Luke 9:24 Meaning and Explanation
“For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Whoever clutches his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for the sake of Christ will save it.
What Does Luke 9:24 Mean?
Jesus grounds the call to the cross in a paradox: save your life and lose it; lose it for my sake and save it. The saying turns on the deep word for life, the soul, the self. He is naming two destinies that hang on what a person does with the one life entrusted to him.
Self-preservation is the most natural instinct we have, and the most fatal when it bars the door against God. The life hoarded, spent entirely on itself, slips away in the spending; the life handed over to Christ is kept by him forever. For my sake is the hinge: this is not loss for the sake of loss, but love answering love, and finding that nothing given to Jesus is ever truly gone.
Luke 9:24 in the Original Language
psyche (ψυχή), 'life' -- the soul, the whole living self.
Frequently Asked Questions About Luke 9:24
What does Luke 9:24 mean?
Whoever clutches his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for the sake of Christ will save it.