43 If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, 44 [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] 45 If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame, than, having your two feet, to be cast into hell, 46 [where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.] 47 If your eye causes you to stumble, throw it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, than, having two eyes, to be cast into hell, 48 where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.
49 “For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good; but if the salt becomes unsalty, with what will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Message: The Unquenchable Fire of Hell
Time: Mark's personal connection with Peter gave him the source material for this book. This book was composed probably between AD 57 and AD 59. It's a book that is on the move, leading to the cross. 39 times is the word 'immediately' used. Mark reveals Jesus as God's servant, reaching into the lives of people and effecting physical and circumstantial change.
What the Lord is Saying:
Preface - As they continue in Capernaum, Jesus emphasizes to his disciples another key word about the importance of how we treat others - having already mentioned people's social status, looking at their fruit not their grouping, and the rewards that will come from this - and now he emphasizes that in no way are we to cause another person to stumble. For doing this would result in a horrific path of death.
Jesus here deals with the subject of hell. In recent years, this is a subject that seems to be spoken of less and less. Even in my church, though the gospel is mentioned, it is not mentioned in the way that it is a matter of conversion, but rather more of an acknowledgement that we have been saved by grace. Conversely, hell is not mentioned much at all. Universalism is the belief that everyone will go to heaven no matter what they believe. Annihilationism is the belief that unbelievers will cease to exist. The idea of suffering or being in a fiery pit is just not even talked about today.
Yet, here in this passage, Jesus clearly speaks of hell. He speaks in language that presents contrasts. Prior to this verse he offered the seriousness of leading a person astray or causing a person to sin. Here, he continues with striking language regarding hell, that it would be better to mutilate your body than to go to hell. This mentions the seriousness of sin. To Jewish listeners, bodily mutiliation in Judaism was strictly forbidden and it disqualified one from entering the worshiping congregation (Deuteronomy 14:1; 23:1).
About hell in verse 47, Tabletalk states:
The word “hell” in verse 47 translates the term gehenna, which was another name for the “valley of the son of Hinnom,” the place near Jerusalem where many ancient Jews sacrificed children to the pagan god Molech (2 Kings 23:10). By the first century A.D., the place was seen as accursed because of that, and it was used as a figure for the eternal place of punishment after death, or hell. Jesus’ use of the unquenchable fire in reference to this place (v. 48) borrows from the fact that in his day, the physical gehenna was a garbage dump where garbage never stopped burning. Jesus uses the physical reality to point to something much worse—unending pain in the afterlife for those who go to hell.
Jesus here mentions the hand, foot, and eye. All 3 are very useful to man. And yet it would be better to part with one or all of these than to cause another person to stumble. The foot should restrain us from stepping or carrying us into the company of evil company, unlawful diversions, and forbidden pleasures. The hand and the eye are to be turned away from those alluring objects which raise in us lust and ambition.
And then Jesus speaks of hell as an unquenchable fire and gives a picture of them using a worm and fire. where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched. "Bodies of men, interred in the earth, are eaten up of worms, which die when their food faileth; and those that are burned are consumed in fire, which extinguishes itself when there is no more fuel added to feed it. But it shall not be so with the wicked; their worm shall not die, and their fire is not quenched. These metaphors, therefore, as they are used by our Lord, and by the Prophet Isaiah, paint the eternal punishments of the damned in strong and lively colours.” — Macknight. It is a horrific picture that Jesus gives here to denote those that end up in hell for he mentions that some will go to the kingdom of God and some cast into hell. It is a gruesome picture that deserves our attention.
Summary - Jesus continues to speak to his disciples about how they are to relate to others and emphasizes the seriousness now of offending ourselves and causing ourselves to stumble. Here we need to be very careful. The consequence of stumbling here is ending up in hell, not the kingdom of God which is the contrast.
Promise: Hell, though painful to talk about, needs to be mentioned. It is a reality that Jesus speaks of. We preach the bad news so that people may know the good news.
Prayer: Lord, help me to remember the contrast of heaven and hell and to speak more of this reality to people's lives. In our inclusive and tolerant world, it simply is not a popular subject. We are falling victim to inclusive and tolerant language and services being more about self help and the Bible a book of moral guidance. Lord, I pray that your churches would be true to the entire message of the Bible and the gospel and would show clearly the complete change that must take place in people's lives.
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