoken — not out of wisdom, but out of wanting to be liked. Give me the quiet, unhurried courage to live like someone who actually believes what they say they believe, even when it costs something small. Amen.
Most of us will never be asked to die for our faith. But most of us are asked, regularly, to claim it — at a dinner table when someone mocks it, at work when it's socially inconvenient, in the passing conversation where going quiet would be so much easier. Jesus doesn't say "if anyone denies me under torture." He says *ashamed* — which is a much lower, quieter threshold. Shame is the instinct to make yourself smaller when association feels costly. It happens in half a second, barely noticed. And Jesus names it directly, without softening it. This verse has teeth, and it's worth sitting with that discomfort rather than explaining it away. He's not asking for religious performance or public declarations. He's asking a simpler, harder question: Do you actually believe what you say you believe enough to stand behind it when it costs you something small — a reputation, a laugh, someone's good opinion? Where do you find yourself going quiet — not out of wisdom, but out of wanting to be liked? That's the question this verse keeps asking.
What do you think Jesus means by being "ashamed" of him and his words? What would that actually look like in the texture of a normal week — not in a dramatic moment, but in an ordinary one?
Think of a recent time when you had an opportunity to be honest about your faith but held back. What were you afraid of — and looking back, was that fear realistic?
This verse implies there's a real cost to following Jesus and a real cost to not following him. How do you sit honestly with a verse this serious, without either dismissing it or becoming preachy and performance-driven?
How do you distinguish between being appropriately humble about faith — not forcing it on others — versus being ashamed of it? Where is the line, practically speaking, in your own relationships?
What is one specific context in your life — a relationship, a workplace, a social circle — where you sense a quiet invitation to be more honest about who you are and what you actually believe?
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.
Romans 1:16
And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily , and follow me.
Luke 9:23
When the Son of man shall come in his glory, and all the holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon the throne of his glory:
Matthew 25:31
Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.
1 John 2:23
And now, little children, abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
1 John 2:28
Be not thou therefore ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
2 Timothy 1:8
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
James 4:4
Also I say unto you, Whosoever shall confess me before men, him shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God:
Luke 12:8
For whoever is ashamed [here and now] of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels."
AMP
For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
ESV
'For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.'
NASB
If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
NIV
For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.”
NKJV
If anyone is ashamed of me and my message in these adulterous and sinful days, the Son of Man will be ashamed of that person when he returns in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
NLT
"If any of you are embarrassed over me and the way I'm leading you when you get around your fickle and unfocused friends, know that you'll be an even greater embarrassment to the Son of Man when he arrives in all the splendor of God, his Father, with an army of the holy angels."
MSG