Matthew 16.23–27: a Remonstrant’s Rendering

J. D. Gallé | Monday, 31 October 2022

v. 23    And he, having turned, said unto Peter, ‘You must be getting behind me, Adversary! You are being a cause of stumbling for me! Because you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but the things of human beings.’

v. 24    At that time Jesus said unto his students, ‘If anyone is desiring to come behind me, he must

completely disregard himself

and lift up his cross

and be following me.

v. 25    ‘For whosoever may be desiring to preserve his life shall completely destroy it, but whosoever may completely destroy his life because of me shall discover it.

v. 26    ‘For what shall a person be benefited if he may have acquired the whole world but may have suffered loss of his life? Or what can a person give in exchange for his life?

v. 27    ‘For the Son of Man is on the point of arriving in the splendour of his Father with his angels, and at that time he shall give back to each in accordance with his practice.’ 

(Matthew 16.23–27, A Remonstrant’s Rendering)

Original translation copyright © J. D. Gallé, 2022, 2023. All rights reserved.

Revised verse 27 on Tuesday, 6 June 2023.

Altered one preposition in verses 23 and 24 on Wednesday, 30 August 2023.

Forsake and Follow

Whatever sins you might be holding on to, now is the time to forsake them and follow the Lord Jesus Christ.

Robert E. Picirilli on the Nature of Discipleship

        To be a disciple means to repent and believe the gospel and so to enter the Kingdom of God. It means to declare sincerely that one is a follower of Jesus, learning from Him. It means one must renounce all other competing allegiances and values and submit to His Lordship as the one who will teach the will of God. It means applying that teaching to one’s own life and so bringing forth “fruit worthy of repentance.” It means giving the word of God a favorable hearing and keeping it. In short, this means leaving, following, and learning.
        And this is what it means to be a Christian.

Robert E. Picirilli, Discipleship: The Expression of Saving Faith (Nashville, TN: Randall House, 2013), p. 38, emphases in original

Copyright © Robert E. Picirilli, 2013. All rights reserved.

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Losing Everything

J. D. Gallé | Tuesday, 1 December 2015

“Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.” (Matt. 10.37–39)[1] 

Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matt. 16.24–26)

        The entirety of a person’s life is to be invested in pursuing Jesus. The temporal recognition of colleagues, friendships, the love of a husband or wife, familial and relational stability, occupational security, financial prosperity, the acquisition of goods, health, and all worldly comforts may need to be sacrificed to this end. The sober truth we are presented with is that clinging dearly to one’s life in the present age will only result in losing it for the age to come. It is only in denying oneself and following Christ to the bitter end that one preserves his or her life. If one gains the whole world and yet loses Christ, one will have lost everything. For to lose Jesus Christ is to have lost everything.

Note

        1. All scriptural quotations have been taken from the English Standard Version (2011 text edition).

Copyright © J. D. Gallé, 2015, 2016, 2021. All rights reserved.


Latest revisions: 22 March 2016 (one word omitted); altered scriptural abbreviations, one word in article, and one word in note (17 Nov. 2021).