WEEKLY WORDS OF WISDOM The heart Of a man can Not be determined, By the size Of his pocketbook. ~> Mark 8:36,37 KJV ~> For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the Whole World, aNd lose his Own soUl? Or what shall a man giVe in eXchange fOr his soUl? ~>Ellicotts Commentary for English Readers~>(36, 37) His own soul.—Better, life in both verses. The word “lose” is not the same as in Mark 8:35, and had, perhaps, better be rendered forfeit, as implying, what the other word does not necessarily imply, the idea of a penalty. ~>Matthew Henrys Concise Commentary~>8:34-38 Frequent notice is taken of the great flocking there was to Christ for help in various cases. All are concerned to know this, if they expect him to heal their souls. They must not indulge the ease of the body. As the happiness of heaven with Christ, is enough to make up for the loss of life itself for him, so the gain of all the world in sin, will not make up for the ruin of the soul by sin. And there is a day coming, when the cause of Christ will appear as glorious, as some now think it mean and contemptible. May we think of that season, and view every earthly object as we shall do at that great day. ~>Barnes Notes on the Bible~>He spake that saying openly - With boldness or confidence, or without parables or figures, so that there could be no possibility of misunderstanding him. ~>Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary~>Mr 8:27-38. Peters Noble Confession of Christ—Our Lords First Explicit Announcement of His Approaching Sufferings, Death, and Resurrection—His Rebuke of Peter, and Warning to All the Twelve. ~>Matthew Pooles Commentary~>Ver. 36,37. Luke saith, if he lose himself and be cast away. Though quchn was rightly translated life in the former verse, the sense justifying that translation of it there, yet here it is as truly translated soul; for there are many things which men value in proportion with their lives, their honour, estates, nay, many value their lusts above their lives; and Christ himself here teacheth us that his disciples ought to value his honour and glory, and their steady profession of faith and holiness, above their life, because he that will lose his life shall save it. ~>Gills Exposition of the Entire Bible~>For what shall it profit a man,.... In the long run, in the issue of things, who by denying Christ, and his Gospel, may not only save his life for the present, but procure for himself great riches and wealth: if he shall gain the whole world; were that possible to be done, and which the ambitious, worldly man is desirous of; yet supposing he: had his desire, of what avail would this be in the upshot of things, should the following be his case, as it will, and lose his own soul? which is immortal and everlasting, when the world, and the glory of it pass away, and so is of more worth than the whole world. The world can only be enjoyed for a season, and that with a great deal of fatigue and trouble; but the soul continues for ever; and if it is lost and damned, its torment always abides, and the smoke of it ascends for ever, its worm never dies, and its fire is never quenched; Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? To deliver it out of its miserable state and condition; all the riches of the world, and the whole world itself, are not an equivalent to it, or a sufficient ransom for it; riches will not profit in the day of wrath, or deliver a soul from damnation, and ruin: wherefore, if he had the whole world, he could not redeem his soul with it; and he has nothing else to give for it, and therefore it is past all recovery. ~>Geneva Study Bible~>{11} For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (11) They are the most foolish of all men who purchase the pleasures of this life with the loss of everlasting bliss. Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul? ~>Pulpit Commentary~>Verse 36. - What doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? (ζημιωθῆναι); literally, forfeit his life (ψυχή). The word ψυχή in the Greek, originally meaning simply breath, as the sign of life, is of very comprehensive import, embracing not merely the breath of life, but also the soul, or immortal part of man, as distinguished from his mortal body, also the mind or understanding, as the organ of thought. Life seems here to be the best English synonym, as being, like the Greek ψυχή, the more comprehensive term. Verse 37. - In exchange (ἀντάλλαγμα) for his life. The Greek term here means an equivalent, a compensation. The life, in its largest sense and meaning, defies all comparison, surpasses all value. It has been bought and redeemed with the precious blood of Christ; therefore the whole world would be a poor price for the soul of one man. ~>Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges~> in exchange] i. e. to purchase back. By soul here is meant “life” in the higher sense. The “price” which the earthly-minded man gives for the world is his soul. But after having laid that down as the price, what has he for a “ransom-price,” to purchase it again? The LXX. use the original word in Ruth 4:7; Jeremiah 15:13.
Posted on: Fri, 24 Oct 2014 15:20:26 +0000
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