Matthew 10:39

39. He that findeth his life Findeth his life by avoiding the cross mentioned in the last verse. Our Lord uses the word findeth here in the sense of saveth, in order to form an antithesis with the word loseth.

But the greatest difficulty in the interpretation of this verse is in the word life. The Greek word ψυχη , psyche, signifies either life or soul, inasmuch as it is the presence of the soul in the body which constitutes it a living body. It is the same word as is rendered soul in Matthew 10:28. In our view it should have been rendered soul throughout the discourse. The force of the antithesis, then, in the present verse would be this: He that, by avoiding the cross, findeth or saveth his soul, (as the vivifier of his body,) shall lose it in the future world. He attains a present, earthly, and corporeal retention of his soul, by the future loss of his soul in the world to come. He that loseth his life Loseth his soul from his body by a martyr’s death. Shall find it In the world of heavenly blessedness.