“For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?”
The full verse · Luke 9:25 · KJV
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Asked by
Jesus: the Son of God and promised Messiah, who had just foretold that He must suffer, be slain, and be raised the third day (Luke 9:22)
Asked to
Disciples: "them all" (Luke 9:23), the hearers of Jesus after Peter's confession; the scene names only "his disciples" as present (Luke 9:18), and Jesus speaks to them of following Him and taking up the cross daily (Luke 9:23-24)
The Scene
Right after Peter confesses Him as the Christ and He foretells His death and rising, Jesus tells them all that anyone who would come after Him must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Him (Luke 9:20-23).
Why It Was Asked
The purpose behind the questionJesus had just made a hard demand: deny yourself and take up your cross daily (Luke 9:23). He then gave the reason, which starts with "For": whoever saves his life will lose it, and whoever loses it for His sake will save it (Luke 9:24). This question presses that reason home. It asks the hearer to weigh the whole world against his own self, and to see that the trade makes no sense.
Gill explains losing oneself as losing one's own soul, and being "cast away" as being lost "finally, and eternally." The question is not meant to be answered aloud. The answer is obvious: nothing.
The Response
What Scripture recordsThe question answers itself: no gain could make up for losing oneself. Jesus follows it with a warning: "whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory" (Luke 9:26). Matthew and Mark add a second question that makes the same point: "what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:37).
Historical Context
The world behind the wordsThe word "advantaged" translates opheleitai, meaning "is profited" or "benefited." The words "be cast away" translate zemiotheis, from a verb meaning to suffer loss or forfeit, which is why the ESV says "forfeits himself." Gill gives the same sense: to "suffer loss" of eternal happiness and glory.
Where Matthew and Mark say "lose his own soul" (Matthew 16:26; Mark 8:36), Luke says "lose himself." Barnes, on Matthew 16:26, says that "if the soul is lost, nothing can be given in exchange for it."
The Bigger Picture
Where this fits in God's storyJesus asked this question on His way to the cross. He had just said that He Himself must suffer and be slain (Luke 9:22). He was not asking His followers to give up anything He was unwilling to give up first. His road and theirs are the same road.
The question also turns the world's way of counting upside down. The world counts gain by what you hold. Jesus counts by what becomes of you. Later in Luke, God says to a rich man who stored up goods for himself, "Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee" (Luke 12:20). The man had gained, and lost himself.
Carry the question into prayer and conversation.
Lord, You see what I am holding onto and what it may be costing me; what would You have me let go of to follow You?
A prayer to carry into the day.
- What kinds of "gain" are most tempting to trade your soul for in everyday life?
- Tell about a time when giving something up for Jesus' sake turned out to be gain.
For you, a small group, a friend, or the dinner table.
Every day you make trades: time, energy, money, attention. Jesus asks you to count the cost the way He does. Nothing you could gain is worth losing yourself.
The call is daily. Luke alone records "take up his cross daily" (Luke 9:23). Following Jesus is not one big decision only but a choice made again each day.
This does not mean that work, possessions, or success are wrong in themselves. The danger is gaining them at the cost of yourself and of following Christ. Hold them loosely, and keep Him first.
Built from the biblical text and checked against trusted commentaries and lexicons. References & Sources
Keep questioning
“For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
“For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?”
“Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?”
“But whom say ye that I am?”