8:34 Then 1 Jesus 2 called the crowd, along with his disciples, and said to them, “If anyone wants to become my follower, 3 he must deny 4 himself, take up his cross, 5 and follow me.
1 tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.
2 tn Grk “he”; the referent (Jesus) has been specified in the translation for clarity.
3 tn Grk “to follow after me.”
4 tn This translation better expresses the force of the Greek third person imperative than the traditional “let him deny,” which could be understood as merely permissive.
5 sn To bear the cross means to accept the rejection of the world for turning to Jesus and following him. Discipleship involves a death that is like a crucifixion; see Gal 6:14.
6 sn How one responds now to Jesus and his teaching is a reflection of how Jesus, as the Son of Man who judges, will respond then in the final judgment.
7 tn Grk “Truly (ἀμήν, amhn), I say to you.”
8 tn The imperfect ἐδίδασκεν (edidasken) is here taken ingressively.
9 sn A quotation from Isa 56:7.
10 tn Or “a hideout” (see L&N 1.57).
11 sn A quotation from Jer 7:11. The meaning of Jesus’ statement about making the temple courts a den of robbers probably operates here at two levels. Not only were the religious leaders robbing the people financially, but because of this they had also robbed them spiritually by stealing from them the opportunity to come to know God genuinely. It is possible that these merchants had recently been moved to this location for convenience.