Matthew 16:26

Mat_16:26

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

The great exchange

1. The text assumes a certain inherent dignity in the human soul itself.

2. The folly of those competing rivalries, on account of which men seem willing that this inestimably precious soul should be lost. (D. Moore. M. A.)

The value of the soul

1. In its origin.

2. In its operations.

3. In its redemption. (J. Sherman.)

Lost

What volumes of meaning there are in that one word lost. A ship lost-a traveller lost-a brother lost-a parent lost-and, notwithstanding every effort to save, all as nothing to a lost soul. (C. T. Pizey, B. A.)

An appeal to the young

I. The nature of the soul.

1. The soul is the seat of thought.

2. The soul is the subject of moral government.

3. The soul is the heir of immortality.

II. The worth of the soul.

1. Refer to the great atonement as the most magnificent proof of the souls worth.

2. To the triumphant joy awakened in heaven by the conversion of one sinner from the error of his ways.

3. To the certain anticipations of misery or bliss which await each soul as it passes into eternity. (J. Morison, D. D.)

The foolish bargain

The man who, for the sake of worldly happiness, shall lose his soul, makes a foolish bargain.

I. Explain and prove this. In order to judge of a bargain we must take into account the thing bought, and the price paid for it. Worldly happiness is considerable, but it must come to an end.

II. The worth of the soul. It is the most excellent part of man. It will never die. The value of a thing is often best known when it is lost. How greatly you are concerned in this. (E. Cooper.)

The worth of the soul

In order to elucidate the meaning of the text-

I. Institute a comparison between the things which are here set in competition with each other.

1. By "the world," we are to understand pleasure, riches, and honour. This, if considered in itself, is vile. It is earthly in its nature. It is unsatisfying in its use. It is transitory in its continuance. If it be considered as it has been estimated by the best judges, it is worthless (Heb_2:8-9; Ecc_1:14; Php_3:8; Joh_6:15; Joh_17:16).

2. The soul, on the contrary, if considered in itself, is noble. It is exalted in its origin (Heb_12:9). Capacious in its powers. Eternal in its duration. Doomed to everlasting happiness or misery. As estimated by the best judges, it is invaluable (Act_20:24). The gift of Gods Son to die for it-of infinite value in His sight. Such being the disparity between the value of the world and that of the soul, we are prepared to-

II. See the result of the comparison. We suppose, for argument sake, that a man may possess the whole world. We suppose also that, after having possessed it for awhile, he loses his own soul. What, in the issue, would he be profited?

1. Enquire concerning this in general. Would carnal enjoyments compensate for the loss of heaven? Would transient pleasures counterbalance an eternity of glory? Would he have anything to mitigate his pain (Luk_16:24)?

2. Enquire more particularly. These questions are strong appeals to our hearts and consciences. They bid defiance to all the arts of sophistry. Let the lover of pleasure etc., etc., ask, What shall it profit me, etc.? Conclusion: Which have I more regarded hitherto, the world, or my own soul? Which do I intend in future to prefer, etc.? (C. Simeon.)

Caring more for the body than for the soul

Two things a master commits to his servants care, saith one: the child and the childs clothes. It will be a poor excuse for the servant to say, at his masters return, Sir, here are all the childs clothes, neat and clean, but the child is lost! Much so with the account that many will give to God of their souls and bodies at the great day. Lord, here is my body; I was very grateful for it; I neglected nothing that belonged to its content and welfare; but as for my soul, that is lost and cast away for ever. I took little care and thought about it. (Flavel.)

The value and loss of the soul

1. Every man has a soul of his own.

2. It is possible for the soul to be lost; and there is danger of it.

3. If the soul is lost, it is the sinners own losing; and his blood is on his own head.

4. One soul is worth more than all the world.

5. The winning of the world is often the losing of the soul.

6. The loss of the soul cannot be made up by the gain of the whole world.

7. If the soul be once lost, it is lost for ever; and the loss can never be repaired or retrieved. (Matthew Henry.)

What is a man profited?

1. The good in the gain is imaginary and fantastical; the evil in the loss is real and substantial.

2. The good in the gain is convertible into evil; the evil in the loss is never to be improved into good.

3. The good in the gain is narrow and particular; the evil in the loss is large and universal.

4. The good in the gain is mixed and sophisticated; the evil in the loss is pure and unmingled.

5. The good in the gain is full of intermissions; the evil in the loss is continual.

6. The good in the gain is short and transitory; the evil in the loss is eternal. (Dr. J. Scott.)

Profit and loss

I. The souls worth:

(1) nature;

(2) capacities;

(3) immortality;

(4) purchase-price.

II. The souls loss, is loss of

(1) holiness;

(2) happiness;

(3) heaven;

(4) hope.

III. Enforce the question:

(1) gain uncertain, loss inevitable;

(2) gain imaginary, loss positive;

(3) gain temporary, loss irretrievable. (Pulpit Germs.)

Value of souls

A converted Jew, pleading for the cause of the society through whose instrumentality he had been brought to a knowledge of Christianity, was opposed by a learned gentleman, who spoke very lightly of the objects of the society and its efforts, and said he did not suppose they would convert more than a hundred altogether. Be it so, replied the Jew; you are a skilful calculator; take your pen now, and calculate the worth of one hundred immortal souls!

Inestimable value of the soul

Are there not things more precious than gold and bank stocks? When the Central America was foundering at sea, bags and purses of gold were strewn about the deck as worthless-as merest rubbish. Life, life, was the prayer. To some of the wretched survivors, Water, water; bread, bread; it was worth its weight in gold, if it could have been bought. And oh! above all-far above all, the salvation of your soul is precious. Is it not yet lost? Is it saved? (Christian Treasury.)

Insurance of the soul

A little boy on his fathers knee said, Pa, is your soul insured? Why do you ask, my son? I heard Uncle George say that you had your house insured, and your life insured; but he did not believe you had thought about your soul, and he was afraid you would lose it. Wont you get it insured right away? It was all too true; and the question led the father to seek the Divine guarantee of his souls well-being.

Care for the soul

It is recorded concerning one of the martyrs, that when he was going to the stake, a nobleman besought him, in a compassionate manner, to take care of his soul. So I will, he replied; for I give my body to be burned, rather than have my soul defiled. (Archbishop Sacker.)

The value of the soul

I. We possess immortal souls of incalculable value. The incomparable worth of the soul appears from

(1) the nature of its powers;

(2) the price of its redemption;

(3) the efforts for its possession;

(4) the duration of its existence.

II. Our souls are in imminent danger of being lost.

1. The loss of the soul is certainly possible.

2. The loss of the soul is highly probable.

3. The loss of the soul is deplorable.

4. The loss of the soul is utterly irreparable.

III. Nothing can compensate for the loss of the soul.

1. The case supposed-If he gain the whole world.

2. The inquiry instituted-What is a man profited?

3. The exchange proposed-What shall a man give? (Sketches.)

The incomparable worth of the soul will also appear

from the following considerations:-

I. From its essence and capacities. The body is composed of dust, like the bodies of other animals, but the soul was infused by the breath of God. It is capable of the heavenly exercises of love, pity, and mercy. The extent of its capacities is amazing. It is capable of exerting itself like an angel in the employments of the heavenly world. Vast capacities has the soul for happiness and misery. The happiness which appertains to the soul is far the most noble in its kind. If to contemplate the sun and moon produces a delight full of dignity, what does the contemplation of Him who spoke these orbs into being? The soul alone is capable of enjoying God. What is the world to this?

II. From the amazing respect that has been paid to it. God has discovered His high regard for the soul by the pains He has taken to give a written revelation to the world. Angels also discover their high regard for the soul by leaving the realms of glory to consume their time upon this distant planet by daily ministrations to its salvation.

II. What completes the value of the soul is its immortality and perhaps eternal progression.

How may we best know the worth of the soul? By considering-

I. What is meant by the soul.

1. Soul, or ψυχὴ, the word here used, is put for life, by a metonymy of the efficient for the effect, because our life depends upon the soul. Thus: Take no thought for your life- ψυχὴ (Mat_6:25).

2. The word soul is put for the whole man frequently in Scripture. Thus, the number of persons that came with Jacob into Egypt is reckoned by so many souls (Gen_46:26).

3. This word soul is taken most properly and strictly for the form, constituent, and better part of man; that breath that is breathed into him from God, when man becomes a living soul (Gen_2:7). In this acceptation we proceed to inquire-

II. What this soul is.

(a) The soul is a distinct substance from the body. This will appear if we consider

(1) that such things as are proper to distinct substances-as, to dwell in the body, whilst a man lives; to leave the body when he dies-are attributed to the soul;

(2) that it does substare, i.e., is the subject of accidents-such as are virtue and vice, arts and sciences; which cannot inhere in bare matter;

(3) that it was made after the body;

(4) that it exists separately from the body-Verily I say unto thee, to-day shalt thou be with Me in Paradise (Luk_23:43). It is certain his body was not with our Saviours.

(b) The soul is a spiritual substance.

1. Were it only that the soul is so often called a spirit by God Himself in His Word, it were a very considerable argument to prove that it is a spirit (Ecc_12:7; Zec_12:1; Act_7:59).

2. That the soul is a spiritual substance, is evident in that it is not produced out of matter (Gen_2:7; Ecc_12:7).

3. A third argument to prove that the soul is a spirit, is, because in it man bears the image of God-God is a Spirit (Joh_4:24).

4. The actions or operations of the soul are such as cannot proceed from any bodily being.

5. The soul is a spirit, in that it is in the body, and one body cannot be in another. The soul takes up no place, as bodies do; it is tota in tote.

6. In what the souls excellency does appear.

I. The first thing that speaks the souls prerogative is its original. It is accounted no small privilege to be nobly born.

II. Then again in the end it is designed for.

1. The soul of man is made for to bring glory to God.

2. The soul of man is made capable of enjoying God.

The endeavours that are used for to gain souls.

I. Gods endeavours.

1. His parting with His Son, and Christ with His heart blood and life, for them.

2. I might add unto Gods giving of His Son for our souls, His giving of His Spirit to the soul.

3. Gods valuing of our soul appears in the care and pains which He takes for our souls daily.

(a) In that He hath instituted means whereby He might come to obtain our souls, nay, to strengthen and comfort them, and have communion with them.

(b) He bears with us, and exercises a great deal of patience towards us, if so He might at length gain our souls; and says, when shall it once be?

(c) His bearing with the whole world of wicked men, notwithstanding their blasphemies and open defiances of Him, is only out of love to some few souls who serve and fear Him.

(d) All the providences of God in which He worketh hitherto, are intended by Him for the good of our souls, and done by God out of respect unto them.

II. Endeavours used by Satan for our souls.

(e) The duration of our souls. Application:

1. If the soul be so precious, we have heard enough to make us abhor sin for ever.

2. This does recommend and endear our blessed Saviour to us.

3. This commends holiness in all its parts to us.

4. Have a care that ye do not lose these souls that are so valuable. Consider that-

(1) the danger your souls are in is very great;

(2) the loss of your souls is very great;

(3) the loss is never to be repaired.

(4) Shall I add, that this soul is thine own, and that thou hast not, nor ever shalt have, another, and therefore it behoves thee to keep it safe.

(5) Thou must answer for the loss of thy soul: God hath entrusted it with thee. (P. Vinke, D. D.)

The souls inestimable value

A problem that deserves the study of the longest life. The best medium through which to view this all important question is the following verse. In this light I view this great question, and what do I see?

I. That we have in our possession a jewel called the soul, astonishing in its properties, and inestimable in its value. The soul is-

(1) Divine in its origin;

(2) astonishing in its properties-vitality, rationality, accountability;

(3) an immortal principle;

(4) has fallen from its glory;

(5) has been redeemed by Christ;

(6) angels rejoice over its salvation.

II. The possibility of that soul being lost, the loss will be inexpressibly great.

1. What is the loss of a lost soul? The loss of grace in time. Glory in eternity.

III. The characters who, if they die as they are, will suffer and endure this fearful loss. Is it I? If you are living in open sin, etc., it is you. Have you repented, believed in Christ, etc.? Look at this matter in the light of the judgment day, and read Mat_25:1-46.

IV. The indesirable, inexpressible, inconceivable folly of the man that barters away his soul-get what he will in exchange, riches, honours, pleasures, etc.

V. The wisdom of that man who is determined to have his soul saved-cost what it will.

VI. that next to the salvation of our own souls, it is our highest duty and best interest to promote the salvation of others. (W. Dawson)

.

The world an impossible enjoyment

He that hath all the world (if we can suppose such a man), cannot have a dish of fresh summer fruits in the midst of winter, not so much as a green fig: and very much of its possessions is so hid, so fugacious, and of so uncertain purchase, that it is like the riches of the sea to the lord of the shore; all the fish and wealth within all its hollownesses are his, but he is never the better for what he cannot get; all the shell-fishes that produce pearl, produce them not for him; and the bowels of the earth shall hide her treasures in undiscovered retirements: so that it will signify as much to this great purchaser to be entitled to an inheritance in the upper region of the air; he is so far from possessing all its riches, that he does not so much as know of them, nor understand the philosophy of her minerals. (Jeremy Taylor)

The world-gainer more a delight to others than to himself

Nay, those things which he esteems his ornament, and the singularity of his possessions, are they not of more use to others than to himself? For suppose his garments splendid and shining, like the robe of a cherub, or the clothing of the fields, all that he that wears them enjoys, is, that they keep him warm, and clean, and modest; and all this is done by clean and less pompous vestments; and the beauty of them, which distinguishes him from others, is made to please the eyes of the beholders; and he is like a fair bird, or the meretricious painting of a wanton woman, made wholly to be looked on, that is, to be enjoyed by every one but himself: and the fairest face and most sparkling eye cannot perceive or enjoy their own beauties but by reflection. It is I that am pleased with beholding his gaiety; and the gay man, in his greatest bravery, is only pleased because I am pleased with the sight; so borrowing his little and imaginary complacency from the delight that I have, not from any inherency of his own possession. (Jeremy Taylor.)

The world enjoyed by men who do not sell their souls for it

The poorest artizan of Rome walking in Caesars gardens, had the same pleasures which they ministered to their lord: and although, it may be, he was put to gather fruits to eat from another place, yet his other senses were delighted equally with Caesars: the birds made him as good music, the flowers gave him as sweet smells; he there sucked as good air, and delighted in the beauty and order of the place, for the same reason and upon the same perception as the prince himself; save only that Caesar paid, for all that pleasure, vast sums of money, the blood and treasure of a province, which the poor man had for nothing. (Jeremy Taylor.)

The gain of the whole world no benefit

Cannot a man quench his thirst as well out of an urn or chalice, as out of a whole river? It is an ambitious thirst, and a pride of draught, that had rather lay his mouth to the Euphrates than to a petty goblet; but if he had rather, it adds not so much to his content as to his danger and his vanity. (Jeremy Taylor.)

Enjoyment of the world limited by lack of capacity

If any man should give to a lion a fair meadow full of hay, or a thousand quince trees; or should give to the goodly bull, the master and the fairest of the whole herd, a thousand fair stags; if a man should present to a child a ship laden with Persian carpets, and the ingredients of the rich scarlet: all these, being disproportionate either to the appetite or to the understanding, could add nothing of content, and might declare the freeness of the presenter, but they upbraid the incapacity of the receiver. And so it does if God should give the whole world to any man. He knows not what to do with it; he can use no more but according to the capacities of a man; he can use nothing but meat, and drink, and clothes; and infinite riches, that can give him changes of raiment every day, and a full table, do but give him a clean trencher every bit he eats; it signifies no more but wantonness and variety, to the same, not to any new purposes. He to whom the world can be given to any purpose greater than a private estate can minister, must have new capacities created in him: he needs the understanding of an angel, to take the accounts of his estate; he had need have a stomach like fire or the grave, for else he can eat no more than one of his healthful subjects; and unless he hath an eye like the sun, and a motion like that of a thought, and a bulk as big as one of the orbs of heaven, the pleasures of his eye can be no greater than to behold the beauty of a little prospect from a hill, or to look upon the heap of gold packed up in a little room, or to dote upon a cabinet of jewels, better than which there is no man, that sees at all, but sees every day. (Jeremy Taylor.)

Knowledge has a greater enjoyment of the world than mere possession

But then, although they only have power to relish any pleasure rightly, who rightly understand the nature; and degrees and essences, and ends of things; yet they that do so, understand also the vanity and the unsatisfyingness of the things of this world, so that the relish, which could not be great but in a great understanding, appears contemptible because its vanity appears at the same time; the understanding sees all, and sees through it. (Jeremy Taylor.)

The gain of the world outweighed by a sharp pain

The greatest vanity of this world is remarkable in this, that all its joys summed up together are not big enough to counterpoise the evil of one sharp disease, or to allay a sorrow. (Jeremy Taylor.)

The world a poor reward for the pain of getting it

But in the supposition it is, If a man could gain the whole world, which supposes labour and sorrow, trouble and expense, venture and hazard, and so much time expired in its acquist and purchase, that, besides the possession is not secured to us for the term of life, so our lives are almost expired before we become estated in our purchases. And indeed, it is a sad thing to see an ambitious or a covetous person make his life unpleasant, troublesome, and vexatious, to grasp a power bigger than himself, to fight for it with infinite hazards of his life, so that it is a thousand to one but he perishes in the attempt, and gets nothing at all but an untimely grave, a reproachful memory, and an early damnation. (Jeremy Taylor.)

The mad exchange

And this I observe to be intimated in the word, lose. For he that gives gold for cloth, or precious stones for bread, serves his needs of nature, and loses nothing by it; and the merchant that found a pearl of great price, and sold all that he had to make the purchase of it, made a good venture; he was no loser: but here the case is otherwise; when a man gains the whole world, and his soul goes in the exchange, he hath not done like a merchant, but like a child or a prodigal; he hath given himself away, he hath lost all that can distinguish him from a slave or a miserable person,he loses his soul in the exchange. For the soul of a man all the world cannot be a just price; a man may lose it, or throw it away, but he can never make a good exchange when he parts with this jewel; and therefore our blessed Saviour rarely well expresses it by ζημιοῦν, which is fully opposed to κέρδος, gain; it is such an ill market a man makes, as if he should proclaim his riches and goods vendible for a garland of thistles decked and trimmed up with the stinking poppy. (Jeremy Taylor.)

The soul exchanged for a paltry convenience

But we must come far lower yet. Thousands there are that damn themselves; and yet their purchase, at long-running, and after a base and weary life spent, is but five hundred pounds a-year: nay, it may be, they only cozen an easy person out of a good estate, and pay for it at an easy rate, which they obtain by lying, by drinking, by flattery, by force; and the gain is nothing but a thousand pounds in the whole, or, it may be, nothing but a convenience. (Jeremy Taylor.)

The soul now ignorant of its capability

If the elephant knew his strength, or the horse the vigorousness of his own spirit, they would be as rebellious against their rulers as unreasonable men against government; nay, the angels themselves, because their light reflected home to their orbs, and they understood all the secrets of their own perfection, they grew vertiginous, and fell from the battlements of heaven. But the excellency of a human soul shall then be truly understood, when the reflection will make no distraction of our faculties, nor enkindle any irregular fires; when we may understand ourselves without danger. (Jeremy Taylor.)

The loss of the soul an insupportable calamity

But yet from these considerations it would follow, that to lose a soul, which is designed to be an immense sea of pleasures, even in its natural capacities, is to lose all that whereby a man can possibly be, or be supposed, happy. And so much the rather is this understood to be an insupportable calamity, because losing a soul in this sense is not a mere privation of those felicities, of which a soul is naturally designed to be a partaker, but it is an investing it with contrary objects and cross effects, and dolorous perceptions: for the will, if it misses its desires, is afflicted; and the understanding, when it ceases to be ennobled with excellent things, is made ignorant as a swine, dull as the foot of a rock; and the affections are in the destitution of their perfective actions made tumultuous, vexed and discomposed to the height of rage and violence. (Jeremy Taylor.)

A foolish choice

The old rabbins, those poets of religion, report of Moses, that when the courtiers of Pharaoh were sporting with the child Moses, in the chamber of Pharaohs daughter, they presented to his choice an ingot of gold in one hand and a coal of fire in the other, and that the child snatched at the coal, thrust it into his mouth, and so singed and parched his tongue, that he stammered ever after. And certainly it is infinitely more childish in us, for the glittering of the small glow-worms and the charcoal of worldly possessions, to swallow the flames of hell greedily in our choice: such a bit will produce a worse stammering than Moses had: for so the accursed and lost souls have their ugly and horrid dialect, they roar and blaspheme, blaspheme and roar, for ever. (Jeremy Taylor.)

A wicked barter

You wonder at the folly of that rude and naked savage who would barter a coronet of gold for small worthless trinkets, and buy the wonders of a mirror, the tinkling of a bell, or the string of coloured beads, with a handful of pearls, fit ornaments of a crown. Yet what is that compared with the folly of him who, in exchange for the toys of earth, gives his soul? (Dr. Guthrie)

The folly of hazarding eternal life for temporal enjoyment

I. How inconsiderable the purchase.

1. If we had it all, yet the great uncertainty of holding it, or any part of it.

2. The impossibility of using and enjoying it all.

3. If we had it, and could use it all, the improbability of being contented with it.

II. How great a price is paid for it.

1. The loss is great.

2. Irreparable.

3. The severe reflection men will make upon themselves for their folly. (J. Tillotson, D. D.)

The world gainer destitute of the joy of hope

God hath so contrived things that, ordinarily, the pleasures of human life do consist more in hope than enjoyment: so that if a man had gained all the world, one of the chief pleasures of life would be gone, because there would be nothing more left for him to hope for in this world. (J. Tillotson, D. D.)

Prosperity an aggravation of subsequent misery

If the happiness were true and real, it were an imprudent method. As if a man should choose to enjoy a great estate for a few days, and to be extremely poor the remaining part of his life. If there were any necessity of making so unequal a bargain, surely, a man would reserve the best condition to the last; for precedent sufferings and trouble do mightily recommend the pleasures that are to ensue, and render them more tasteful than they would otherwise have been; whereas the greatest heightening of misery, the saddest aggravation of an unhappy condition, is to fall into it from the height of a prosperous fortune. It is comfortable for a man to come out of the cold to a warm fire; but if a man in a great heat shall leap into the cold water, it will strike him to the heart. Such is the fond choice of every sinner, to pass immediately out of a state of the greatest sensual pleasure, into the most quick and sensible torments. (J. Tillotson, D. D.)

The after reflection of a lost soul

With what indignation will he look upon himself, and censure his own folly! Like a man who, in a drunken fit, hath passed away his estate for a trifling consideration: the next morning, when he is sober and come to himself, and finds himself a beggar, how does he rate himself for being such a beast and a fool, as to do that in a blind and rash heat which he will have cause to repent as long as he hath a day to live. (J. Tillotson, D. D.)

Is life worth living?

What shall a man give in exchange, for his life? This question has been largely on the lips of the world of late.

I. Life in its origin and destiny, is a deep mystery. Its only solution, as its only worth, is found in faith and religion. Life is growth under a force and principle guided by intelligence. To be, to act, and to suffer or enjoy, is to live.

II. Its unfolding may take place around either of two centres-self or god. Life offers us, in this direction, either bondage or freedom. It is determined by choice. He who decides to live to himself, becomes the slave of sin, passion, and lust. He who chooses God, attains to freedom, etc.

III. Whether life will secure worth will depend upon what we believe.

1. In natural science.

2. In mental philosophy.

3. In morals.

4. In religion.

IV. Belief and knowledge will have their effect upon character and conduct, and will manifest themselves. In what we become ourselves, and in what we help others to become.

V. Reasons. Why we should make the most of life and fill it with worth.

1. God gave it and upholds it.

2. God has redeemed it in order to give it worth.

3. God has a plan for each life, which, if followed, will lead from grace to glory, and from the utilities of time to the rewards and inheritance of eternity. Unless we do so, most assuredly, in the light of our text, life will not be worth the living, and indeed it were far better never to have been born. (L. O. Thompson)

The loss of the soul irreparable

If the soul perish, it is, once more, an irreparable loss-a loss that cannot be retrieved. A man may lose health, and yet, by the blessing of Providence upon medical aid, he may become more healthy than before; a man may lose property-his all in the world, and yet, by industry and the smile of Providence, he may become richer than before; a man may lose friends-God may raise up others in their room; but, Oh, if the soul is lost, it is lost not for a day a month, or a year, but for eternity; and it is that word eternity which gives emphasis to bliss or woe, to ease or pain, to hell or heaven. (R. Newton. D. D.)

The loss of the soul eternal

There is no proportion between the one and the other. There is some proportion between a particle of matter and the globe-there is some proportion between a drop of water and the ocean; but there can be none between the little drop of time and the shoreless, fathomless ocean of eternity. The man, then, that gains the whole world for time and loses his soul for eternity, can gain no profit. (R. Newton. D. D.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

16:26 your own soul? “Soul” and “life” (16:25) both translate the same Greek term (psuchē) and refer to the essence of a person—the self.

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Mat 16:26. Τὸν κόσμον ὅλον, the whole world) No one has ever yet gained the whole world; yet, if he should gain it, what would it profit him?—ψυχὴν, soul) True wisdom refers everything to the interest of the soul; false, to that of the body.—τί δώσει, what shall he give?) The world is not enough.[769]—ἀντάλλαγμα, as an equivalent, lat. redhostimentum) which ought not to be of less value than the soul for which it is given.

[769] The whole world is not enough as a ransom to redeem the one soul of even one man. But what a vast multitude, in truth, Christ redeemed by His own blood, namely, the whole world!—V. g.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat_16:26. Mat_16:25, compared with Mat_16:24, involved the thought that the earthly life must be sacrificed for sake of gaining the eternal. The reason of this thought is now brought forward.

ὠφελεῖται] represents as already present the mans condition at the day of judgment, not an Attic future (Bleek).

τὴν δὲ ψυχ. αὐτοῦ ζημιωθῇ] but will have lost his soul, that is to say, by his having rendered himself unfit for eternal life, by having, therefore, lost his soul as far as the Messianic ζωή is concerned, and become liable to eternal death. ζημιωθῇ is the opposite of κερδήσῃ. It must not on this ground, and because of the ἀντάλλαγμα which follows, be explained as meaning, to sustain damage in his soul (Luther), but: animae detrimentum pati (Vulgate), comp. Herod. vii. 39: τοῦ ἑνὸς τὴν ψυχὴν ζημιώσεαι, thou wilt lose thine only one through death.

ἤ] It avails a man nothing if he, and so on, it might be that (at the judgment) he would have something to give to God with which to purchase back his lost soul (ἀντάλλαγμα, Eur. Or. 1157, frequently met with in the LXX. and Apocrypha). There exists no such means of exchange (commutationem, Vulgate), nothing which, in the sight of God and according to His holy standard, would be of such value as to serve as an ἀντάλλαγμα for the soul. Non sufficit mundus, Bengel. Comp. Ritschl in the Jahrb. f. D. Th. 1863, p. 234 ff.

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 16:26 . This and the following verses suggest aids to practice of the philosophy of “dying to live”. The statement in this verse is self-evident in the sphere of the lower life. It profits not to gain the whole world if you lose your life, for you cannot enjoy your possession; a life lost cannot be recovered at any price. Jesus wishes His disciples to understand that the same law obtains in the higher life: that the soul, the spiritual life, is incommensurable with any outward possession however great, and if forfeited the loss is irrevocable. This is one of the chief texts containing Christ’s doctrine of the absolute worth of man as a moral subject. For the man who grasps it, it is easy to be a hero and face any experience. To Jesus Christ it was a self-evident truth. ζημιωθῇ , not suffer injury to, but forfeit. Grotius says that the verb in classics has only the dative after it = mulctare morte , but Kypke and Elsner cite instances from Herod., Dion., Hal., Themis., etc., of its use with accusative. ἀντάλλαγμα : something given in exchange. Cf. 1Ki 21:2 , Job 28:15 (Sept [102] ), a price to buy back the life lower or higher; both impossible.

[102] Septuagint.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Job 12:25

Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain. Text via Bolls.life.

For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul--or forfeit his own soul?

or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?--Instead of these weighty words, which we find in Mar 8:36 also, it is thus expressed in Luk 9:25 : "If he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away," or better, "If he gain the whole world, and destroy or forfeit himself." How awful is the stake as here set forth! If a man makes the present world--in its various forms of riches, honors, pleasures, and such like--the object of supreme pursuit, be it that he gains the world; yet along with it he forfeits his own soul. Not that any ever did, or ever will gain the whole world--a very small portion of it, indeed, falls to the lot of the most successful of the world's votaries--but to make the extravagant concession, that by giving himself entirely up to it, a man gains the whole world; yet, setting over against this gain the forfeiture of his soul--necessarily following the surrender of his whole heart to the world--what is he profited? But, if not the whole world, yet possibly something else may be conceived as an equivalent for the soul. Well, what is it?--"Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" Thus, in language the weightiest, because the simplest, does our Lord shut up His hearers, and all who shall read these words to the end of the world, to the priceless value to every man of his own soul. In Mark and Luke (Mar 8:38; Luk 9:26) the following words are added: "Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words [shall be ashamed of belonging to Me, and ashamed of My Gospel] in this adulterous and sinful generation" (see on Mat 12:39), "of him shall the Son of man be ashamed when He cometh in the glory of His Father, with the holy angels." He will render back to that man his own treatment, disowning him before the most august of all assemblies, and putting him to "shame and everlasting contempt" (Dan 12:2). "O shame," exclaims BENGEL, "to be put to shame before God, Christ, and angels!" The sense of shame is founded on our love of reputation, which causes instinctive aversion to what is fitted to lower it, and was given us as a preservative from all that is properly shameful. To be lost to shame is to be nearly past hope. (Zep 3:5; Jer 6:15; Jer 3:3). But when Christ and "His words" are unpopular, the same instinctive desire to stand well with others begets that temptation to be ashamed of Him which only the expulsive power of a higher affection can effectually counteract.

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Verse 26. Lose his own soul] Or, lose his life, την ψυχην αυτου. On what authority many have translated the word ψυχη, in the 25th verse, life, and in this verse, soul, I know not, but am certain it means life in both places. If a man should gain the whole world, its riches, honours, and pleasures, and lose his life, what would all these profit him, seeing they can only be enjoyed during life? But if the words be applied to the soul, they show the difficulty - the necessity-and importance of salvation. The world, the devil, and a man's own heart are opposed to his salvation; therefore it is difficult. The soul was made for God, and can never be united to him, nor be happy, till saved from sin: therefore it is necessary. He who is saved from his sin, and united to God, possesses the utmost felicity that the human soul can enjoy, either in this or the coming world: therefore, this salvation is important. See also Clarke's note on "Lu 9:25".

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

(26) what is a man profited . . .?—It is not without a purpose that what may be called the argument of expediency is here brought in. Even the self-denial of Mat_16:24 does not exclude the thought, for those who are still within the range of its influence, of what, in the long-run, will profit us most. There is a self-love which, in spite of the strained language of an exaggerated and unreal philanthropy, is ennobling and not debasing.

In exchange for his soul.—The English introduces an apparent antithesis of language (as has just been noticed) in place of the identity of the original. It would be better to keep “life” in both verses. If there is no profit in bartering even the lower life for the whole world, how much less in bartering the higher,

‘Et propter vitam vivendi perdere causas!

And when that forfeiture has been incurred, what price can he then pay to buy it back again? No. “It costs more to redeem their souls, so that he must let that alone for ever” (Psa_49:8, Prayer Book version).

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. and lose his own soul] The Greek word translated “life” in the preceding verse is here translated “soul,” which is life in its highest phase.

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For the son of man shall come in the glory of his Father,.... This is a reason, proving the truth of what is before asserted, that men's lives may be lost by saving them, and be found by losing them, whatever paradoxes they may seem to be; and that the loss of a soul is irrecoverable, and no compensation can be made for it; and points out the time, when all this will appear: for nothing is more certain, and to be depended upon, than that Christ, who, though he was then a mean and contemptible man, and attended with the sinless infirmities of human nature, wherefore he calls himself, "the son of man", should come; either a second time to judgment at the last day, in the same glory as his Father, as his Son, equal with him, and clothed, with power and authority from him, and as mediator, to execute judgment: with his angels; the Holy Ones, so the Syriac and Persic versions read, and so some copies; who will add to the glory of his appearance; and will be employed in gathering all nations before him, and in executing his will: or, in his power, to take vengeance on the Jewish nation; on those that crucified him, or did not believe in him, or deserted and apostatised from him. And then he shall reward every man according to his works, or work; either that particular action of putting him to death, or their unbelief in him, or desertion of him; or any, or all of their evil works, they had been guilty of: for though good works are not the cause of salvation, nor for which men will be rewarded; though they may be brought into judgment, as proofs and evidences of true faith, in the person, blood, and righteousness of Christ, by which good men will be acquitted and discharged; yet evil works will be the cause of condemnation, and the rule of judgment; and the reason of adjudging to temporal punishment here, and eternal destruction hereafter.

Matthew 16:28

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

26 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?

Ver. 26. Yet what is a man profited] Francis Xanerius counselled John the Third, King of Portugal, to meditate every day a quarter of an hour on this divine sentence. If there could, saith a reverend divine, be such a bargain made, that he might have the whole world for the sale of his soul, he should, for all that, be a loser by it. {a} For he might, notwithstanding, be a bankrupt, a beggar, begging in vain, though but for a drop of cold water to cool his tongue. Is it nothing then to lose an immortal soul, to purchase an ever-living death? The loss of the soul is in this verse set forth to be 1. incomparable; 2. irreparable. If, therefore, to lose the life for money be a madness, what then the soul? What wise man could fetch gold out of a fiery crucible? hazard himself to endless woes for a few waterish pleasures? give his soul to the devil, as some popes did for the short enjoyment of the Papal dignity? What was this but to wilt Venice, and then to be hanged at the gates thereof, as the proverb is. {b} In great fires men look first to their jewels, then to their lumber; so should these see first to their souls, to secure them, and then take care of the outward man. The soldier cares not how his buckler speeds, so his body be kept thereby from deadly thrusts. The pope persuading Maximilian (king of Bohemia, afterwards emperor) to be a good Catholic, with many promises of profits and preferments, was answered by the king that he thanked his Holiness; but that his soul’s health was more dear to him than all the things in the world. Which answer they said in Rome was a Lutheran form of speech, and signified an alienation from the obedience of that see; and they began to discourse what would happen after the old emperor’s death.

Or what shall a man give in exchange] He would give anything in the world, yea, 10,000 worlds if he had them, to be delivered. But out of hell there is no redemption. Hath the extortioner pillaged, or the robber spoiled thy goods? By labour and leisure thou mayest recover thyself again. But the soul once lost is irrecoverable. Which when the guilty soul at death thinks of, oh, what a dreadful shriek gives it, to see itself launching into an infinite ocean of scalding lead, and must swim naked in it for ever! How doth it, trembling, warble out that doleful ditty of dying Adrian the emperor:

" Animula, vagula, blandula,

Hospes comesque corporis,

Quae nunc abibis in loca

Horridula, sordida, tristia,

Nec, ut soles, dabis iocos?"

{a} Mr Ley’s Monitor of Mortality.

{b} Non magis iuvabitur, quam qui acquirat Venetias, ipse vero suspendatur ad Portam ut est in proverbio. Par. in loc.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

And lose his own soul. Christ seems in these words to pass from the life of the body to that of the soul. (Witham)

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Our interpreters, by translating the same word soul in this verse which they had translated life Mat 16:25, let us know that they understood it here of that essential part of man which we call the soul, in which sense it could not be understood in that verse, for it is impossible in that sense to lose our soul for Christ’s sake. Some think that it hath the same sense here as in that verse, and that our Saviour argues here from the less to the greater, thus: Men will lose any thing rather than their lives; skin for skin, and all that a man hath, for his life; and this is but reasonable, for if a man lose his life to get the world, what will the world gotten do him good? What can be a proportionable exchange or compensation to him for that? Now if you value your temporary life at that rate, how much more ought you to value your eternal being and existence! It cometh much to the same, only the sense is plainer if we take it as our translators have taken it, for otherwise part of the argument is not expressed, but left to be understood, or supplied from the next verse. So as the sense is this: Besides bodies which may be killed by persecutors, you carry about with you immortal souls of infinitely more value; and besides a temporal life, of which you are in possession, there is an eternal state, which awaits you. You are creatures ordained to an eternal existence, either in misery or in happiness. Admit you could, by pleasing yourselves, denying me, shifting the cross, declining a life according to my precepts and example, prolong your temporal life, yet what will you get by it, considering that by it you must suffer loss as to your eternal happy existence, for I shall then deny you before my Father and his angels? Can any thing you can get or save in this world be a proportionable exchange for eternal happiness?

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

26. Gain the whole world, and lose his own soul — As Peter, in his preference for a worldly monarchy, would in fact do, and even persuade Jesus to do.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

For what is a man (shall a man be) profited? This verse explains the paradox concerning loss and gain in the previous verse. It is probably intended as a reminiscence of Psa_49:7, Psa_49:8. Wordsworth notes that it is quoted by Ignatius, "Ep. ad Romans," 6.; but it is probably an early interpolation there. The whole world. It is but a trifle of the whole world, with its riches, honours, pleasures, which the most successful man can obtain; but granted it all lay at his feet, how would it repay him for the loss of everlasting life? Lose his own soul (life) (th). The phrase means "suffer loss in respect of," equivalent to "forfeit," as in Luk_9:25. "Life" here is the higher life, the life in God. The Vulgate renders, Animae vero suae detrimentum patiatur. In exchange; antallagma : Vulgate, commutationem; as an equivalent for his life. Or, it may be, to purchase back his life. "Again, he dwells upon the same point. "What? hast thou another soul to give for this soul?" saith he. "Why, shouldst thou lose money, thou wilt be able to give other money; or be it house, or slaves, or any other kinds of possession; but for thy soul, if thou lose it, thou wilt have no other soul to give: yea, though thou hadst the world, though thou wast king of the whole earth, thou wouldst not be able, by paying down all earthly goods, together wits the earth itself, to redeem even one soul" (Chrys.," Hom.," 55). The value of the soul is often expressed in classical adages. Quchv gan esti timiwreron . "Naught is of higher value than the soul. Ou galei andrasi filteron allo . "Naught unto men is dearer than the life.

So Homer, "Iliad," 9:401"For not the stores which Troy, they say, contained In peaceful times, ere came the sons of Greece, Nor all the treasures which Apollo"s shrine, The archer-god, in rock built Pythos holds, May weigh with life... But when the breath of man hath passed his lips, Nor strength nor foray can the loss repair. (Lord Derby)

The great gain, and the greater loss.

"What is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" This is an extreme, a paradoxical utterance. No man can, in any precise sense, "gain the whole world." If he could, it would weigh nothing in the scale against the value of his life. For on life depends enjoyment of possessions. Illustrate by the parable of the rich farmer who boasted of what he possessed, and lost it all when he died in the night. Compare our Lord"s advice to "lay up treasure in heaven.

I THE GREAT GAIN IS EARTHLY THINGS. Look over the whole world. Examine the pursuits of every class. Read the story of the long ages. This is clearly men"s opinion everywhere. They live to get, to win, to grasp, to hold what they call wealth, earthly valuables houses, laud, jewels, money, fame. Is that really great gain? Test it by one thing How does it stand related to man"s real soul life? Then it is seen to belong only to the body, which man has for a while; and in no way to the being that he is, and will be forever. All a man acquires of a merely earthly character belongs to his body, and goes with his body when his body goes; then it is his no more. Treasure on earth is but falsely and unworthily called "great gain.

II THE GREATER LOSS IS SPIRITUAL CHARACTER. For character is a man"s true wealth; it belongs to the being he is, and is forever. And one application of our Lord"s teaching here comes out in a very striking way. Gaining earthly things is only too likely to involve the destruction of spiritual character, because it is so sure to hinder that "self-denial" which is the absolutely essential foundation of noble and enduring spiritual character. A man gains the heavenly treasure by what he gives up, and not by what he holds fast to (see ver. 24). The sublime illustration is presented in the case of our Lord himself, who acquired nothing earthly, who gave up everything he had that men are wont to esteem as gain, but who gained the eternal treasure of tested spiritual character, perfected Sonship.

In conclusion, meet the difficulty of the apparently unpractical character of such teaching. Show that it is really a question of relativity. Which is to be first, possessions or character? R.T.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

world

kosmos = world-system. Joh 7:7 (See Scofield "Rev 13:8").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

True gain:

v. 26. 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?

v. 27. For the Son of Man shall come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and then He shall reward every man according to his works.

v. 28. Verily I say unto you, There be some standing here which shall not taste of death till they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.

Christ places the other alternative before His disciples. Supposing it to be possible that a man, by constant, unceasing labor, should gain the whole world; but, if in doing so, he forfeit his soul, his soul be made a forfeit, by the bargain, would it really be a gain? Could he take all his goods and give them as an exchange for his soul? Could he use them as a price to buy back the true life which he has lost with his soul? And there is not merely the negative disagreeable feature of losing the soul for this life, but there is the prospect of positive punishment. It will be, it is certain: The Son of Man will come, no longer in poverty and lowliness, as in the days of His earthly sojourn, but in the full glory of His Godhead, which He will exercise also according to His human nature. Accompanied by His angels, He will come to judgment, and He will give, give back, return, to every one according to his doing, as every person has given proof of the faith in his heart by the works of his hands. That will be the Judgment, which no one can escape. Mat 25:31-46. In the manner peculiar to prophets, Christ makes no distinction between the events near at hand and those afar off; for the eternal God, who inspires prophecy, has no time. Before Him all things are happening in the great now , in the present. Christ gives His disciples the assurance that some of them will not die, will not taste of the cup which yields death, until they see Him coming in His kingdom. This refers either to the glorification of Jesus through His death and resurrection, which introduced the actual beginning of His Church on earth, with the festival of Pentecost, or it points to the day when God began His judgment upon Jerusalem. That was the dawn of the day which will finally bring Jesus back in all His glory. Some of the disciples of Christ actually lived until long after the destruction of Jerusalem, thus becoming further living examples and proofs for the truth of Christ’s words.

Summary.Christ refuses the demand of the Pharisees for a, sign, warns against the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees, hears the confession of His disciples, and rebukes Peter for interfering with His Messianic ministry.

Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Learn, 1. That God has intrusted everyone of us with a soul of inestimable worth and preciousness, capable of being saved or lost, and that to all eternity.

2. That the gain of the whole world is not comparable with the loss of one precious soul. The soul’s loss is an incomprehensible and irrecoverable loss.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. What is a man profited? etc. All the wealth, glory, pleasure and power of earth are worthless to the dying man. If he should gain them all and lose his own soul, he has lost all. What shall a man give in exchange for his soul? What would a man not give? What is there that he can give, if in life he has not followed Christ?

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

26. ἐὰν τὸν κόσμον ὅλον κερδήσῃ. One of the false Messianic notions was that the Christ should gain the whole world, i.e. the Roman Empire. This was the very temptation presented to our Lord Himself ‘the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them.’ What is the value of universal dominion, of the whole power of Cæsar, compared with life? ψυχὴ had a wide range of meaning to the Greek; it was ‘life’ in all its extent, from the mere vegetative existence to the highest intellectual life. Christianity has deepened the conception by adding to the connotation of ψυχὴ the spiritual life of the soul in union with Christ.

The higher and the lower sense are both present in these verses, it is true that the world is worthless if life be lost, still more true if the union of the soul with Christ should be sacrificed. The Greek poet discerned that there is a greater gain than external prosperity, ἐπεί σʼ ἐφεύρηκα μοίρᾳ μὲν οὐκ ἐπʼ ἐσθλᾷ | βεβῶσαν· ἃ δὲ μέγιστʼ ἔβλαστε νόμιμα, τῶνδε φερομέναν | ἄριστα τᾷ Ζηνὸς εὐσεβείᾳ. Soph. El. 1094.

κερδήσῃ ζημιωθῇ. κέρδος and ζημία … are often thus opposed in the classics. Cp. Php 3:7, ἀλλʼ ἄτινα ἦν μοι κέρδος ταῦτα ἥγημαι διὰ τὸν Χριστὸν ζημίαν—a passage which reflects the thought of this.

ἀντάλλαγμα. Cp. κέκρισθε … μήδʼ ἀνταλλάξασθαι μηδεμίας χάριτος μήδʼ ὠφελείας τὴν εἰς τοὺς Ἕλληνας εὔνοιαν (Dem. Phil. II. 10); no external gain, it was felt, would tempt Athens to abandon her loyal and pro-Hellenic policy—for that she would make every sacrifice.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26.] There is apparently a reference to Psa_48 (LXX) in this verse. Compare especially the latter part with ver. 8 of that Psalm.

τὴν ψ. ζημιωθῇ = ἑαυτὸν δὲ ἀπολέσας Luke. Compare also 1Pe 1:18. In the latter part of the verse, ἄνθρωπος and αὐτοῦ refer to the same person:—ἀντάλλαγμα = ἐξίλασμα, τὴν τιμὴν τῆς λυτρώσεως τῆς ψ. αὐτοῦ Psa 48:7, Psa 48:8. What shall a man give to purchase back his life? ψυχή, not soul, but life, in the higher sense.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

26. For what shall a man be profited if he gain the whole world, but be deprived of his life? or what will a man give as exchange for his life?] Mk. has: “For what will it profit a man to gain the whole world and to be deprived of his life? For what would a man give as exchange for his life?” The meaning seems to be: “Suppose a man to shrink from martyrdom, he will, indeed, ‘save’ his physical life. But he will ‘lose’ the higher life of the soul. To gain the whole world, and to lose this higher life, is a profitless proceeding; because this higher life cannot be purchased. No money can buy it.”—ὠφεληθήσεται] For Mt.’s preference for passives, see on 4:1.—ζημιωθῇ] ζημιοῦν is to “fine” or “confiscate”; so in the passive, “to suffer confiscation or loss of”; cf. Php 3:8 τὰ παντα ἐζημιώθην.—ἀντάλλαγμα] is the price paid for anything; cf. Ecclus 6:15 φίλου πιστοῦ οὐκ ἔστιν ἀντάλλαγμα, 26:14 οὐκ ἔστιν ἀντάλλαγμα πεπαιδευμένης ψυχῆς, “there is nothing worth so much as, nothing which can be paid in exchange for, a well-instructed soul.” δοῖ in Mk. is the aor. conj.; cf. Blass, p. 49; Moulton, Class. Rev. 1901, p. 37; Gram. p. 55. Mt. substitutes the easier fut. ind.

Mt. and Lk. agree against Mk. in this verse in the following ὠφεληθήσεται ἄνθρωπος—δέ, Mt. = ὠφελεῖται ἄνθρωπος—δέ, Lk. Mk. has ὠφελεῖ ἄνθρωπον—καί.

(M)

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Gain - lose [κερδησηζημιωθη] . Note that both words are in the past (aorist) tense : " if he may have gained or lost. The Lord looks back to the details of each life as the factors of the final sum of gain or loss. For lose, Rev. gives forfeit. The verb in the active voice means to cause loss or damage. Often in the classics, of fining or mulcting in a sum of money. Compare 2Co 7:9.

Soul [ψυχην] . Rev., life, with soul in margin. This will be specially considered in the discussion of the psychological terms in the Epistles.

In exchange [ανταλλαγμα] . Lit., as an exchange.

Marvin R. Vincent, Word Studies in the New Testament (1887–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.