Avoid Sin at all Costs. Mark 9:42-48.
“Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. “And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. “And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, Where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.
Dear People Who Belong to God,
It is possible that the child Jesus used earlier as an illustration (v. 36) is still with him. If not, there definitely was a child or children at the place where he was teaching.
Cause of Stumbling (v. 42). Jesus uses children, not because they are the only ones who can be misled into sin, but because he has already used them as the example for the right attitude and because they represent the most vulnerable and gullible in society. A very heavy penalty awaits those who cause others to sin. Being drowned in the ocean would have been better.
Cost of Sin (Vv. 43-47). Jesus is not encouraging people to dismember themselves but using hyperbole. This is a figure of speech that uses exaggeration to drive the point home. The point itself is that we should not let anything stand in the way of our entering the kingdom of God. We should value it above all else. And because sin is the major hindrance to entry into the kingdom, we must be willing to take drastic measures to free ourselves of sin. Put another way, we must not be casual about sin.
Curse of Sin (v. 48). It is not fun to end up in hell. The Hebrew term that Jesus uses here is Gehenna, which meant the valley of Hinnom. This is a valley near Jerusalem where some kings of Judah had sacrificed their sons to the Canaanite god Molech and was therefore considered cursed (Jeremiah 7:31). It later became a place of burial. Some scholars have suggested that the place was also used as a rubbish dump. It is known that at some point the Romans used it as a cremation site but it is not certain that this happened in Jesus’ time or later.
Whatever the case, Gehenna is a graphic portrayal of a place where undesirables are discarded and burned. This picture would have been perceived clearly by the hearers of Jesus at the time. What we face in life is not soft options to love God and be his friends, versus loving the world and living an alternative life – no. It is a choice between life and Gehenna, the place where undesirables are discarded and burned. Weigh your choices. They have heavy consequences.
Your Loving Pastor Chris.