24 Then said Jesus unto his disci-
f)les, If any man will come after me, et him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it : aud whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
26 For 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 sold ?
27 For 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.
28 Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here, which shall not taste of death, till they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom.
In order to see the connection of these verses, we must remember the mistaken impressions of our Lord's disciples as to the purpose of His coming into the world. Like Peter, they could not bear the idea of the crucifixion. They thought that Jesus had come to set up an earthly kingdom. They did not see that He must needs suffer and die. They dreamed of worldly honors and temporal rcNvards in their Master's service. They did not under- stand that true Christians, like Christ, must be made perfect through sufferings. Our Lord corrects these mis- apprehensions in words of peculiar solemnity, which we shall do well to lay up in our hearts.