Matthew 10:39
37 “Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. 38 And whoever does not take up his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. 39 Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life because of me will find it. 40 “Whoever receives you receives me, and whoever receives me receives the one who sent me. 41 Whoever receives a prophet in the name of a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward. Whoever receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person will receive a righteous person’s reward.
Tamid 32a
Babylonian TalmudHe said to them: What must a man do and thereby ensure that he will live? They said to him: Such a man must figuratively kill himself, by living moderately. Alexander further inquired: What must a man do and ensure that he will die? They said to him: Such a man must keep himself alive, i.e., lead an extravagant and indulgent life. He said to them: What must a man do and ensure that he will be accepted by people? They said to Alexander: He must hate the king and the authorities and avoid becoming too close to those in power. Alexander rejected their answer and said to them: My advice for gaining people’s favor is better than yours. One who wants to be accepted must love the king and the authorities, but he must use his connections to perform beneficial acts for people.
Notes and References
"... There seems to be no good reason for denying to Jesus the main core of Mark 8:34. It has the same character as other vivid and powerful, but less than precise, images by which Jesus' speech is marked ... Both Matthew 10:39 and Mark 8:35 have been defended as reflecting the more original form of the saying. The arguments are not decisive. In the Markan form the "he will save" is easily understood as a development making use of the Christian vocabulary of salvation, but 'wishes to save' stands in the way of this explanation. The Matthean form may have resulted from the tension with the normal Christian use of salvation language observed in the second half of the Markan form, but the more enigmatic nature of the Matthean form with its use of the language of finding and losing could be a pointer to its greater originality ... The historicity of this saying of Jesus is not normally questioned, but there is some measure of parallel to it in b. Tamid 32a ..."
Nolland, John Word Biblical Commentary: Luke 9:21 - 18:34 (pp. 477-478) Word Books, 2008