Mark 9:42-50 42“And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him instead if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. 43And 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 into hell, to the unquenchable fire. 45And 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. 47And 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, 48where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched. 49For everyone will be salted with fire. 50Salt is good, but if the salt has become unsalted, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
The little ones are not described in detail. Jesus may have still held the young child of verse 36 and used the opportunity to teach his disciples another lesson about how to follow him. The following verses give one of the strongest warnings in the Bible. If indeed Jesus is referring to children, he clearly took child abuse and negatively influencing a child very seriously. This statement is one of the strongest he gave about sin. The little ones are identified as already believing in Jesus. More broadly speaking, they are young disciples who are especially vulnerable to the influence of others.
Jesus uses the illustration of a millstone, which was a large stone used for grinding wheat. It was one of the largest and heaviest stones the average person in rural Galilee would know about and be familiar with. The hyperbole about tying a stone like this around a person’s neck and throwing it in the sea emphasizes that type of judgment such a person will receive for causing the vulnerable to sin. We must carefully consider what type of influence and example we give to those around us, especially children.
Jesus personalizes his warning about the seriousness of sin with a series of comparisons that are also exaggerations. The way to stop negatively influencing others to sin is to take care of our own sin problem. Our battle with sin can be won by removing the things in our lives that cause us to sin. Jesus is not advocating self-mutilation in these verses. Cunning off the parts of our body will not stop us from sinning. The hand, foot, and eyes are not sin but the instruments of the mind. Sin begins in our inner person, and the body is only its tool of sin (Romans 6). Something radical must be done to the heart in order for sin problem to be taken care of. Sin is a disease that must be radically taken care of.
In each comparison, Jesus warns his disciples about hell. Gehenna (Valley of Hinnom) was a valley below Jerusalem where people threw their trash to be burned. In the Old Testament, it was a place where the later kings of Judah sacrificed children to Molech (Jeremiah 7:31; 19:5-6; 32:35). It was a vivid and useful example of the place of punishment for those who sin. The undying worms create a gruesome image of maggots eating away trash or worms squirming in dead flesh. Everyone wanted to stay away from the stench and heat of the burning trash. These verses warn us that divine judgment against sin is severe.
The saying about being salted with fire occurs only here in the Bible, which makes it difficult to interpret. Both salt and fire are known for purifying things in Israel’s worship. Salt was used in the sacrificial system at the altar (Leviticus 2:13). Verses 49-50 indicate that every disciple must go through the fires of purification and dedication. The way to avoid the fires of hell is to go through the purifying fire of the Holy Spirit, which requires full dedication to Jesus as Lord. The life of discipleship should be evidenced by a life offered in full consecration to Jesus and shown by bearing the cross-style life.
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