Matthew 16:24-27

16:24 Then Jesus said to his disciples, “If anyone wants to become my follower, ¹  he must deny ²  himself, take up his cross, ³  and follow me. 16:25 For whoever wants to save his life ⁴  will lose it, ⁵  but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 16:26 For what does it benefit a person ⁶  if he gains the whole world but forfeits his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life? 16:27 For the Son of Man will come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done. ⁷ 

¹ tn Grk “to come after me.”

² 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.

³ 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.

⁴ tn Or “soul” (throughout vv. 25-26).

⁵ sn The point of the saying whoever wants to save his life will lose it is that if one comes to Jesus then rejection by many will certainly follow. If self-protection is a key motivation, then one will not respond to Jesus and will not be saved. One who is willing to risk rejection will respond and find true life.

⁶ tn Grk “a man,” but ἄνθρωπος (anqrwpo") is used in a generic sense here to refer to both men and women.

⁷ sn An allusion to Pss 28:4; 62:12; cf. Prov 24:12.