What does “lose your life for my sake” mean (Matthew 10:39)?

Answer

In Matthew 10:39, Jesus issues a firm call for allegiance: “Whoever discovers their life will lose it, and whoever sacrifices their life for my sake will find it.” This seemingly contradictory statement, so contrary to the world’s mindset, centers on the distinction between earthly life and heavenly life.

Let’s examine the context of Jesus’ declaration regarding surrendering your life for His cause: “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set ‘a man against his father, a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law—a man’s enemies will be the members of his own household.’ Whoever loves their father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; whoever loves their son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever discovers their life will lose it, and whoever sacrifices their life for my sake will find it” (Matthew 10:34-39).

Before Jesus mentioned losing our lives for His sake, He declared that being His disciple entails bearing a cross and following Him. Although Jesus had not yet been crucified, His disciples were familiar with Roman crucifixion and its significance. In this context, the cross represents dying to oneself. While being a disciple may result in actual martyrdom, the essence of surrendering one’s life for Christ lies in giving up our self-centeredness and opting to follow Jesus. Surrendering one’s life for Jesus’ sake involves renouncing self-centered living and embracing a life dedicated to Him. Human nature inclines us toward self-gratification, and even our good deeds can be tainted by selfish motives. Self-centeredness is the ultimate temptation and the source of all sinful behaviors (see Genesis 3:4-5).

The person who sacrifices his life for Jesus’ sake is willing to give up the pleasures of this world, endure persecution, and lay down his life joyfully for the sake of the gospel. This individual does not hide or neglect the truth that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life, as mentioned in «Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me. », (John 14:6).

In the remainder of Matthew 10:39, Jesus delivers a promise with unwavering certainty. When we transition from self-rule to living for Christ, we discover true and eternal life. Jesus, as the Perfect Man, understands the path to genuine humanity. As the Word through whom all things were created, He comprehends the road to authentic flourishing. Paradoxically, by dying to ourselves and living for Christ, we find true life. We may forfeit the world, but we gain the heavenly realm.

The apostles echo Jesus’ message about sacrificing our lives for His sake. Peter encourages his readers to adopt the same attitude of suffering that Christ endured, emphasizing that those who suffer in the body are freed from sin. Consequently, they no longer live to fulfill earthly desires but instead live according to God’s will, as stated in (1 Peter 4:1-2). Paul also delves into the idea of losing one’s life for Christ’s sake, expressing, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” «I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. », (Galatians 2:20).