[Kryfamid]

I kind of agree that Mahanama was probably not a stream enterer... He was apparently fretting over death. So when the Buddha said that a man with a mind well cultivated had no reason to fear death, he probably said so with compassion and with the sole purpose of consoling the worried (and probably old) disciple.

However, if someone is to take a lesson from the sutta, that IMO is the benefit of cultivating wholesome mental qualities, to be experienced in this life, even when faced with death or physical harm.