The First Passion Prediction; Take Up the Cross

With the confession scarcely spoken, Jesus turns toward Jerusalem — foretelling for the first time that the Son of Man must suffer, be killed, and rise the third day. Peter protests and is rebuked as Satan; and Jesus calls every disciple to deny himself, take up his cross, and lose his life to find it. The Joseph Smith Translation opens the saying out: to take up the cross “is to deny himself from all ungodliness, and from every worldly lust, and keep my commandments.”

Matt 16:21–28; Mark 8:31–9:1; Luke 9:21–273 of 5 accountsReading: CCE

Tap a Gospel to show or hide its column — narrow to any two to read them side by side.

? How to read this edition

The reading is the Covenant Christian Edition — the Joseph Smith Translation reading — carried beside each Gospel and set against the King James baseline. Headers give both numbering systems: the CCE chapter and verse, and the traditional KJV reference.

JST

Green — Joseph Smith Translation. Where the Covenant Christian Edition departs in substance from the King James text and the change is in the JST (confirmed against the parallel-column edition). Modernized English (“has” for “hath,” “you” for “thou”) is not marked.

CCE

Burgundy — Covenant Christian Edition. Where the CCE’s reading departs from the King James but the change is not in the Joseph Smith Translation — the CCE’s own editorial reading (e.g. “this day I have begotten you” at the baptism).

Plum — Testimony of St. John. The TSJ (a separate scripture text) and Denver Snuffer’s later commentary share the plum mark.

MatthewKJVMatthew 16:21–28CCEMatthew 9:2–3NT 1NT 2

²¹From that time forth began Jesus to show unto his disciples that he must go unto Jerusalem, and suffer many things of the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be killed, and be raised again the third day. ²²Then Peter took him and began to rebuke him, saying, Be it far from you, Lord. This shall not be done unto you. ²³But he turned and said unto Peter, Get behind me, Satan. You are an offense unto me, for you savor not the things that are of God, but those that are of men.

²⁴Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. And now, for a man to take up his cross is to deny himself from all ungodliness, and from every worldly lust, and keep my commandments. ²⁵Break not my commandments to save your lives, for whoever will save his life in this world shall lose it in the world to come. And whoever will lose his life in this world, for my sake, shall find it in the world to come. Therefore, forsake the world and save your souls. ²⁶For what is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? ²⁷For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels, and then he shall reward every man according to his works. ²⁸Truly I say unto you, there are some standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.

MarkKJVMark 8:31–9:1CCEMark 5:2–4NT 2

³¹And he began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and the chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again. ³²And he spoke that saying openly. And Peter took him and began to rebuke him. ³³But when he had turned about and looked upon his disciples, he rebuked Peter, saying, Get behind me, Satan, for you savor not the things that are of God, but the things that are of men.

³⁴And when he had called the people, with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me; ³⁵for whoever will save his life shall lose it, or whoever will save his life shall be willing to lay it down for my sake. And if he is not willing to lay it down for my sake, he shall lose it. But whoever shall be willing to lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it. ³⁶For what shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? ³⁷Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? Therefore, deny yourselves of these, and be not ashamed of me.

³⁸Whoever 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 comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. And they shall not have part in that resurrection when he comes. For truly I say unto you that he shall come, and he that lays down his life for my sake and the gospel’s shall come with him, and shall be clothed with his glory in the cloud, on the right hand of the Son of Man. ¹And he said unto them again, Truly I say unto you that there are some of them that stand here who shall not taste of death until they have seen the kingdom of God come with power.

LukeKJVLuke 9:21–27CCELuke 7:4NT 2

²¹And he forbade them, and commanded them to tell no man of him, ²²saying, The Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders, and chief priests, and scribes, and be slain, and be raised the third day. ²³And he said unto them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me. ²⁴For whoever will save his life must be willing to lose it for my sake. And whoever will be willing to lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it. ²⁵For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet he receives him not whom God has ordained, and he lose his own soul, and he himself be a cast away? ²⁶For whoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of Man be ashamed when he shall come in his own kingdom, clothed in the glory of his Father with the holy angels. ²⁷Truly, I tell you truly, there are some standing here who shall not taste of death until they see the kingdom of God coming in power.

Cross-references · other works

Hosea 6:2 — in the third day he will raise us up↗Isaiah 53:3 — despised and rejected of men↗Daniel 7:13–14 — the Son of Man given dominion and a kingdom↗Galatians 2:20 — I am crucified with Christ↗Revelation 14:6–7 — the everlasting gospel; the hour of his judgment↗

Joseph Smith on Taking Up the Cross

Lose Your Life to Find It; the Rising Generation

He That Seeks to Save His Life Shall Lose It

Writing from Liberty Jail to a scattered, hunted people, Joseph Smith reached for this very saying to steady them — the cross is not a metaphor but a willingness to “hold on even unto death.”

Letter to the Church and Edward Partridge, written from Liberty Jail, Clay County, Missouri, 20 March 1839 · Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, p. 129 (DHC 3:226–233) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗

For what has happened unto us is an evident token to them of damnation; but unto us, of salvation, and that of God. Therefore hold on even unto death; for “he that seeks to save his life shall lose it; and he that loses his life for my sake, and the Gospel’s, shall find it,” saith Jesus Christ.

Brethren, from henceforth, let truth and righteousness prevail and abound in you; and in all things be temperate; abstain from drunkenness, and from swearing, and from all profane language, and from everything which is unrighteous or unholy; also from enmity, and hatred, and covetousness, and from every unholy desire.

There Are Those of the Rising Generation Who Shall Not Taste Death

Jesus’ closing promise — that some standing there would not taste death till they saw the Son of Man coming in his kingdom — Joseph took up at the April conference, tying it to his own earnest prayer and the sign of the Son of Man.

Discourse, 6 April 1843, Nauvoo (the April conference) · Teachings of the Prophet Joseph Smith, pp. 286–287 (DHC 5:336–337; cf. Doctrine & Covenants 130:14–17) · Joseph Smith Papers ↗

Also recorded in as published in the Times and Seasons.

Were I going to prophesy, I would say the end [of the world] would not come in 1844, 5, or 6, or in forty years. There are those of the rising generation who shall not taste death till Christ comes.

I was once praying earnestly upon this subject, and a voice said unto me, “My son, if thou livest until thou art eighty-five years of age, thou shalt see the face of the Son of Man.” I was left to draw my own conclusions concerning this; and I took the liberty to conclude that if I did live to that time, He would make His appearance.

The coming of the Son of Man never will be — never can be — till the judgments spoken of for this hour are poured out: which judgments are commenced. It is not the design of the Almighty to come upon the earth and crush it and grind it to powder, but he will reveal it to His servants the prophets.

Hugh Nibley

Necessary Martyrdom — “in the Literal, Physical Sense”

Nibley reads the passion prediction and the cross saying at full strength: the Greek says the Son of Man is *bound* to suffer, and to follow him is to share his fate — not a figure of speech but death itself.

The World and the ProphetsCollected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 3 — “Prophets and Martyrs”

The King James Version here says “shall suffer” as if a simple future were being used; but the word is mellei with the infinitive, and mellei regularly refers to a future event that must be, that is destined and unavoidable… the strongest possible expression is that which is translated from Luke 9:22: “The Son of man must [literally, is bound to] suffer many things, and be rejected of the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be slain.”

The World and the ProphetsCollected Works of Hugh Nibley, Vol. 3 — “Prophets and Martyrs”

He even said that to follow him meant to take up a cross (Luke 9:23). The order he gave to all his followers was to endure to the end, and the early Christians had absolutely no doubt as to what that meant… “If any man will come after me, let him deny himself… For whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it” (Luke 9:23–24). This was no mere laying aside of a life of worldly desires, as the churchmen later rationalized it, but death in the literal, physical sense.

Ellipses mark omissions within Nibley’s own text; the bracketed gloss is his.

Margaret Barker · the temple lens

Take Up the Cross — an Invitation to the High Priesthood

Barker hears in “take up your cross” not first a warning of suffering but an invitation: to wear the cross-shaped mark of the divine Name, sharing the high priesthood of the one who comes in the glory of his Father.

When Jesus told his followers to take up their cross (Mark 8.34 and parallels), a saying which we usually understand as a warning to expect suffering, I suspect it was originally an invitation to sharing the high priesthood by wearing the cross. “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me… of him will the Son of man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”

Jesus linked this saying about taking up the cross to the Son of Man coming in glory with his angels — a reference to the host in Revelation 14 with the Name on their foreheads, the redeemed who had followed the Lamb. “Take up your cross and follow me” was an invitation to become one of the restored high priests.

Ellipses mark omissions within Barker’s own text.

Points to Ponder

Peter has just confessed the Christ rightly — and a breath later is called Satan for refusing the cross. How can the same man be both the rock of revelation and a stumbling-block in the space of a few verses?
The Joseph Smith Translation reads the cross not only as suffering but as a discipline: “to take up his cross is to deny himself from all ungodliness… and keep my commandments.” How does that turn a single act of martyrdom into a daily way of living?
To “save” your life is to lose it; to “lose” it for his sake is to find it. Mark and Luke press the paradox into this world and the world to come. What does it mean, concretely, to spend a life you are trying not to keep?

‹ Previous eventPeter’s Confession at Caesarea PhilippiSection 046 · The Turning Point Next event ›The TransfigurationSection 048 · The Turning Point