Matthew 16:25 Meaning of For Whoever Wants to save Their Life Will Lose It

Matthew 16:25
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

Explanation and Commentary of Matthew 16:25

Christians are blessed with the reality that they don’t have to worry about their life. The world says to worry about your life. The world says that you should look out for yourself and get what is yours. When Jesus spoke of his coming death, his disciple protested, but Jesus said this attitude was from satan, and even that satan was speaking through Peter (Mt 16:23).

But Jesus didn’t intend that he would be the only one to live and die this way. All Christian are called to “pick up their cross” and follow Jesus in his way. It is an unfortunate reality that the Church today preaches an easy believism that says, “Pray this prayer and you never have to worry about going to hell when you die.” What a tragedy! People are already in the hell of their life in a fallen flesh, in a fallen world, ruled by satan. Jesus died for so much more than a magic get-out-of-hell formula.

God’s invitation is an invitation to die to your old ways. If this doesn’t sound good to you, it is because you have no idea how wonderful it will be to let him “wreck your life.” Jesus calls us to “life abundant” (Jn 10:10).

Breaking Down the Key Parts of Matthew 16:25

#1 “For…”
After rebuking Peter and satan for being a “stumbling block” and tempting Jesus to disobey the will of God by avoiding his suffering, Jesus turns to our call to follow him in bearing our cross.

#2 “…whoever…”
God must draw us to overcome our flesh and turn to him, but he has absolutely created us as moral agents in his image with the capacity to make choices for which we are held responsible. It is part of the privilege and responsibility of being his image-bearers. Anyone who believes and comes to the Father will be saved. Everyone is held responsible for the choice to do so or not.

#3 “wants to save their life…”
How unfortunate it is when we in our ignorance think we know better than God what is good for us. From whom do we try to “save” our lives? From the only One who knows what’s best for us! Only God could make something from our lives, but it requires total obedience and submission to him. Otherwise, we just think that we are our own god. This is the worst and sneakiest form of idolatry and betrays unbelief.

#4 “…will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”
It will end badly for those who never take up their cross and die with Christ. But those who obey Him in this and trade what they see for what they cannot will find eternal and abundant life in Christ. Have the faith of a child and trust in your Father’s purposes and plans. Lay down your life and become what he intends for you.

Biblical Translations of Matthew 16:25

NIV
“For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will find it.”

NLT
“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.”

ESV
“For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.”

KJV
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.”

NKJV
“For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.”