Mark 9:38-48 - Radical Discipleship
And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea (Mark 9:42).
Q: Who is Jesus referring to when He uses the phrase “little ones”?
A: Jesus is using a physical child as a symbol for a spiritual child. Therefore, the term “little ones” refers to – a fellow Christian. The warning is that as Christians we are not to lead a fellow-Christian (or non-believer) into sin.
Q: What does the phrase “it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea” mean?
A: One millstone weighed several tons. Jesus is saying that you’d be better off dying a horrible death than to lead another person into sin.
Q: How can you lead a person into sin?
43 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. 45 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. 47 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, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
Q: Why did Jesus use sever language like “cut it off”?
A: Jesus is using a metaphoric hyperbole. He is saying, “Mortify sin—kill sin.” He knows that you must crush sin in order to survive spiritually. He wants you to hate sin because of its devilish destruction. The puritan John Owen said, “Kill sin, or it will kill you.” Sin is grim. The Lord is visualizing the amputation of body parts – hands, feet and eyes. Hands are for everything you do, feet are for everywhere you go, and eyes are for everything you see. This covers everything that relates to the behavior of your life.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Jesus is obviously not calling for physical mutilation. Just because a person may hack off his body parts (eyes, hand, legs) is not a guarantee that he will conquer sin in his life. Sadly, there have been those throughout church history who’ve tried to conquer sin through self-mutilation, but this will never work. You see, the problem isn’t your body parts. The problem IS YOUR HEART! The issue is the sin on the inside of you. Your heart is seriously sick and decaying with sin (cf. Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 5:27-28; Mark 7:15,21-22).
49 “For everyone will be salted with fire.”
Q: This is a strange verse. What does it mean?
A: Salt was added to sacrifices as a symbol of God’s enduring promise. As a preservative, salt represented enduring faithfulness. As a spice, salt brought flavor to life. Salt was sought after and was attractive. One particular sacrifice fits the imagery found in Mark 9:49 perfectly – it’s found in Leviticus 2. Here you have the description of the grain offering (2:13). “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.”
There were actually five offerings. Four of them were animal sacrifices – the burnt offering, peace offering, sin offering, and guilt offering. All four of these offerings represented the need for the atonement of sin.
The grain offering was not an animal offering or a sin offering. It was an offering of devotion and dedication that symbolized total devotion to the Lord.
The Old Testament saints gathered up their best grain, and they made a sacrifice of that grain on the altar. It was then covered with salt, which spoke of the faithfulness and the permanence of this offering to God. God would keep His promise, and by sprinkling salt on the grain offering, God was stating that He was faithful. His faithfulness to the Old Testament saints was symbolized in the salt.
As a New Testament saint, you are to be faithful to God. “For everyone will be salted with fire” (9:49) means your life is an offering to God. Every day you are making a total sacrifice of your life to God. You are a living sacrifice to Christ. So “for everyone will be salted with fire” means that you are offering your life every day, in every task, to the Lord. Jesus is calling you to commit your life to Christ as a sacrifice.
Romans 12:1 states it this way: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” That’s what we see in the grain offering. This is denying yourself, taking up your cross and following Christ. This is giving yourself totally to Christ in the language of an enduring sacrifice. “Fire” is sacrifice, and “salt” is faithfulness. You’re not going to crawl off the altar at the first whim. You’re salting your life making it a permanent sacrifice of faithfulness to God.
50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another (Mark 9:50).
Q: Why was salt such a big deal in Jesus day?
A: In a world with no refrigeration and no ice, salt was required to preserve food. Plus, salt was a tasty way to flavor food. God intends for you to be “salt” to others by being involved in influencing others to desire Christ.
Q: Why is it a problem for salt to lose its saltiness?
A: Salt does not lose its saltiness unless it is mixed with another chemical like gypsum (this was a common problem). The mixture makes salt worthless. This is a picture of your dedication to Christ. You are not to desire to live for Christ (salt) and the world (gypsum). You are to serve Christ and live a life of saltiness in a way that would cause the unsaved to desire Christ.
Q: What does the phrase “have salt in yourself” mean?
A: Jesus is saying to live a life of “saltiness” that is not mixed with gypsum or anything else. He wants your “salt” to be undiluted, unmixed, and uncorrupted. Christ commands you to live an unmixed life.
Q: Why did Jesus add the phrase “and be at peace with one another.”
A: Remember, Jesus’ disciples were fighting about who was the greatest. He was saying, “Stop fighting. Stop elevating yourselves. Stop competing.” These verses are pointing a finger at you to (1) stop being the cause of temptation, (2) to love each other extremely, (3) to deal with sin severely, (4) to sacrifice your life wholly, and (5) to obey the Word of God fanatically.
Q: Who is Jesus referring to when He uses the phrase “little ones”?
A: Jesus is using a physical child as a symbol for a spiritual child. Therefore, the term “little ones” refers to – a fellow Christian. The warning is that as Christians we are not to lead a fellow-Christian (or non-believer) into sin.
Q: What does the phrase “it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea” mean?
A: One millstone weighed several tons. Jesus is saying that you’d be better off dying a horrible death than to lead another person into sin.
Q: How can you lead a person into sin?
- Through DIRECT temptation - you can do this by encouraging someone to lie, lie, gossip, steal, or be involved in immoral behavior.
- Through INDIRECT temptation – you can do this by provoking your child to anger because of your indifference or harsh unkindness; by flaunting what you have in front of others; by refusing to forgive; by having overbearing expectations.
- Through a SINFUL example - no one sins in isolation, and when others see your unrepentant choices to sin, sometimes they are encouraged to follow.
43 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. 45 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. 47 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, 48 ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’
Q: Why did Jesus use sever language like “cut it off”?
A: Jesus is using a metaphoric hyperbole. He is saying, “Mortify sin—kill sin.” He knows that you must crush sin in order to survive spiritually. He wants you to hate sin because of its devilish destruction. The puritan John Owen said, “Kill sin, or it will kill you.” Sin is grim. The Lord is visualizing the amputation of body parts – hands, feet and eyes. Hands are for everything you do, feet are for everywhere you go, and eyes are for everything you see. This covers everything that relates to the behavior of your life.
IMPORTANT NOTE: Jesus is obviously not calling for physical mutilation. Just because a person may hack off his body parts (eyes, hand, legs) is not a guarantee that he will conquer sin in his life. Sadly, there have been those throughout church history who’ve tried to conquer sin through self-mutilation, but this will never work. You see, the problem isn’t your body parts. The problem IS YOUR HEART! The issue is the sin on the inside of you. Your heart is seriously sick and decaying with sin (cf. Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 5:27-28; Mark 7:15,21-22).
- The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it (Jeremiah 17:9)?
- 27 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’ 28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart (Matthew 5:27-28).
- 15 There is nothing outside a person that by going into him can defile him, but the things that come out of a person are what defile him. 21 For from within, out of the heart of man, come evil thoughts, sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, 22 coveting, wickedness, deceit, sensuality, envy, slander, pride, foolishness (Mark 7:15, 21-22).
49 “For everyone will be salted with fire.”
Q: This is a strange verse. What does it mean?
A: Salt was added to sacrifices as a symbol of God’s enduring promise. As a preservative, salt represented enduring faithfulness. As a spice, salt brought flavor to life. Salt was sought after and was attractive. One particular sacrifice fits the imagery found in Mark 9:49 perfectly – it’s found in Leviticus 2. Here you have the description of the grain offering (2:13). “You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt.”
There were actually five offerings. Four of them were animal sacrifices – the burnt offering, peace offering, sin offering, and guilt offering. All four of these offerings represented the need for the atonement of sin.
The grain offering was not an animal offering or a sin offering. It was an offering of devotion and dedication that symbolized total devotion to the Lord.
The Old Testament saints gathered up their best grain, and they made a sacrifice of that grain on the altar. It was then covered with salt, which spoke of the faithfulness and the permanence of this offering to God. God would keep His promise, and by sprinkling salt on the grain offering, God was stating that He was faithful. His faithfulness to the Old Testament saints was symbolized in the salt.
As a New Testament saint, you are to be faithful to God. “For everyone will be salted with fire” (9:49) means your life is an offering to God. Every day you are making a total sacrifice of your life to God. You are a living sacrifice to Christ. So “for everyone will be salted with fire” means that you are offering your life every day, in every task, to the Lord. Jesus is calling you to commit your life to Christ as a sacrifice.
Romans 12:1 states it this way: “I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship.” That’s what we see in the grain offering. This is denying yourself, taking up your cross and following Christ. This is giving yourself totally to Christ in the language of an enduring sacrifice. “Fire” is sacrifice, and “salt” is faithfulness. You’re not going to crawl off the altar at the first whim. You’re salting your life making it a permanent sacrifice of faithfulness to God.
50 Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves and be at peace with one another (Mark 9:50).
Q: Why was salt such a big deal in Jesus day?
A: In a world with no refrigeration and no ice, salt was required to preserve food. Plus, salt was a tasty way to flavor food. God intends for you to be “salt” to others by being involved in influencing others to desire Christ.
Q: Why is it a problem for salt to lose its saltiness?
A: Salt does not lose its saltiness unless it is mixed with another chemical like gypsum (this was a common problem). The mixture makes salt worthless. This is a picture of your dedication to Christ. You are not to desire to live for Christ (salt) and the world (gypsum). You are to serve Christ and live a life of saltiness in a way that would cause the unsaved to desire Christ.
Q: What does the phrase “have salt in yourself” mean?
A: Jesus is saying to live a life of “saltiness” that is not mixed with gypsum or anything else. He wants your “salt” to be undiluted, unmixed, and uncorrupted. Christ commands you to live an unmixed life.
Q: Why did Jesus add the phrase “and be at peace with one another.”
A: Remember, Jesus’ disciples were fighting about who was the greatest. He was saying, “Stop fighting. Stop elevating yourselves. Stop competing.” These verses are pointing a finger at you to (1) stop being the cause of temptation, (2) to love each other extremely, (3) to deal with sin severely, (4) to sacrifice your life wholly, and (5) to obey the Word of God fanatically.
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