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NASB | John 12:25 "He who loves his life loses it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it to life eternal. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 12:25 "The one who loves his life [eventually] loses it [through death], but the one who hates his life in this world [and is concerned with pleasing God] will keep it for life eternal. |
Bible Question:
John 12:25 "He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life." I've always had trouble with this. I understand that loving earthly life is a bit pointless, because it's temporary, brief, riddled with sin, etc, and it seems He's reminding us of this in the first half of the verse, but what does the second half mean? The second half seems to encourage misery--it seems to say that hating your earthly life is good, because that hate will lead to eternal life. Most of the people I know who hate their lives, are not saved--they are miserable people who make other peoples lives miserable. They are bitter, and they could either care less who Jesus is, or they hate him for giving them such miserable lives. Why then would Jesus encourage us to hate our lives? |
Bible Answer: Greetings Dr. Paul! John 12:25 "He who is in love with life will have it taken from him; and he who has no care for his life in this world will keep it for ever and ever." (1965 Bible in Basic English) Related verses: Matt. 10:34-39; 16:24-26; Mark 8:34-37; Luke 9:23-25; 17:33 (compare with Luke 14:11) Commentary: [Mark] "8:35 loses his life...will save it. This paradoxical saying reveals an important spiritual truth: those who pursue a life of ease, comfort, and acceptance by the world will not find eternal life. On the other hand, those who give up their lives .. for the sake of Christ and the gospel will find it. .." (1) [Mark] "8, 34-35: This utterance of Jesus challenges all believers to authentic discipleship and total commitment to himself through self-renunciation and acceptance of the cross of suffering, even to the sacrifice of life itself. Whoever wishes to save his life will lose it ... will save it: an expression of the ambivalence of life and its contrasting destiny. Life seen as mere self-centered earthly existence and lived in denial of Christ ends in destruction, but when lived in loyalty to Christ, despite earthly death, it arrives at fullness of life." (2) [Mark] "8:35 The verse means this: Whoever would save his life (by renouncing the gospel and thus avoiding the risk of martyrdom) will lose it (eternally, because he has not believed the gospel); but whoever is willing to lose his life (as a martyr for Christ) will save it (i.e., will prove that he is a follower of Christ and an heir of eternal life)." (3) Jesus is not saying that hating your life will lead to eternal life, but rather, that giving up your earthly ambitions, attachment to sin, individual endeavors, and anything else that would get in the way between you and Christ will truly need to be set completely aside for the sake of Christ and His kingdom, so that your relationship and reliance and love for Christ will define your life completely, even if you are presented with death as a consequence. Blessings to you, Makarios (1) pg. 1477, The MacArthur Study Bible, copyright 1997 Word Publishing (2) pg. 81 [NT], Saint Joseph Edition of The New American Bible, copyright 1992 by Catholic Book Publishing Corp., New York, NY (3) pg. 1594, The Ryrie Study Bible, NASB Expanded Edition, copyright 1995 by The Moody Bible Institute of Chicago |
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Questions and/or Subjects for John 12:25 | Author | ||
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annrichelle | ||
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drpaul | ||
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drpaul | ||
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Makarios |