Jesus Life And Death Rhetorical Analysis

Losing one’s life is to follow Christ to the cross and die with Him, gaining one’s life is to follow Him out of the grave into resurrection. Again, the word “for” is used as a transitional word, stating the second reason for discipleship as well as expanding on the previous statement (Chouinard 306). In verse 26 Jesus says “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?” Here, Jesus used two rhetorical questions to illustrate the value of life. It is quite obvious that “nothing” is the answer to both of these questions. The greatest possession in the world is useless if “there is no possessor to enjoy it” (Davies 672). This kind of man gains everything, but he ultimately looses it when he dies. Also, if he rejects God in order to accumulate possessions, he has truly lost everything. An example of this is the rich young man from Matthew 19.16-22. His goal is to attain eternal life and he asks Jesus what he must do to reach it. When he learns that he must sell all of his possessions and give his money to the poor in order to have all the possessions heaven has to offer, he goes away sad because …show more content…
The choice is very serious because a person will be judged based on what he chooses to follow. Where one’s allegiance in this world lies determines where one will end up in the future (France 261). Everything a person does carries eternal consequences. The concept of being rewarded for our deeds relates to a verse in Psalm 62 that says, “for you will render to a man according to his work” (Ps. 62.12). One’s view of eschatology should affect one’s ethics in that if one understands that Jesus is the Messiah and future judge of one’s life, one will live a life in service to Him and be rewarded by one’s faith and deeds. In the end, the Son of Man will be the judge, so people should devote themselves fully to His