Mark 8:34-38
34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 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.
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?
37 Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.
The Grace New Testament Commentary - Mark 8:34-38
8:34 His statement, "Whoever desired to follow after Me" means committing to walk the same path Jesus walks, which will end in suffering and death. This experience of following Jesus requires certain conditions. The follower is to "deny himself (i.e., to lose sight of oneself) and take up his cross." Though literally this means to carry the crosspiece to one's crucifixion, it is used figuratively for a deliberate choice to identify with Jesus, knowing it will involve shame and suffering (cf. Phil 2:8).
8:35 The believer who desires "to save his life" (psychē) is one who refuses to follow Christ by denying oneself and taking up one's cross. He does not wish to give his life for the cause of Christ and therefore, he "will lose it." The term lose (apollymi) signifies that a believer loses the fullness of his future life in the Kingdom when he lives in opposition to God's declared will. Scripture teaches that a believer may experience loss and/or reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ (1 Cor 3:14-15: 2 Cor 5:9-10: 2 John 1:8). Rewards will enhance life in eternity (cf. 1 Tim 6:7-19). Thus, a believer who actually thinks he is saving his life by avoiding discipleship is actually destroying his opportunity for future rewards.
When Christ says, "But whoever loses (apollymi) his life (psychē) for My sake and the gospel's will save it," He is describing the believer who follows after Him. Those who deny themselves and take up their cross to follow Christ may think they are losing their lives, but they are actually gaining them for eternity. When they get to the kingdom, their lives will be spiritually enhanced (cf. 2 Tim 4:8). Jesus wants His followers to know that as they enter into His sufferings, they can be confident of future reward (cf. 1 Pet 4:13).
8:36-37 Jesus uses an illustration within a question to reason why He should be followed. "What will it profit a man if he gains (lit., 'to acquire by effort or investment') the whole world, and loses his own soul?" The word soul (psychē) is the same Greek word translated life (psychē) in v 35 and should be rendered life in v 36. English translators intend for the word soul to mean that a person will lose his soul in hell. However, the context is clearly a discipleship/rewards context. Jesus takes the best-case scenario for His illustration. A man who gains the whole world is one who has lived for himself and has been successful in amassing great wealth. However, what profit will these vast riches be to him in eternity if he has lived only for himself? Such profit is worthless in eternity. He will leave all his wealth behind. As a believer he will enter eternity with a loss of the fullness of life he could have had.
Christ's second question in v 37 relates to this analogy. At the point the man enters into eternity, "what will a man give in exchange for his soul (psychē, 'life')?" What can he give to redo his life? His life is over and nothing can compensate for such a loss. Again, this relates to abundance in the life to come as a reward, and not deliverance from hell. A person should follow Christ because, although it is costly, he will preserve his life unto eternal reward and life enhancement.
8:38 One last explanation for following Christ involves His Second Coming. Not only will Christ suffer, die, and be raised again, but He will also return. Believers must thus live in expectation of this return. One who lives for self "is ashamed" of Christ and His words and joins in spirit with "this adulterous and sinful generation" (cf. Mark 8:12; 9:19). Whoever is ashamed of identifying with Christ, "the Son of Man also will be ashamed" of him (cf. 1 John 2:28) when He returns "in the glory of His Father with the holy angels." A final motivation for believers to follow Christ is to consider that they will stand before Him and should not want to be ashamed before Him.
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.