Matthew 16:24-27 Study #2

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Read Matthew 16:24-27

Matthew 16:24–27 ESV

24 Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done.

We talked about this text a good bit last week. We mostly focused on what it means to deny yourself and the reality of suffering for Christ. This week the sermon focused on the cost of following Jesus.

We’ll continue that discussion from last week and take it further.

Since we talked about v. 24 a good bit, let’s start in v. 25 this week. What does Jesus mean in v. 25 when he speaks about saving one’s life versus losing it?

“Saving one’s life” means to pursue a safe and comfortable life, free of any adversity because of your convictions.

When someone makes that their highest goal, they will not find salvation and eternal life in Jesus.

Christ’s call to follow him means forsaking worldly comfort as the highest good and valuing Jesus above everything else, even if it means hardship and persecution.

By living with this willingness, a person gives evidence that they have received eternal life.

Jesus makes the same point in v. 26 but changes the direction a little toward worldly pursuits and possessions. He’s not just talking about losing or keeping your life, but how you regard the things in your life. How does what Jesus says in v. 26 challenge the way you view our souls and earthly pursuits/possessions?

The answer to his questions is “nothing!”

All the possessions and achievements in the world pale in comparison to the reality of our being separated from God for eternity. Nothing is worth that. Our soul is worth more than old the world.

And once we lose our soul, there is no bargaining to get it back. There won’t be anything we can do when Christ returns to judge the world. We must follow him now.

Turn to Luke 14:27-33. What do these verses teach us about what it means to follow Christ?

Luke 14:27–33 ESV

27 Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple. 28 For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? 29 Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, 30 saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’ 31 Or what king, going out to encounter another king in war, will not sit down first and deliberate whether he is able with ten thousand to meet him who comes against him with twenty thousand? 32 And if not, while the other is yet a great way off, he sends a delegation and asks for terms of peace. 33 So therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.

There is a cost to following Jesus and we’re told to count that cost beforehand.

The builder counts the cost of building before he begins so that he isn’t ashamed when he can’t finish and the king in war counts the cost of going out to battle so he isn’t defeated shamefully.

We don’t have to wonder about what the cost is going to be either. It’s everything. Jesus says in v. 33… “any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple.” Renounce all that he has. That’s the cost. All that we have is given over to serving and following Jesus.

You don’t have to answer this here, but one of the ways you can apply this passage is to ask yourself, “Are there any areas of my life that I’m holding onto that need to be renounced (or forsaken or abandoned) for the sake of following Jesus?”

Hebrews 12:1 tells us to “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us…” I pray that we all will do that.

v. 27 brings us to the reality that Jesus is going to return and when he does, he will repay each person according to what he has done. In the context of this passage, he is saying that those who have given up their lives for the sake of Jesus will be rewarded with eternal life in God’s presence. And those who tried to save their life through worldly means, will be condemned and they will perish.

Paul told Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:11–12 “11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us;”

Jesus will pay accordingly, those who trusted in him and those who did not.

How should this affect our evangelism?

It should burden us for the lost.

It should give us the awareness that there is only a finite time for a person to repent and trust Jesus for salvation, whether that is the end of their lifetime or if Jesus were to return before that.

We should be motivated to share the gospel and the truths of Scripture with people around us so that they may turn to Christ and be saved.

Prayer