For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it.
Parallel translations
- KJV For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.
- BSB For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
- NKJV For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
- NASB For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake 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.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. lockman.org
Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Quick answer
Jesus says whoever saves his life will lose it, but whoever loses it for his sake will find it. It matters because it reveals the great paradox of the gospel.
Overview
True life is found not by self-preservation but by giving oneself up for Christ. Clinging to this life leads to ultimate loss, while surrendering it for Jesus secures eternal life. This paradox overturns the world's wisdom about self-interest. It promises that what is given up for Christ is gained back immeasurably in him.
Cross-references & the web
Cross-references · 8
- Matt 10:39He who seeks his life will lose it; and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.
- Rev 12:11They overcame him because of the Lamb’s blood, and because of the word of their testimony. They didn’t love their life, even to death.
- Mark 8:35For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Good News will save it.
- John 12:25He who loves his life will lose it. He who hates his life in this world will keep it to eternal life.
- Luke 17:33Whoever seeks to save his life loses it, but whoever loses his life preserves it.
- Acts 20:23–24except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me.
- Esth 4:16“Go, gather together all the Jews who are present in Shushan, and fast for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day. I and my maidens will also fast the same way. Then I will go in to the king, which is against the law; and if I perish, I perish.”
- Esth 4:14For if you remain silent now, then relief and deliverance will come to the Jews from another place, but you and your father’s house will perish. Who knows if you haven’t come to the kingdom for such a time as this?”
Themes, concepts, people & topics
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Commentaries & study tools
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Hebrew/Greek interlinear, word definitions, and cross-references for this verse.
Christ at the center
Matthew presents Jesus as the promised King — son of David, son of Abraham — the new Moses and true Israel in whom every prophecy reaches 'that it might be fulfilled.'
How Matthew 16:25 points to him is part of the one story that runs through all Scripture — meet Jesus at the heart of the web, or follow a trail that traces him from Genesis to Revelation.
Original language
Each word below is tagged with its Strong’s number — tap one to see the underlying Greek word, its meaning, and every verse that uses it.