Matthew 10:39

10:39 Whoever finds his life ¹  will lose it, ²  and whoever loses his life because of me ³  will find it.

Matthew 16:25

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.

Matthew 19:29

19:29 And whoever has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much ⁶  and will inherit eternal life.

Mark 8:35

8:35 For whoever wants to save his life ⁷  will lose it, ⁸  but whoever loses his life for my sake and for the gospel will save it.

Luke 9:23-24

A Call to Discipleship

9:23 Then ⁹  he said to them all, ¹⁰  “If anyone wants to become my follower, ¹¹  he must deny ¹²  himself, take up his cross daily, ¹³  and follow me. 9:24 For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, ¹⁴  but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it.

Luke 17:33

17:33 Whoever tries to keep ¹⁵  his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life ¹⁶  will preserve it.

Acts 20:24

20:24 But I do not consider my life ¹⁷  worth anything ¹⁸  to myself, so that ¹⁹  I may finish my task ²⁰  and the ministry that I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify to the good news ²¹  of God’s grace.

Acts 21:13

21:13 Then Paul replied, “What are you doing, weeping and breaking ²²  my heart? For I am ready not only to be tied up, ²³  but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus.”

Hebrews 11:35

11:35 and women received back their dead raised to life. ²⁴  But others were tortured, not accepting release, to obtain resurrection to a better life. ²⁵ 

Revelation 12:11

12:11 But ²⁶  they overcame him

by the blood of the Lamb

and by the word of their testimony,

and they did not love their lives ²⁷  so much that they were afraid to die.

[10:39]  ¹ tn Grk “his soul,” but ψυχή (yuch) is frequently used of one’s physical life. It clearly has that meaning in this context.

[10:39]  ² sn If there is no willingness to suffer the world’s rejection at this point, then one will not respond to Jesus (which is trying to find life) and then will be subject to this judgment (which is losing it).

[10:39]  ³ tn Or “for my sake.” The traditional rendering “for my sake” can be understood in the sense of “for my benefit,” but the Greek term ἕνεκα indicates the cause or reason for something (BDAG 334 s.v. 1).

[16:25]  ⁴ tn Or “soul” (throughout vv. 25-26).

[16:25]  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.

[19:29]  ⁶ sn Jesus reassures his disciples with a promise that (1) much benefit in this life (a hundred times as much) and (2) eternal life will be given.

[8:35]  ⁷ tn Or “soul” (throughout vv. 35-37).

[8:35]  ⁸ 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.

[9:23]  ⁹ tn Here δέ (de) has been translated as “then” to indicate the implied sequence of events within the narrative.

[9:23]  ¹⁰ sn Here them all could be limited to the disciples, since Jesus was alone with them in v. 18. It could also be that by this time the crowd had followed and found him, and he addressed them, or this could be construed as a separate occasion from the discussion with the disciples in 9:18-22. The cost of discipleship is something Jesus was willing to tell both insiders and outsiders about. The rejection he felt would also fall on his followers.

[9:23]  ¹¹ tn Grk “to come after me.”

[9:23]  ¹² 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.

[9:23]  ¹³ sn Only Luke mentions taking up one’s cross daily. 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.

[9:24]  ¹⁴ 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.

[17:33]  ¹⁵ tn Or “tries to preserve”; Grk “seeks to gain.”

[17:33]  ¹⁶ sn Whoever loses his life. Suffering and persecution caused by the world, even to death, cannot stop God from saving (Luke 12:4-6).

[20:24]  ¹⁷ tn Grk “soul.”

[20:24]  ¹⁸ tn Or “I do not consider my life worth a single word.” According to BDAG 599 s.v. λόγος 1.a.α, “In the textually uncertain pass. Ac 20:24 the text as it stands in N., οὐδενὸς λόγου (v.l. λόγον) ποιοῦμαι τὴν ψυχὴν τιμίαν, may well mean: I do not consider my life worth a single word (cp. λόγου ἄξιον [ἄξιος 1a] and our ‘worth mention’).”

[20:24]  ¹⁹ tn BDAG 1106 s.v. ὡς 9 describes this use as “a final particle, expressing intention/purpose, with a view to, in order to.”

[20:24]  ²⁰ tn Grk “course.” See L&N 42.26, “(a figurative extension of meaning of δρόμος ‘race’) a task or function involving continuity, serious, effort, and possibly obligation – ‘task, mission’…Ac 20:24.” On this Pauline theme see also Phil 1:19-26; Col 1:24; 2 Tim 4:6-7.

[20:24]  ²¹ tn Or “to the gospel.”

[21:13]  ²² tn The term translated “breaking” as used by Josephus (Ant. 10.10.4 [10.207]) means to break something into pieces, but in its only NT use (it is a hapax legomenon) it is used figuratively (BDAG 972 s.v. συνθρύπτω).

[21:13]  ²³ tn L&N 18.13 has “to tie objects together – ‘to tie, to tie together, to tie up.’” The verb δέω (dew) is sometimes figurative for imprisonment (L&N 37.114), but it is preferable to translate it literally here in light of v. 11 where Agabus tied himself up with Paul’s belt.

[11:35]  ²⁴ tn Grk “received back their dead from resurrection.”

[11:35]  ²⁵ tn Grk “to obtain a better resurrection.”

[12:11]  ²⁶ tn Here καί (kai) has been translated as “but” to indicate the contrast.

[12:11]  ²⁷ sn They did not love their lives. See Matt 16:25; Luke 17:33; John 12:25.