For what is the use of man if he wins the whole world and destroys or loses himself?
9:25 For what profit is man if he gains the whole world, and destroys or loses himself? — The word “for” implies the following: Do not refuse to deny yourself, take up his cross and follow me because what profits a man, if he wins the whole world, and destroys or loses himself? This is the consequence of not denying oneself, etc. It is the other side of the coin. What Jesus requires (refuse…take…follow) is the only reasonable path, the only sensible course, because by not refusing…taking…following one chooses self-destruction. Really what is the gain of those who refuse to deny themselves, take up his cross and follow Christ? These are selling their soul to Satan, and even this life, what do they gain? Because they also suffer in this life. If for those who refuse to follow Christ, life were pure paradise, a true blissful, wonderful life, without problems, without suffering — with pure joy — they would still be losing their souls for how many years? Even if they lived for a hundred years like this, what is that compared to eternity? But in reality those who refuse to obey the gospel get sick, accidents, serious illnesses, bankruptcy, unemployment and all kinds of mishaps and setbacks; that is, this life is by no means pure happiness and joy for them. Furthermore, in all this misery they do not have God’s help. They cannot say, “Father, help me” if He is not their Father. And you cannot say that your sufferings are doing any good in your life. How much is the soul worth? Many people get very little out of this life. They don’t find much happiness. Life is full of problems, difficulties and sadness, but still, they accept that this poor miserable life they are leading has more value than the soul. They do not want to trade the life they lead for the salvation of their eternal soul. The life that the lost man leads is costing him dearly. It is an expensive life, very expensive. What he is earning is costing him eternal life. If you don’t change — if you don’t obey the gospel to save his soul — there will be another horrible cost: eternal suffering in the fire called hell. Thus, all the disobedient are paying a very high price for the life they lead; that is, it is costing them the good life, the abundant life, now (1Pe 3:10), and after this very short life, he will pay the terrible price of losing his soul in hell forever. They are selling their soul to the devil to get what? Really, is the worldly and indifferent life they lead of such value? Is it really “worth it”? Aren’t you selling your soul for a very low price? It’s a good deal? Larousse defines the word “bargain” as “thing that is acquired at little cost”. It is said that “at that price the car was a bargain”. If anyone believes that he is getting worldly life out of him “for cheap” — if he believes it is a “bargain” — he is deluding himself in the most horrible way, because when he dies he will be like the man of Luke 16:23 who “lifted up his eyes, being in torment.” He will be crying out just like this one: “Have mercy on me… for I am tormented in this flame” (v. 24). The sensible accountant calculates profits and losses. remember Phil 3:8-9. Imagine winning “everyone”. We cannot understand winning a small portion of the town where we live. It is unthinkable that any man was the owner of an extensive territory (a state like Texas or Chihuahua), much less of a country, no matter how small. But if he could own not just one country, but all the treasures on earth, how much would they be worth if he lost himself? Lucas talks about losing himself instead of losing his soul (Matt 16:26). It is the same, since Lucas does not speak merely of the physical life, but the being (itself). The true being of man is his soul or spirit. He who loses his soul loses himself.
Matt 16:26, “Or what reward will a man give for his soul?” Material loss can be recovered, but if man loses his soul, with what could he recover his loss? It will be totally impossible, because when you lose your soul, you lose everything. We will all lose the body. That is inescapable, but by losing his body the Christian is still very rich because he does not lose his soul, his eternal possession.
Source: Commentary on the New Testament by Partain
what good is it to man, if he wins the whole world? Luke 4:5-7; Luke 12:19-21; Luke 16:24, Luke 16:25; Ps 49:6-8; Matt 16:26; Tue 8:36; Mar 9:43-48; Ac 1:18, Acts 1:25; 2Pe 2:15-17; Rev 18:7, Rev 18:8.
and I know he loses himself. Or as in the parallel passage, ‘his soul from him’, or his life. is in danger of itself, or is destroyed. Matt 13:48, Matt 13:50; 1Co 9:27.
Source: The Treasury of Biblical Knowledge
9:25 For what profit is it for a man, if he wins the whole world, and destroys or loses himself? – The word “for” implies the following: Do not refuse to deny yourself, take up his cross and follow me because what profits a man, if he wins the whole world, and destroys or loses himself? This is the consequence of not denying oneself, etc. It is the other side of the coin. What Jesus requires (refuse…take…follow) is the only reasonable path, the only sensible course, because by not refusing…taking…following one chooses self-destruction.
Really, what is the gain of those who refuse to deny themselves, take up their cross and follow Christ? These are selling their soul to Satan, and even this life, what do they gain? Because they also suffer in this life. If for those who refuse to follow Christ, life were pure paradise, a true blissful, wonderful life, without problems, without suffering – with pure joy – they would still be losing their souls for how many years? Even if they lived for a hundred years like this, what is that compared to eternity? But in reality those who refuse to obey the gospel get sick, accidents, serious illnesses, bankruptcy, unemployment and all kinds of mishaps and setbacks; that is, this life is by no means pure happiness and joy for them. Furthermore, in all this misery they do not have God’s help. They cannot say, “Father, help me” if He is not their Father. And you cannot say that your sufferings are doing any good in your life.
How much is the soul worth? Many people get very little out of this life. They don’t find much happiness. Life is full of problems, difficulties and sadness, but still, they accept that this poor miserable life they are leading has more value than the soul. They do not want to trade the life they lead for the salvation of their eternal soul. The life that the lost man leads is costing him dearly. It is an expensive life, very expensive. What he is earning is costing him eternal life. If he doesn’t change – if he doesn’t obey the gospel to save his soul – there will be another horrible cost: eternal suffering in the fire called hell.
Thus, all the disobedient are paying a very high price for the life they lead; that is, it is costing them the good life, the abundant life, now (1Pe 3:10), and after this very short life, he will pay the terrible price of losing his soul in hell forever.
They are selling their soul to the devil to get what? Really, is the worldly and indifferent life they lead of such value? Is it really “worth it”? Aren’t you selling your soul for a very low price? It’s a good deal? Larousse defines the word “bargain” as “thing that is acquired at little cost”. It is said that “at that price the car was a bargain”. If anyone thinks he is getting his worldly life “on the cheap” – if he thinks it is a “bargain” – he is deceiving himself in the most horrible way, because when he dies he will be like the man in Luke 16:23 who “ lifted up his eyes, being in torments.” He will be crying out just like this one: “Have mercy on me…for I am tormented in this flame” (v. 24).
The sensible accountant calculates profits and losses. Remember Phil 3:8-9.
Imagine winning “everyone”. We cannot understand winning a small portion of the town where we live. It is unthinkable that any man was the owner of an extensive territory (a state like Texas or Chihuahua), much less of a country, no matter how small. But if he could own not just one country, but all the treasures on earth, how much would they be worth if he lost himself?
Luke speaks of losing oneself instead of losing one’s soul (Mat 16:26). It is the same, since Lucas does not speak merely of the physical life, but the being (itself). The true being of man is his soul or spirit. He who loses his soul loses himself.
Mat 16:26, “Or what reward shall a man give for his soul?” Material loss can be recovered, but if man loses his soul, with what could he recover his loss? It will be totally impossible, because when you lose your soul, you lose everything. We will all lose the body. That is inescapable, but by losing his body the Christian is still very rich because he does not lose his soul, his eternal possession.
Source: Reeves-Partain Notes
CROSS-REFERENCES
e 599 Ps 49:6; Matt 16:26; Tue 8:36; Acts 1:18; Rev 18:7
Source: New World Translation
have won the world. Success in the world is meaningless if it means losing eternal life and fellowship with God.
Source: The Bible of the Americas
25 super (1) Word used in commerce.
Source: New Testament Commentary Recovery Version
R1023 Notice the implicit condition in the participle κερδήσας: if you win.
Source: Grammar Help for the Study of the Greek New Testament
lit., and