The World Is Not Enough

People asked Jesus a lot of questions in His life. I imagine you have a question you’d like to ask Jesus at some point in your life. Get this: there are 183 recorded questions that various people asked Jesus. Yet, we have records that Jesus only answered 8 of the questions He was asked.1 Today, I want us to look at one of the most pressing questions Jesus ever asked.

Find Matthew 16 with me if you will.

Jesus asked some thought-provoking questions in His time. You might be surprised to learn that Jesus posed more than 300 questions in the gospels.2 It seems Jesus was less interested in simply answering our questions and more interested in transforming hearts. When I think of some of Jesus’ famous questions, I think of what He said to His parents when He was just a boy, “Did you know that I was in my Father’s house?”

Jesus asked the Disciples a provocative question at a place called Caesarea Philippi: “Who do you say that I am?” Jesus asked Mary at the empty tomb, “Why are you weeping?” But there’s one question Jesus poses that is a direct challenge to us Americans. Listen carefully for it.

Today’s Scripture

“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom” (Matthew 16:24-28).

Our church has 5 core values. God matters, truth matters, people matter, evangelism matters, and the last one: generous living matters. Generous living means living a Spirit-filled, joyous life where we are generous to those in need. We give to others because we find joy in making a difference in people’s lives.

Listen to this:

63% of America’s food pantries are run by Christians – again, I said 63%.3 1 out of 5 of all hospital beds is run by Christian agencies.4 And one more, 6 out of every 10 refugee resettlement agencies are run by Christians.5

Did you hear the question Jesus poses? “What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” In the moments to come, I want to encourage you to be a generous person. I want to challenge you to “level up” in terms of being generous.

Sermon Preview

1. Why Do I Always Want More?

2. Why is Giving the Cure for Wanting More?

3. How Much Should I Give?

1. Why Do I Always Want More?

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:26).

In the middle of telling us what it means to really be a disciple, Jesus asks us two provocative questions here. Jesus’ question is really a rhetorical question.

1.1 What Will It Profit?

Jesus asks us what profit is worth exchanging our very lives for. Imagine a set of scales in your mind’s eye. If you were to place every possession the world offers on one side of the scales, and then picture your life on the other side. Picture every house, every car, every vacation, every luxurious experience on one side, compared to the stress and toil it takes to earn this wealth, and manage such wealth on the other side. There are no circumstances that you can imagine where it is worth it. When you put your life in the balance against this, your life always wins out.

Jesus is asking you to pause in the middle of a life that is busy paying bills and pursuing whatever the next pretty thing is to really consider how much your life is worth.

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul?” (Matthew 16:26a). No sooner has Jesus asked this, then it follows it up with a second question: “Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?” (Matthew 16:26b).

1.2 Your True Self

The word “soul” in verse 26 is the Greek word “psyche.” Your soul is you; it’s the core of your life. Eugene Peterson, in his paraphrase of the New Testament, says, “It’s your true self.”6