Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of John 12:25
He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
25. loveth his life hateth his life life eternal ] ‘Life’ is here used in two senses, and in the Greek two different words are used. In the first two cases ‘life’ means the life of the individual, in the last, life in the abstract. By sacrificing life in the one sense, we may win life in the other. See notes on Mat 10:39; Mat 16:25; Mar 8:35; Luk 9:24; Luk 17:33. A comparison of the texts will shew that most of them refer to different occasions, so that this solemn warning must have been often on His lips. The present utterance is distinct from all the rest.
shall lose it ] Better, loseth it; the Greek may mean destroyeth it.
hateth his life ] i.e. is ready to act towards it as if he hated it, if need so require. Neither here nor in Luk 14:26 must ‘hate’ be watered down to mean ‘be not too fond of;’ it means that and a great deal more. The word rendered ‘life’ in ‘loveth his life’ and ‘hateth his life’ might also mean ‘soul,’ and some would translate it so: but would Christ have spoken of hating one’s soul as the way to eternal life?
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
He that loveth his life … – This was a favorite principle, a sort of axiom with the Lord Jesus, which he applied to himself as well as to his followers. See the Mat 10:39 note; Luk 9:24 note.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 25. He that loveth his life] See Clarke on Mt 10:39; and see Clarke “Lu 14:26“. I am about to give up my life for the salvation of men; but I shall speedily receive it back with everlasting honour, by my resurrection from the dead. In this I should be imitated by my disciples, who should, when called to it, lay down their lives for the truth; and, if they do, they shall receive them again with everlasting honour.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
We had much the same in the other evangelists, Mat 10:39; Luk 14:26. Some think that our Saviour repeateth it here, to show, that as Christ first suffered, and then entered into his glory; so his disciples must also lay the foundation of their glory in their sufferings and through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God, Act 14:22. Or what if we should say, that our blessed Lord doth here prophesy what sufferings would attend the first preaching of the gospel, and encourage his disciples to what he knew they must meet with and undergo, by letting them know that the ready way to lose their share in life eternal, was to be so fond of this life, and the comforts of it, as not to be ready to lay them down for him; but if any person hated, that is, less loved his life, and all that in this world is dear to him, than Christ and his service, he should, if not be preserved from enemies rage, yet most certainly be recompensed with eternal life?
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
25. He that loveth his life shalllose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it untolife eternal(See on Lu 9:24).Did our Lord mean to exclude Himself from the operation of the greatprinciple here expressedself-renunciation, the law ofself-preservation; and its converse, self-preservation, thelaw of self-destruction? On the contrary, as He became Man toexemplify this fundamental law of the Kingdom of God in its mostsublime form, so the very utterance of it on this occasion served tosustain His own Spirit in the double prospect to which He had justalluded.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
He that loveth his life shall lose it,…. The sense is, that whoever is so in love with this present temporal life, as to be anxiously careful of it, and takes all precautions to secure it; and rather than to expose it to any danger, chooses to deny the faith of Christ, and desert his cause and interest; as such an one shall not long enjoy this life, so he shall come short of an eternal one:
and he that hateth his life in this world: on the other hand, whoever seems careless about it, and not to consult the safety of it, but is unconcerned about it; yea, as if he was throwing it away, as of no great moment and significancy, rather than do anything to preserve it, which would be scandalous to himself, and be dishonourable to his Lord and master; he
shall keep it unto life eternal: he shall be preserved in his temporal life, in a remarkable manner, until he has done the will and work of God, notwithstanding all attempts upon it; and he shall appear to have that spiritual life, which is the beginning and pledge of, and which springs up unto, and issues in eternal life; and that he shall enjoy in the world to come. This Christ said to let his disciples and followers know, that they must suffer and die, as well as he, though not on the same account, and for the self-same reasons; and that their sufferings and death in his cause, and for his Gospel, would turn to their advantage.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Loseth it ( ). The second paradox. Present active indicative of . This great saying was spoken at various times as in Mr 8:35 (Matt 16:25; Luke 9:24) and Mr 10:39 (Lu 17:33). See those passages for discussion of (life or soul). For “he that hateth his life” ( ) see the sharp contrasts in Luke 14:26-35 where is used of father, mother, wife, children, brothers, sisters, as well as one’s own life. Clearly means “hate” when the issue is between Christ and the dearest things of life as happens when the choice is between martyrdom and apostasy. In that case one keeps his soul for eternal life by losing his life (, each time) here. That is the way to “guard” () life by being true to Christ. This is the second paradox to show Christ’s philosophy of life.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Life [] . See on Mr 12:30; Luk 1:46.
Shall lose [] . The best texts read ajpolluei, loseth. See on Luk 9:25.
In this world. This earthly economy, regarded as alien and hostile to God. The words are added in order to explain the strong phrase, hateth his life or soul.
Shall keep [] . See on 1Pe 1:4.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1 ) “He that loveth his life shall lose it; (ho philon ten psuche autou apolluei auten) “The one who loves his life loses it,” one who is covetous, selfish, puts his own fleshly desires as priority for his life, loses it or lives it in vain, in an unproductive manner, if even a child of God, to be saved, “as if by fire,” with no rewards, 1Co 3:15; Luk 9:24; Luk 17:33.
2) “And he that hateth his life,” (kai ho mison ten psuchen autou) “And the one who hates his life,” takes it lightly, with restricted covetousness and selfish desires, keeping his body (old nature) under subjection to the will of God, as Paul did, 1Co 9:19-27.
3) “In this world,” (en to kosmo touto) “In this world order,” as Paul counted his life as but dross, that Christ might be magnified in him, Php_3:7-14; Rom 12:1-2.
4) “Shall keep it unto life eternal.” (eis zoen aionion phulaksei auten) “He will keep or guard it unto eternal life,” to the joys and rewards given when the body is raised immortal, never to die again, to receive its eternal life to which the soul of the Redeemed are Sealed by the Holy Spirit when they are saved, Php_3:21; Eph 1:13-14; Eph 4:30. Hear Paul’s final occasion for glorifying in the Lord, 2Ti 4:7-8.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
25. He who loveth his soul shall destroy it. To doctrine Christ joins exhortation; for if we must die in order that we may bring forth fruit, we ought patiently to permit God to mortify us. But as he draws a contrast between the love of life and the hatred of lit, we ought to understand what it is to love and hate life. He who, under the influence of immoderate desire of the present life, cannot leave the world but by constraint, is said to love life; but he who, despising life, advances courageously to death, is said to hate life. Not that we ought absolutely to hate life, which is justly reckoned to be one of the highest of God’s blessings; but because believers ought cheerfully to lay it down, when it retards them from approaching to Christ; just as a man, when he wishes to make haste in any matter, would shake off from his shoulders a heavy and disagreeable burden. In short, to love this life is not in itself wrong, provided that we only pass through it as pilgrims, keeping our eyes always fixed on our object. For the true limit of loving life, is, when we continue in it as long as it pleases God, and when we are prepared to leave it as soon as he shall order us, or — to express it in a single word — when we carry it, as it were, in our hands, and offer it to God as a sacrifice. Whoever carries his attachment to the present life beyond this limit, destroys his life; that is, he consigns it to everlasting ruin. For the word destroy ( ἀπολέσει) does not signify to lose, or to sustain the loss of something valuable, but to devote it to destruction.
His soul. It frequently happens that the word ψυχή, soul, is put for life. Some consider it as denoting, in this passage, the seat of the affections; as if Christ had said, “tie who too much indulges the (desires of his flesh destroys his soul.” But that is a forced interpretation, and the other is more natural, that he who disregards his own life takes the best method of enjoying it eternally.
In this world. To make the meaning still more clear, the phrase in this world, which is but once expressed, ought to be twice repeated, so that the meaning may be, “They do not take the proper method of preserving their life who love it in this world, but, on the other hand, they truly know how to preserve their life who despise it in this world. ” And, indeed, whoever is attached to the world does, of his own accord, deprive himself of the heavenly life, of which we cannot be heirs in any other way than by being strangers and foreigners in the world. The consequence is, that the more anxious any person is about his own safety, the farther does he remove himself from the kingdom of God, that is, from the true life.
He who hateth his soul (22) I have already suggested that this expression is used comparatively; because we ought to despise life, so far as it hinders us from living to God; for if meditation on the heavenly life were the prevailing sentiment in our hearts:. the world would have no influence in detaining us. Hence, too, we obtain a reply to an objection that might be urged. “Many persons, through despair, or for other reasons, and chiefly from weariness of life, kill themselves; and yet we will not say that such persons provide for their own safety, while others are hurried to death by ambition, who also rush down to ruin.” (23) But here Christ speaks expressly of that hatred or contempt of this fading life, which believers derive: from the contemplation of a better life. Consequently, whoever does not look to heaven, has not yet learned in what way life must be preserved. Besides, this latter clause was added by Christ, in order to strike terror into those who are too desirous of the earthly life; for if we are overwhelmed by the love of the world, so that we cannot easily forget it, it is impossible for us to go to heaven. But since the Son of God (24) arouses us so violently, it would be the height of folly to sleep a mortal sleep.
(22) “ Qui odit animam suam.” — “ Qui hait sa vie;” — “he who hateth his life.”
(23) “ Lesquels se precipitent bas a une ruine eternelle par leur ambition;” — “who throw themselves down to eternal ruin by their ambition.”
(24) “ Le Fils de Dieu.”
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(25) He that loveth his life shall lose it.The reading here is uncertain, and may be, perhaps with slightly more probability is, He that loveth his life loses iti.e., that the loss of life is not in the future only, but that in the present, in every moment when a man loves and seeks to save his own life, he is then, and by that very seeking, actually losing it.
The words of this verse are familiar to us from the earlier Gospels, and have been explained in Notes on Mat. 10:39; Mat. 16:25; Mar. 8:35; Luk. 9:24; Luk. 17:33. The disciples had heard them laid down as the law of their own life and work. They now hear the mysterious words again, and they are asserted as the law to which even His life is submitted. There is even in His human nature a physical and emotional life which would shrink from sacrifice and death (Joh. 12:27; comp. Note on Mat. 26:39), but in self-sacrifice and death is His own glory and the life of the world. There is in all human nature a principle which would seek as the highest good the life of the body and of the soul, as distinct from the higher life of the spirit, and would shrink from sacrifice and death; but the true principle of life is of the spirit, and only in the sacrifice of the desires of the lower physical and emotional life is that spiritual life realised.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
25. Loveth life lose it The same law of death resulting in life which the Lord obeys his followers must also accept. A virtual death must be by us undergone in order that we may spiritually and eternally live. If we perversely maintain a worldly life and refuse martyrdom in spirit or in reality, that life we can never attain. But he that hateth his life in this world, who abhors and renounces the selfish love of life, shall keep it unto life eternal. Thus are lord and servant under the same law of death and life.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘He who loves his life loses it, but he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me he must follow me, and where I am there will my servant be as well. If anyone serves me the Father will honour him.’
Jesus then applies a similar thought to His followers. Like Jesus His followers must count their lives as nothing so that they may do the will of God. We must choose, as He did, between a life of self-gratification, and a life of obedience to God, even if this leads to a cross, as in one way or another it will in the crucifixion of self (Gal 2:20). Those who would enjoy eternal life must first, like a grain of wheat fall into the ground and die. They must turn their backs on their own lives, hating them and dying to their old ways, and begin to live a life approved to God, letting Christ live out His life through them.
To be a servant of Christ means to walk the way of the cross. Only if we share with Christ in His humiliation will we share in His glory. There is no place for self-gratification in the Christian life. Only then will we be fitted to be with Him where He was going. But those who do serve Him in this way will be honoured by the Father. However, that this will not be easy comes out in His next words.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Joh 12:25-26. He that loveth his life, &c. He told them further, that as he, their Master, was tosuffer before his exaltation, so must they, his disciples, expect the like; for which reason they were to expect persecution, firmly resolving to lose even life itself, after his example, when called to do so; and in that case he promised them a share in his crown and glorythus tacitly insinuating, that the strangers should be greatly disappointed, if their desire of conversing with him proceeded from a hope of recommendingthemselvestoearthlyprefermentsthroughhisfavour.Bytheindefinite expressions which our Lord here makes use of, “If any one would serve me, would wish to be of my household, let him follow, &c.” he strongly intimates, that his kingdom was to be of a very extensive nature; and that not only the proselytes of righteousness, or of the gate, but even the idolatrous Gentiles themselves, might, on their believing the gospel, be admitted to its privileges. See the passages in the Margin, and on Luk 14:26.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Joh 12:25 . As it is my vocation, so also is it that of those who are mine, to surrender the temporal, in order to gain the eternal life. Comp. Mat 10:39 ; Luk 9:24 ; Luk 17:33 .
The is in each instance the soul , as also is to be taken in like manner in each instance. This is clear from its being distinguished from . He who loves his soul , will not let it go ( , Euth. Zigabenus), loses it (see critical notes) i.e . he thereby brings about that it falls into the death of everlasting condemnation; and he who hates his soul in this world (gives it up with joy, as something which, moreover, is a hindrance to eternal salvation, and in so far must be hated) will preserve it for everlasting life , keep it to himself as a possession in the everlasting Messianic life. Note the correlatives: and , and (comp. Joh 17:12 ), (in the pre-Messianic world), and .
On , whose meaning is not to be altered, but to be understood relatively, in opposition to , comp. Luk 14:26 . “Amor, ut pereat; odium ne pereat; si male amaveris, tunc odisti; si bene oderis, tunc amasti,” Augustine.
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal.
Ver. 25. He that loveth his life ] As Christ loved not his life to the death for us, so neither must we for him. If every hair of my head were a man, I would suffer death in the opinion and faith that I am now in, said John Ardley, martyr, to Bonner. God be praised, said Dr Taylor, since my condemnation, I was never afraid to die. God’s will be done; if I shrink from God’s truth, I am sure of another manner of death than had Judge Hales.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
25. ] And this same divine Law prevails for the disciples , as well as for their Master: see Mat 10:39 and note. But the saying here proclaims more plainly its true extent, by its immediate connexion with Joh 12:24 , and by . .
is not really in a double sense: as the wheat-corn retains its identity, though it die, so the : so that the two senses are, in their depth, but one. is the life in both cases; not the soul , in the present acceptation of that term.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Joh 12:25 . , he that so prizes his life [ is used in the classics of excessive love of life. See Kypke] that he cannot let it out of his own hand or give it up to good ends checks its growth and it withers and dies: whereas he who treats his life as if he hated it, giving i up freely to the needs of other men, shall keep it to life eternal. , “shall guard,” suggested by the apparent lack of guarding and preserving in the . He has not guarded it from the claims made upon it in this world, but thus has guarded it to life eternal.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
loveth. Greek. phileo. App-135.
life. Greek psuche. App-110and App-170. Compare Mat 10:39; Mat 16:25, Mat 16:26. Mar 8:35-37. Luk 9:24; Luk 17:33.
keep = guard, or preserve. Greek. phulasso. See note on Joh 17:12.
unto. Greek. eis. App-104.
life. Greek. zoe. App-170.
eternal. Greek. aionios. App-151.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
25.] And this same divine Law prevails for the disciples, as well as for their Master: see Mat 10:39 and note. But the saying here proclaims more plainly its true extent,-by its immediate connexion with Joh 12:24, and by . .
is not really in a double sense: as the wheat-corn retains its identity, though it die, so the : so that the two senses are, in their depth, but one. is the life in both cases;-not the soul, in the present acceptation of that term.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Joh 12:25. , his life) that is, himself.-, shall lose it) unto eternity.- , he who hateth) The soul attains to this hatred, when it is imbued with a feeling of the words of Christ, which occur at Joh 12:24.[317]- ) in this world, which is the object of mere sight, and is vain, perishing, and evil. This is not expressed in the preceding sentence [He that loveth his life]; for this world of itself draws us to the love of life; but to hate life in this world, is the great thing[318] [a great attainment].
[317] Implying, as in Christ, so in the believer also, the need that the corn of wheat must first die, if it is afterwards to bring forth much fruit.-E. and T.
[318] , shall keep it) This is prudence, in the true sense of the word. V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Joh 12:25
Joh 12:25
He that loveth his life loseth it;-If Jesus had so loved this present life that he had refused to give it up, he would have gained no future life for others. He gives as a general truth of all beings that love this life so as not to sacrifice it to honor God and bless men could not gain the life that is eternal. [Indicating thus the joyousness with which he went forth to sacrifice in view of its results, he now proceeds to give the principle a general application to his disciples. A selfish love of life that keeps a man from duty only entails its ultimate loss.]
and he that hateth his life in this world-To hate this life is to be willing to surrender it, or to hold it in less esteem than the spiritual life in the future. [Hates it, only as its careful preservation interferes with duty; hates it, in this sense, that he will ever make it subordinate to high and holy aims, to generous devotion to the glory of God and the good of men.]
shall keep it unto life eternal.-[What seems to be its loss is only apparent. It never can be lost in that way.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
world
kosmos = world-system.
Joh 14:17; Joh 14:19; Joh 14:22; Joh 14:27; Joh 14:30; Joh 7:7 (See Scofield “Rev 13:8”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
that loveth: Mat 10:39, Mat 16:25, Mat 19:29, Mar 8:35, Luk 9:23, Luk 9:24, Luk 17:33, Act 20:24, Act 21:13, Heb 11:35, Rev 12:11
hateth: Gen 29:30-33, Ecc 2:17, Luk 14:26
Reciprocal: Gen 29:31 – was hated Est 4:13 – Think not Pro 19:8 – loveth Mat 13:21 – for Mat 19:16 – eternal Joh 14:2 – if Act 14:22 – we Rom 8:17 – if so be Rom 9:13 – hated 1Pe 3:10 – love Rev 2:10 – be thou
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
5
The meaning of this verse is set forth at some length in the comments on Mat 10:39, as it pertains to the two kinds of life. As the word hate is used here, it Is defined by Thayer to mean, “To love less, to postpone in love or esteem, to slight.” Robinson defines it, “Not to love, to love less, to slight.”
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Joh 12:25. He that loveth his soul loseth it; and he that hateth his soul in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. The law of the physical world just spoken of illustrates the law of the moral and spiritual world. Soul is here the personality, the self, in man: yet not the self in the sense of selfishness, for selfishness must be destroyed not kept. It is rather that which constitutes the man himself with his likings and dislikings, his loves and hatreds, his affections and desires. It is a law of the moral world then that he who so loves his soul loses it. By simply living for himself and without thought of others, he loses that very thing which he desires to preserve and make happy. On the other hand, he that in this world hateth his soul, his soul not brought into subjection to that law of love which is the law of God, and, so hating, denies and crucifies it in order that love may gain the mastery in him,that man shall keep it, shall keep it too unto the higher life which is not merely future, but which is even now filled with the Divine and deathless (comp. Luk 14:26).
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Ver. 25. Application of the figure: He who loves his life, loses it; and he who hates his life in this world, shall preserve it unto life eternal.
The relation between this sentence and the two preceding verses does not allow us to doubt that Jesus here applies it to Himself. To this fundamental law of human life, which He has so often declared with reference to His disciples (Mat 10:39; Mat 16:25; Mar 8:35; Luk 9:24; Luk 17:33), He here declares that He is Himself subjected, like themselves. By the expression, his life, , Jesus designates the breath of the natural life, with all the faculties with which this life is endowed in the case of man.
This physical and psychical life is good, as the starting-point of the human existence; Jesus also possesses it. But the destiny of the natural life is not to sustain and perpetuate itself as such; it must be transformed, by a superior force, into a spiritual, eternal life; but, in order to do this, it must be voluntarily surrendered, sacrificed, immolated in the form of self-renunciation. Otherwise, after having flourished for a time, and more or less satisfied itself, it decays and withers for ever. This law applies even to a pure being and to his lawful tastes. One may be called to sacrifice an honorable desire in order to respond to a higher duty; to refuse this call is to keep one’s life, but in order to lose it.
Everything which is not surrendered to God by a free act of sacrifice, contains a germ of death. Jesus, seeking his own safety, His personal life, might now, if He wished, escape from death, become the Socrates of the Greeks, the Caesar of the Romans, the Solomon of the Jews; but this way of preserving His life would be to lose it. Not having surrendered it to God, He could not receive it from Him transformed and glorified (Joh 12:23); and, thus preserved, it would remain devoted to unfruitfulness and to earthly frailty. In order to become a Christ, He must renounce being a sage; He must not wish to ascend the throne of a Solomon, if He desires to take His place on that of God. Lange has profoundly remarked that this saying contains in particular the judgment of Hellenism. What was Greek civilization? The effort to realize an ideal of human life consisting in enjoyment and escaping the law of sacrifice. It is probable that the true reading is the present loses() which was replaced by the future shall lose (), under the influence of the verb of the following clause. The idea of losing goes beyond that of abiding alone (Joh 12:14). The term , to hate, expresses the feeling of a generous contempt, arising from the view of what one would lose by devoting himself to the keeping of this natural life. The expression: unto life eternal, placed in opposition, as it is here, to in this world, refers not only to the more elevated nature of this life (Reuss), but also to the future epoch in which it will break forth in its perfection. This saying, which means that man gives himself to find himself again, is that which Jesus has most frequently uttered (see above); it expresses the most profound law of human life. How should not this moral axiom, which governed the life of the Master, be applicable also to that of the disciples? It is evidently with a view to these latter also, that Jesus expresses it for a last time in this so solemn moment.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
Jesus now applied the principle in the illustration for His followers. This was a principle that He had taught them on at least three separate occasions previously (cf. Mat 10:39; Mar 8:36; Luk 14:26). Obviously it was very important.
Anyone who selfishly lives for himself or herself loses his or her life in the sense that he or she wastes it. Nothing really good comes from it. Conversely anyone who hates his or her life in the sense of disregarding one’s own desires to pursue the welfare of another will gain something for that sacrifice. He or she will gain true life for self and blessing for the other person. Jesus contrasted the worthlessness of what one sacrifices now with the value of what one gains by describing the sacrifice as something temporal and the gain as something eternal.
"People whose priorities are right have such an attitude of love for the things of God that all interest in the affairs of this life appear by comparison as hatred." [Note: Ibid., p. 527.]
Obviously Jesus did not mean that we gain justification by living sacrificial lives. The Bible describes eternal life in some places as a gift (e.g., Joh 3:16; Joh 5:24; Joh 6:40) and in other places as a reward (e.g., Mat 19:29; Mar 10:30; Luk 18:30; Rom 2:7; Rom 6:22; Gal 6:8). It is the life of God, but we can experience that life to a greater or lesser degree depending on our obedience to God (cf. Joh 10:10; Joh 17:3). [Note: See Dillow, pp. 135-36.]
On one level Jesus was talking about how eternal life comes to people: through the sacrifice of the Son of Man (Joh 12:24). On another level He was speaking of how to gain the most from life now: by living sacrificially rather than selfishly (Joh 12:25). The general principle is a paradox. Death leads to life.
Over the centuries the church has observed that the blood of Christian martyrs has indeed been the seed of the church. Their literal deaths have led to the salvation of many other people. Even more disciples have discovered that any sacrifice for Jesus yields blessings for others and for them that far exceed the sacrifice.