If you’ve ever lived in or visited a foreign country, you have probably engaged in constant math regarding currency exchange rates. Expatriates can often be found counting, and managing intricate algebraic problems to determine the value of an item in the store. Agonizing minutes can be spent deciphering that if seven of my dollars is equal to three dollars here, how much does this cookie package cost? Energy and effort are given to determine what an item is worth, and if that amount is high or low compared to the cost they are willing to pay. It is mental gymnastics to determine the ultimate value of something in relation to the price being paid.

This month in our series on questions Jesus asked in the Bible we look to answer that same vein of questioning: what is it worth? Specifically, what is your soul worth? In a rather well-known discussion in the book of Mark, Jesus poses two questions in a row: “And what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul? Is anything worth more than your soul?” (Mark 8:36 – 37). This month we look to calculate if there is something we value more. What price are we willing to pay to have our own way? Jesus’ questions challenge us to consider what we choose to place importance on as we follow Him.

The context of Jesus’ questions regarding what a soul is worth is found in the greater scope of the eighth chapter of Mark’s gospel. Earlier in the narrative, Jesus has been talking to the disciples regarding His identity. Peter confesses the true identity of Jesus as the Messiah in response to their discussion (8:29). Mark writes that “Then Jesus began to tell them that the Son of Man must suffer many terrible things … He would be killed, but three days later he would rise from the dead” (v 31). Jesus begins to teach His disciples about His own suffering and death as part of God’s redemption plan for creation. Peter is concerned by this teaching, and Mark tells us that “Peter took [Jesus] aside and began to reprimand him for saying such things” (v 32). In turn “Jesus turned around and looked at his disciples, then reprimanded Peter…’You are seeing things merely from a human point of view, not from God’s’” (v 33).

It seems that when Jesus looks at His disciples in verse 33 he determines that something is getting lost in their understanding of His message. One can imagine His eyes sweeping over the group to see if they too felt like Peter, that this message of his suffering, death, and resurrection was too scandalous. If they too were placing too much value on earthly points of view? 

Up until this point the conversation and teaching had been taking place between Jesus and His closest followers. In “Mark: The Gospel of Passion” the author writes, “At first Jesus told the Twelve what it would cost him to be the Messiah. Now he tells the crowd at large what it will cost them to follow the Messiah.” Now, Jesus involves everyone looking to Him for answers and direction to hear this famous teaching on discipleship. In verse 34, right before our question of the month, we read that “calling to the crowd to join his disciples, [Jesus] said, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must turn from your selfish ways, and take up your cross, and follow me. 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’” (v 34-35). 

The impact of the idea of losing your life being synonymous with discipleship reverberates through all four gospels because each writer records a version of that statement in their own telling of Jesus’ story (Matthew 16:24-25; Luke 9:23 – 25; John 12:25-26). It is important to parse out who Jesus is addressing in His teaching. The phrase “be my follower” in verse 34, or translated “come after me” in other translations (NASB), means “to proceed on a course with a destination in view” (“Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament”). Jesus is speaking to those who have set their sights on Him. His statement and questions are directed at anyone who is choosing Jesus’ way as the course for how they want to live their life. The person He is speaking to, as the chorus goes, has decided to follow Jesus with no plan to turn back. 

As followers of Jesus then the value of our souls is found in the understanding of what it means to follow Him. Jesus presents us with a choice to be made. If we are to be His disciples we must choose to either save our lives or lose our lives (v 36). Many Bible translators use the words “life” and “soul” interchangeably in this section. If we seek to be His disciple we must determine what has more value: the temporary or the eternal? In the book “Questions of Jesus,” the author explains, “If we gain the whole world, [Jesus] points out, we do so at the price of our soul. When we die, we will lose all we have gained … If we have focused our energies and attention on gaining material wealth and power, we will miss the opportunity to grow spiritually.” 

The call of Jesus to the crowd, and to us, is to decide what are souls are worth. Is having everything we want worth losing everything we are? Our culture would lead us to believe that the immediate is all that matters. We are fed the idea that we can have anything and everything if we just work hard enough. We are tricked into believing that with enough passion, work, and resources we can avoid suffering. Often we get so involved in avoiding suffering that we are willing to do whatever it takes to rebuke the very idea of hardship and struggle. We allow ourselves to be enticed into the belief that if we just bought that one thing, had that one job, got noticed by that one person, then everything would change. We delude ourselves into accepting the lie that our lack of resources, our dismal health diagnosis, our struggling relationships, are always an indication that we have failed spiritually. 

Jesus’ question, “what do you benefit if you gain the whole world but lose your own soul?” (v 36), begs us to consider that “what we choose to do with our lives will have positive and negative spiritual consequences” (“Questions of Jesus”). As followers of Christ, we must be willing to release our tight grip on our circumstances and their outcome to the Lord. We must be willing to lay down our comfort, sense of entitlement, and personal demands for the glory of the Kingdom of God. If we choose to cling to our way, our wants, our desires, we will find that we have lost everything that truly matters. 

Jesus tells us that if we want to gain a purposeful life we must be willing to see our circumstances from God’s perspective (v 33). He provided the very pattern He calls His followers to live out. The apostle Paul writes, “You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had. Though he was God, he did not think of equality with God as something to cling to. Instead, he gave up his divine privileges; he took the humble position of a slave and was born as a human being. When he appeared in human form, he humbled himself in obedience to God and died a criminal’s death on the cross” (Philippians 2:5–8). Jesus willingly took on flesh, suffered and died so that He might conquer death and sin by His resurrection. He valued the greater plan of God over His earthly existence. Jesus is calling each of His followers, those who have set their life’s course with Him in view, to see the greater value of their soul beyond this moment on earth. 

Questions to ponder

• Is there something in my life that seems like it is gaining me the world but causing me to lose my soul? 
• How have I seen the blessing of “turn from your selfish ways” in my own faith journey?

AN OPEN INVITATION

You can receive the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ by praying something like the following:

Dear God, I know I am a sinner. I need Your forgiveness and grace. I believe that Christ paid the penalty for my sin, and He died in my place, and He rose from the dead. I invite Jesus Christ to come into my life as Savior. Thank You for saving me from my sin and making me Your child. Help me to grow and learn how to serve You. Amen.