Bearing the Cross
H. M. Luckock, D. D. Mark 8:35 For whoever will save his life shall lose it; but whoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. A three-fold inducement is here held out. I. EACH MAN HAS TWO LIVES — A lower and earthly, and a higher and heavenly. If any man thinks only of the former, and makes everything bend to that, with all its temporal enjoyments and self-pleasing, he will forfeit all right to the latter. If, however, he learns to sit loosely to that, and is prepared to resign it whenever a strong sense of duty prompts the resignation, he carries in his hand a passport into a higher and nobler existence. II. THERE IS A VAST DISPROPORTION BETWEEN THE TWO LIVES. 1. He pictures to His hearers a man placed upon trial for his conduct, and condemned to forfeit all claim to eternal life, because he has thought only of the present, and taken his fill of its pleasures; and then He weighs in the balance one against the other, what he has gained and what he has lost, and the former flies up at once and kicks the beam, for it is altogether lighter than vanity itself. 2. There are many things which may be recovered by ransom or won back by exchange; but eternal life, once forfeited, is past recovery; at least no corruptible things, such as silver and gold, neither thousands of rams nor ten thousands of rivers of oil, can effect a redemption or offer the least compensation. III. HE APPEALS TO THE REQUITAL AT THE FINAL JUDGMENT. (H. M. Luckock, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel's, the same shall save it. WEB: For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; and whoever will lose his life for my sake and the sake of the Good News will save it.