Matthew 16:25

“For whoever would save his life will lose it, and whoever will lose his life for my sake will find it.”

On the other hand, He pointed out, in spite of that, there was really only one choice to make, for the alternative was not really a choice at all. Not to respond would be equally fatal. For the one who shunned this dying to self and such a possibility of martyrdom, and thereby sought to save His life for himself, would unquestionably finally lose true life altogether. He would lose his soul. This was the challenge of the last days.

But the one who did, for Christ's sake, actually lose his life by giving it up to Christ to be solely lived for His purposes, and indeed to die for Him if necessary, would in fact then save it. For he could then be sure that he would have life that was life indeed and that in the final day he would be raised with Him (see John 6:39; John 6:44). We may rightly spiritualise it in applying it to ourselves, but in the violent world of those days it was a genuine option and the mention of the cross had an ominous significance.

The choice He offered was certainly not an easy one for anyone, and especially not for the well-to-do and the influential. By openly following Jesus they might easily cut themselves off from the spheres of influence and power and be degraded and set aside by those in authority. No one knew where his choice would lead him. He might be committing political suicide. He might be ostracised by his friends. And it might even lead to death. It was a choice with which those who thought to follow Christ then would constantly be faced, and in some places still are. But as Jesus wanted each to recognise, the alternative was in the end to lose everything. So while to opt for Christ carried with it the possibility of suffering, persecution, and death, although then with the guarantee of eternal life, to opt against Him was to opt for final destruction.