The Meaning of Matthew 10:39 Explained

Matthew 10:39

KJV: He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

YLT: 'He who found his life shall lose it, and he who lost his life for my sake shall find it.

Darby: He that finds his life shall lose it, and he who has lost his life for my sake shall find it.

ASV: He that findeth his life shall lose it; and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

He that findeth  his  life  shall lose  it:  and  he that loseth  his  life  for my  sake  shall find  it. 

What does Matthew 10:39 Mean?

Context Summary

Matthew 10:34-42 - Receiving Christ's Representatives
In Jesus Christ we acquire a new affinity, stronger than that of family ties. When we enter into the family of God we belong to all His children. They are our brethren and sisters in the most intimate sense. See Matthew 12:48-50. The new love that floods our nature does not make us less but more tender and sympathetic toward our own kith and kin; but if we are compelled to choose, then we must stand with the children of God, though it should rend us from the old happy family life in which we were nurtured.
As to the closing paragraph, may we not illustrate it thus? When the widow who sustained Elijah at Zarephath entered Paradise, she found herself standing amid the great prophets of Israel. When she asked the attendant angel whether there was not some mistake, he replied, "Certainly not. In treating the prophet as you did, you proved yourself to be of the same spirit and temper as he; and it is but right that you should share in the prophet's reward."
For Review Questions, see the e-Sword Book Comments. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 10

1  Jesus sends out his apostles, enabling them with power to do miracles;
5  giving them their charge, teaches them;
16  comforts them against persecutions;
40  and promises a blessing to those who receive them

Greek Commentary for Matthew 10:39

Shall lose it [απολεσει αυτην]
This paradox appears in four forms according to Allen (1) Matthew 10:39 (2) Mark 8:35; Matthew 16:25; Luke 9:24 (3) Luke 17:33 (4) John 12:25. The Wisdom of Sirach (Hebrew text) in 51:26 has: “He that giveth his life findeth her (wisdom).” It is one of the profound sayings of Christ that he repeated many times. Plato (Gorgias 512) has language somewhat similar though not so sharply put. The article and aorist participles here (ο ευρων ο απολεσας — ho heurōn ο δεχομενος — ho apolesas) are timeless in themselves just like ho dechomenos in Matthew 10:40 and Matthew 10:41. [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 10:39

Matthew 10:39 Shall lose it [απολεσει αυτην]
This paradox appears in four forms according to Allen (1) Matthew 10:39 (2) Mark 8:35; Matthew 16:25; Luke 9:24 (3) Luke 17:33 (4) John 12:25. The Wisdom of Sirach (Hebrew text) in 51:26 has: “He that giveth his life findeth her (wisdom).” It is one of the profound sayings of Christ that he repeated many times. Plato (Gorgias 512) has language somewhat similar though not so sharply put. The article and aorist participles here (ο ευρων ο απολεσας — ho heurōn ο δεχομενος — ho apolesas) are timeless in themselves just like ho dechomenos in Matthew 10:40 and Matthew 10:41. [source]
Matthew 27:42 He saved others; himself he cannot save [αλλους εσωσεν εαυτον ου δυναται σωσαι]
The sarcasm is true, though they do not know its full significance. If he had saved himself now, he could not have saved any one. The paradox is precisely the philosophy of life proclaimed by Jesus himself (Matthew 10:39). [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 10:39 mean?

The [one] having found the life of him will lose it and having lost on account of Me will find
εὑρὼν τὴν ψυχὴν αὐτοῦ ἀπολέσει αὐτήν καὶ ἀπολέσας ἕνεκεν ἐμοῦ εὑρήσει

  The  [one] 
Parse: Article, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
εὑρὼν  having  found 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: εὑρίσκω  
Sense: to come upon, hit upon, to meet with.
ψυχὴν  life 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: ψυχή  
Sense: breath.
αὐτοῦ  of  him 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive Masculine 3rd Person Singular
Root: αὐτός  
Sense: himself, herself, themselves, itself.
ἀπολέσει  will  lose 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀπόλλυμι  
Sense: to destroy.
ἀπολέσας  having  lost 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Participle Active, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀπόλλυμι  
Sense: to destroy.
ἕνεκεν  on  account  of 
Parse: Preposition
Root: εἵνεκεν 
Sense: on account of, for the sake of, for.
ἐμοῦ  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
εὑρήσει  will  find 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εὑρίσκω  
Sense: to come upon, hit upon, to meet with.