Luke 9:23-26
23 And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.
24 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.
25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy angels.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - Luke 9:23-26
9:23 The path of discipleship would now include identification with Him in the context of His coming suffering, rejection, and death. Jesus gives three specific instructions on discipleship. Anyone desiring to follow Him must "deny himself (not "die to self" as popularly taught); take up his cross daily (indicating a willingness to follow Jesus to death if necessary) and follow" Jesus. These conditions both surpass and build on the simple condition of belief in Him for salvation (e.g., Luke 7:50, 8:12). Now His disciples would follow His example in principle (and in some cases literally).
9:24 Paradoxically although doing these things would presumably lead to death, they actually bring life. Conversely "whoever loses his life for Jesus' sake will save it." All who turn their back on the devil's life plan for them in this present age (which he rules in) will enjoy the privileges of a full-orbed life in the future kingdom.
9:25 Discipleship in part entails profit in the context of the purpose for which God designed mankind. A person can gain the whole world and yet lose or forfeit himself, and thus ultimately not profit. He may not produce anything of lasting value (or of sufficient quality) to save his life in the sense of profit or loss. He may "lose" his life in the sense of not reaching the highest purpose for which God created him, a crowning participation in the future kingdom. The NKJV's "destroyed" or "lost" unnecessarily renders the original language to intimate eternal destruction or loss of salvation. Eternal salvation depends solely on Jesus' death on behalf of mankind rather than on one's personal sacrifice. His payment on the cross makes it possible for God to give salvation as a gift to anyone who believes His promise of eternal life (see John 3:16-18; 5:24-25; 11:25-27). Nevertheless, some believers because of sin, negligence, or ignorance do not live up to God's highest purposes for them in their personal, family, work, spiritual, or civic life. Life choices now impact future experience in the coming kingdom. God's love for believers will not change. They will keep their eternal salvation. But, they will not qualify for the highest privileges God will graciously grant to obedient believers unless they deny themselves, take up their crosses, and follow Jesus (v 23).
9:26 Jesus' description of "whoever is ashamed of Me and My words" applies to those who do not meet the discipleship conditions delineated in Luke 9:23. Jesus describes the assured fate of those who aim to gain this present world rather than casting their lot with Jesus in the certain hope of true life in the coming age: "of him the Son of Man will be ashamed." Instead of participating in the glorious recognition granted to those who have lived as faithful followers of the Messiah - a glory reflective of Jesus Himself, the Father, and the angels who did not rebel with Satan - the unfaithful believer will feel shame before His Savior. Jesus here also reveals a future advent separated from His first by an indeterminate amount of time. Of utmost importance for this unit (9:7-13:22) the text here reveals the first inkling of an interadvent age (later made explicit in Luke 19:11-12).
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - Following Jesus, Matthew 10:38; 16:24 (cf. Mark 8:34; Luke 9:23; 14:27)
(Salvation) Interpretation: To "come after" or "follow" Jesus refers to becoming a Christian.
(Discipleship) Interpretation: To "come after" or "follow" Jesus refers to becoming a disciple.
Since these statements from Jesus about becoming a disciple are similar, we will look at them together. We notice that while Jesus was addressing the crowds, the disciples were always present (the disciples exclusively in Matt. 10:1-11:1). Since the disciples were believers at this point (John 2:11), and probably many others in the crowd as well, we should suspect that these conditions address the commitments of a disciple, not the condition for salvation.
Jesus' invitation is to "come after Me," not "come to Me" as in Matthew 11:28 (see the previous discussion). To come after or follow Jesus is the language of discipleship. It speaks of a life committed to Him. It is different from coming to Him for salvation. That these conditions are in the category of (Discipleship) becomes more apparent when we understand the implications of each of them.
The condition mentioned first in Matthew 16:24 (as also in Mark 8:34 and Luke 9:23) is that a person must "deny himself." As always, the context gives us insight into what this means. In both Matthew and Luke, Jesus has just predicted that He is going to suffer and even die. No one wants to die, not even Jesus (Luke 22:42), but He obediently goes to His death because it is God's will for Him. To deny oneself is to say "no" to our desires (good and bad) in order to say "yes" to God's will for us. It is a decision we make as we come to understand what God's will is, something an unsaved person really doesn't know. Clearly, it is (Discipleship) related to the Christian life.
A second condition mentioned in these two passages, but also in Mark 10:38 and in Luke 14:27, is that one must "take up his cross." Again, the contexts in which Jesus gives this condition have, as a background, His own suffering and death. The meaning is certainly not lost on the disciples and the crowds. Jesus is speaking of a willingness to suffer and die and He is inviting others to do the same in order to be His disciples. The emotional impact of His statement is diluted to our modern sensibilities. When the crowds heard the word "cross," they surely shuddered at the thought of being crucified by their Roman occupiers on wooden crossbars exposed to the elements in public, or lining the streets with other offenders and dying a slow humiliating death. In that day, crucifixion was the cruelest kind of death and included social and religious stigmas (such as God's curse, Deut. 21:23).
Though carrying one's cross is strong enough as a condition for discipleship, Luke 9:23 adds that this must be done "daily," suggesting Jesus is speaking not just of someone's physical death, but also a daily willingness to suffer for identifying with Jesus Christ. Now we clearly see why this cannot be (Salvation). How can someone be saved if it requires a daily commitment to suffer and die for Jesus Christ? And how does an unsaved person comprehend what suffering for Christ entails? Besides, salvation is possible because Jesus died for us, not because we die for Him.
The third condition in these passages is simply "follow Me." Again, as with His call to Peter, Andrew, James, and John at the Sea of Galilee while they were fishing, Jesus is inviting people to follow Him as disciples or learners. Normally, a first-century Jewish disciple would literally follow his master, live with him, eat with him, study with him. It meant giving up one's own agenda and goals for that of the master's or teacher's. Since this is obviously a process, not a single event, it cannot be (Salvation).
You can see how confused people can become if we tell them that they can only be saved if they deny all their own desires and adopt God's, are willing to suffer or die every day for being a Christian, and follow God's agenda for their lives. For that matter, we who are Christians rarely keep these commitments fully. For us, they are goals that guide our hearts as we seek to fulfill them perfectly. But to make such criteria conditions for unsaved people to obtain salvation will only result in doubt and insecurity about measuring up on the one hand, or pride because they think they have on the other. Salvation is not about our commitments and suffering for Jesus Christ; it's about His suffering and commitment to us.
You might wonder why those who are called disciples are given conditions for discipleship. The answer to this is that discipleship is a process, not an accomplishment; it is a journey, not a destination. The end goal is Christlikeness (Matt. 10:25), something that cannot be fully achieved in this life. There is a sense in which every disciple is challenged to be more of a disciple. Peter was challenged to follow Christ several times after his initial decision at the Sea of Galilee, with each challenge demanding more of a commitment. For example, one of the last challenges, which Jesus gave after His resurrection, was for Peter to follow Christ after he was told the manner in which he would die (John 21:19). For Peter, that certainly contained a specific commitment he had not yet encountered. For each of us as Christians, Jesus Christ challenges us to move to the next level of commitment, something that is relative to where each of us is at the present. We can always become more of a disciple.
Charles Bing - Grace, Salvation, and Discipleship - Finding Your Life, Matthew 10:39; 16:25-26 (cf. Mark 8:35-38; Luke 9:24-26; John 12:25)
(Salvation) Interpretation: If a person lives for himself, he will not gain salvation or he will lose salvation. But if a person forsakes his selfish desires, he will gain eternal life.
(Discipleship) Interpretation: If a believer lives for himself, he will miss the abundant life that God has for him. But if he forsakes his selfish desires, he will find the abundant life.
These statements explain why the invitation to discipleship that we discussed above should be accepted. Whoever does so saves his life, or his soul. Immediately, when some hear the language about saving (or losing) one's soul, they assume a (Salvation) interpretation, taking it as a reference to salvation of one's spirit from hell. This is a problem created by the English translations of the Bible.
The word soul (psychē) is the same word translated life in these passages (which is how some Bible versions translate it). It refers to life in its essence, the immaterial part of a person comprised of mind, will, and emotions that forms one's identity. Your life is who you really are. This statement is helpful because it uses the word "himself" for "life:" "For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost?" (Luke 9:25).
It is also important to understand how the word save (sōzō) is used. As discussed earlier, it does not always refer to eternal salvation. It simply means to deliver, to preserve from some danger or loss. Usually, we determine its meaning from the context. Here, Jesus has just talked about losing our own desires and subsuming them to His desires for us. If someone wants to hang on to his own desires and agenda in this world ("save his life") he will lose what life is really all about - experiencing the will of God and the fullness of God's life. He may gain everything this world has to offer, but miss the greater experience of God's life now and as a reward in the future (v. 27).
Taken in this way, we see that the word lose (apollumi) is the opposite of save. It does not mean to be eternally lost in hell but has the idea of ruin or forfeit. To lose your life is to ruin it or forfeit what God would have it be. Someone can have eternal life yet waste the opportunity to enjoy life's fullness by living for God now.
If we interpret this statement by Jesus (Salvifically), we miss a profound principle for the Christian life. If we seek the things this world has to offer while avoiding the hardships that can be involved with knowing Jesus Christ, we lose the very quality of life we really desire. It is only by losing our life to God that we get it back fuller and richer than ever. When life ceases to be the issue, life becomes the reality.
We may think it is too painful to give up a consuming habit, a toxic relationship, or our own ambitions and plans. What we will discover is that in losing our life, we find true life - the fullness of God's abundant life now and forever.