Mark 8:36 Commentary and Bible Study

‘For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world?’ That is one of the things which the devil offered to Christ: to gain the whole world, its wealth, its power, and its acclaim; to be king of it all, and Satan would retire to the background, but not a single soul would be saved. To gain the whole world like an old-time emperor, who can survey all around him and say, it's mine. Like an Alexander the Great: ‘It's all mine’; like Nebuchadnezzar, king of ancient Babylon. What did it gain either of them? Those who come under the judgment of God suffer the removal of all ‘unrighteous mammon’ which they have temporarily gained in this short life. It was never theirs in any real sense. It was either on loan from God or came by service to the prince of this world. It was in effect stolen from God, and he will take back what is his and give it to others. Even before they leave this world, the aging process has eroded away much of their ability to enjoy their earthly goods. Finally God will remove from them all the illegal and temporary rewards of sin. But worse still, they have their very souls taken from them, for their souls are shut out of God’s presence for ever. Suppose they were allowed to keep what they had accumulated, as they fondly imagine. Why did they gather so much, except in order that their souls should enjoy it? But for the soul to enjoy it, the soul must live. The loss of the soul in hell forever makes any pleasure from their ill-gotten gains impossible, even if they were able to keep them. They will suddenly realise the value of the soul, which they had completely neglected. They will realise their foolishness, for they set value on what is passing away, and they set no value on what is eternal. It was a miscalculation that cost them more than they can understand. If you owned everything, if you had everything you desired, it would be the worst of bargains if you were to lose your eternal soul. And here is the tragedy: nobody has the slightest prospect of gaining the whole world and if it would be an eternal tragedy for you to gain the whole world at the cost of your soul, how much worse is it to lose your soul for the sake of the little bit of prosperity you will ever get. You certainly won’t get the whole world; you have got to settle for just a tiny bit of it: a bit of wealth, a bit of fame, a bit of fortune and for that bit, which lasts for a short while, you forfeit your entire soul, because you said, ‘I will live for me and I will reject eternity and spurn Jesus Christ.’ The Lord’s logic is this: if you would not part with your souls for the sake of the whole world, then why would you be willing to part with it for less? Of course this saying takes account of the madness of covetousness, which is never satisfied, which promises itself the world, and which never stops to think what would happen if it reached its impossible goal.