Losing to Live: The Paradox at the Heart of Following Jesus – Mark 8:35 (NLT)
Introduction: The Great Reversal
We live in a world obsessed with self-preservation.
Protect your brand.
Build your platform.
Secure your future.
Save your life at all costs.
From social media profiles to pension plans, from personal ambition to cultural narratives, the message is loud and clear: hold on to your life.
And then Jesus speaks—quietly, calmly, but with eternal authority—and He says something that turns the world upside down.
Mark 8:35 (NLT): “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.”
This is not a motivational slogan.
This is not religious poetry.
This is a call to discipleship that will cost you everything—and give you more than you could ever imagine.
Mark 8 is a turning point in Mark’s Gospel.
Jesus has fed thousands, healed the sick, cast out demons, and confounded religious leaders. The crowds are growing—but so is the misunderstanding.
Just verses earlier, Peter boldly declares, “You are the Messiah.” Yet when Jesus begins to explain that Messiahship means suffering, rejection, death, and resurrection, Peter recoils. He wants a crown without a cross.
Jesus responds by calling the crowd and the disciples together. This teaching is not for the spiritual elite—it is for anyone who would follow Him.
Mark 8:34 (NLT): “Then, calling the crowd to join his disciples, he said, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross, and follow me.’”
Discipleship, Jesus says, is not addition—it is surrender.
Mark 8:35 (NLT): “If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake and for the sake of the Good News, you will save it.”
The word translated “life” is ???? (psyche)—meaning soul, self, inner life, the essence of who you are.
Jesus is not merely talking about physical existence. He is talking about identity, purpose, control, and ultimate allegiance.
“Hang on” implies grasping, clinging, self-protection.
“Give up” implies release, surrender, trust.
Jesus presents a paradox:
Cling to self ? lose your soul
Surrender to Christ ? find true life
This is not loss for loss’ sake.
This is loss for His sake and for the sake of the Good News.
1: The Illusion of Saving Yourself
“If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it.”
The world promises life through self-focus. Jesus exposes it as an illusion.
Proverbs 14:12 (NLT): “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.”
Wisdom literature warning against autonomous living—life lived without reference to God.
In the 21st century, we are told to “be true to yourself.”
Jesus says, “Die to yourself.”
The tragedy is not that people lose their lives for Christ.
The tragedy is that many lose their lives trying to keep them.
It’s like a person caught in a riptide. The instinct is to fight the water—to thrash and struggle. But survival comes by surrendering to the current long enough to be rescued.
Self-salvation always exhausts the soul.
Tim Keller: “If your identity is in anything other than Jesus Christ, you will be crushed by it.”
Keller reminds us that false saviours demand everything and give nothing back. Only Jesus bears the weight of our identity without destroying us.
2: The Costly Call of the Cross
“But if you give up your life for my sake…”
Jesus does not bait-and-switch. He is honest. Discipleship costs.
Galatians 5:24 (NLT): “Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there.”
Paul writes Galatians to believers tempted to mix grace with self-effort. He reminds them that belonging to Christ means a decisive break with the old life. The cross is not decoration; it is execution.
The word “crucified” comes from sta???? (stauroo) — to put to death on a cross. It is decisive, violent, final. There is no halfway crucifixion.
To follow Jesus is not to manage sin, but to mortify it. Not to negotiate with the flesh, but to nail it to the cross.
In a culture that prizes comfort, Jesus calls us to the cross.
In a society addicted to convenience, Jesus calls us to costly obedience.
In an age of self-expression, Jesus calls us to self-denial.
This does not mean rejecting joy—it means discovering where true joy is found.
Dietrich Bonhoeffer, writing under the shadow of Nazi Germany, famously said, “When Christ calls a man, He bids him come and die.” Bonhoeffer would later live—and die—by those words.
Discipleship is not theoretical. It is lived out in daily choices:
What we say no to.
What we walk away from.
Who we obey when it costs us.
John Piper: “The call of Jesus is not to make you safe. It is to make you satisfied in God.”
Piper presses us beyond shallow Christianity. Jesus does not promise safety—but He does promise Himself. And Christ is infinitely better than comfort.
3: Losing for the Sake of the Gospel
“…and for the sake of the Good News.”
This is not private asceticism. This is Gospel-shaped surrender.
Philippians 3:8 (NLT): “I have given up everything else and count it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ.”
Paul writes from prison, not regretful but radiant. His former status, success, and religious credentials pale in comparison to knowing Christ.
The word “garbage” is s??ßa??? (skybalon)—refuse, waste, even dung. Paul uses shocking language to contrast earthly gain with eternal worth.
Following Jesus means reordering our values.
Career, reputation, wealth, approval—none of these are evil, but none are ultimate.
When the Gospel is central, everything else finds its rightful place.
Imagine a child clutching pennies while refusing a gift of gold. That is what it looks like when we cling to our lives while Christ offers eternal life.
Charles Stanley: “Obey God and leave all the consequences to Him.”
Stanley reminds us that obedience is our responsibility; outcomes belong to God. Discipleship is faith expressed through obedience, not certainty.
4: The Miracle of True Life
“…you will save it.”
Here is the promise. Jesus does not merely call us to die—He calls us to live.
John 10:10 (NLT): “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.”
This is not prosperity theology. This is resurrection theology. Life in Christ is not measured by ease but by abundance of grace, peace, purpose, and hope.
Romans 6:11 (NLT): “So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”
When we lose our lives to Jesus, we do not disappear—we are reborn.
New desires.
New direction.
New power through the Holy Spirit.
Max Lucado: “You weren’t an accident. You weren’t mass-produced. You were deliberately planned.”
Lucado gently reminds us that surrendering to Christ does not erase us—it redeems us. Jesus restores the life sin distorted.
The Gospel Clearly Proclaimed
At the heart of this paradox stands the cross.
Jesus did not ask us to do what He Himself refused to do.
He gave up His life.
He carried His cross.
He died for our sins.
He was buried.
And on the third day, He rose again in victory.
1 Corinthians 15:3–4 (NLT): “Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said. He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day.”
Salvation is not earned by surrender—it is received by faith. But saving faith always leads to surrendered living.
To follow Jesus is to repent—to turn from sin—and to trust Him fully as Saviour and Lord.
Call to Action: What Will You Do with Your Life?
Jesus asks a question just after our key verse:
Mark 8:36 (NLT): “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?”
For Believers
Where are you clinging instead of surrendering?
What has replaced the cross at the centre of your discipleship?
What step of obedience have you delayed?
Action Steps:
Reaffirm Jesus as Lord, not just Saviour.
Lay down one area of self-rule this week.
Publicly identify with Christ in word and action.
For Those Not Yet Following Jesus
Today, Jesus invites you—not to self-improvement, but to new life.
Repent.
Believe.
Follow Him.
Pray simply, sincerely:
“Jesus, I give You my life. I turn from my sin. I trust You as my Saviour and Lord. Lead me. Save me. I follow You.”
Conclusion and Benediction
Church, the call of Jesus has not changed.
Lose your life—and live.
Die to self—and rise with Christ.
Follow Jesus—and find everything your soul has been longing for.
“Follow Me,” Jesus says—and in losing everything, you gain Him. And He is enough.”
Romans 15:13 (NLT): “May God, the source of hope, fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him.”
Amen.
