At the end of Matthew 16, Jesus utters a familiar saying: “For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?” (v. 26).
The saying is part of Jesus’ call to follow Him in faith and obedience regardless of the cost — even if it means death (v. 24 — taking up a cross is a call to suffer and even die for Christ). Will the believer follow and die for Christ? Will I be willing to suffer for Him? It is not a “cross” to drive an 8- or 10-year-old car or not to have a new suit for Easter; the cross was associated with death and the cruelest forms of suffering; when Jesus asks His question He is pointedly calling His followers to embrace the hardest forms of suffering.
Notice that Jesus uses a question to make His point — He is probing without being overtly confrontational. His question leads His hearers (and readers) to affirm that it is appropriate wise and beneficial to give up anything — if it will mean eternal life and not eternal death.
Following His question in v. 26 Jesus quotes from the OT — “For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds” (v. 27). That declaration is a reminder that Jesus as the eternal God-Man will return and will come as the glorious One and with all authority over all the realm of Heaven (angels) and earth and will judge and repay all men for their deeds.
The application is generally made that this is a promise of reward and blessing. Certainly, there will be individuals among the “every man” that will receive blessing (cf. Rom. 2:6-8). However, the quotation comes from Psalm 62:12. In that psalm, the writer is reminding the readers to wait for the Lord (vv. 1, 5) because God is the rock and salvation (vv. 2, 6) of the believer, and despite the suffering of God’s people (vv. 3-4), God is a place of refuge (v. 7) and is trustworthy (v. 8).
Then in v. 9 he begins unfolding what will happen to those who oppose God (and His people) — they will go up in the balances (be found deficient, v. 9); God has spoken (v. 11) and He will “recompense a man according to his work” (v. 12). So contextually, the psalmist’s focus is on the comfort for the follower of God, not only because God will reward faithfulness, but even more that God will judge those who are unfaithful and unrighteous. The ungodly will not ultimately succeed or prosper; they will receive the recompense of their deeds.
The words of David and the words of the Savior align to remind the disciples and us that whatever trouble we face — even if it includes horrible suffering or even death — there will be a final reckoning and all will be made right. The ungodly will not prevail and those who have righteously suffered will be comforted and rewarded. All will be well.
So with these words Jesus transforms how we think about what is valuable and what is to be embraced and what should be (joyfully) given up. Jesus has reminded us that the accounting methods of Heaven supersede the accounting methods of the world. For the believer in Christ, loss on earth never final loss. All earthly loss is short-term and small in comparison to the glorious gifts of the eternal Heaven.
“Accounts book” by futureshape is licensed under CC BY 2.0.
Words of Grace 