Matthew 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. 1 Kings 21:2; Job 28:15 (Sept [102]), a price to buy back the life lower or higher; both impossible.

[102] Septuagint.