Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Mark 9:43
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
43. offend thee ] or, as in margin, cause thee to offend, lead thee into sin. Our Lord makes special mention of the Hand, the Foot, the Eye, those members, whereby we do amiss, or walk astray, or gaze on what is sinful.
into hell ] Literally, the Gehenna, or the Gehenna of fire ( Mar 9:47). The “Ravine of Hinnom,” also called “ Topheth ” (2Ki 23:10; Isa 30:33), is described in Josh, Jos 18:16, as on the south of Mount Zion. Its total length is a mile and a half. It is a deep retired glen, shut in by rugged cliffs, with the bleak mountain sides rising over all. It became notorious in the times of Ahaz and Manasseh as the scene of the barbarous rites of Molech and Chemosh, when the idolatrous inhabitants of Jerusalem cast their sons and daughters into the red-hot arms of a monster idol of brass placed at the opening of the ravine (2Ki 16:3; 1Ch 28:3; Jer 7:31). To put an end to these abominations the place was polluted by Josiah, who spread over it human bones and other corruptions (2Ki 23:10; 2Ki 23:13-14), from which time it seems to have become the common cesspool of the city. These inhuman rites and subsequent ceremonial defilement caused the later Jews to regard it with horror and detestation, and they applied the name given to the valley to the place of torment.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mar 9:43
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off.
Stumbling blocks
After stating the fearful punishment in store for those who impede the spiritual progress of others, our Lord proceeds to warn men not to place stumbling blocks in their own way. He selects the chief instruments of sin-the hand, the foot, the eye-and counsels their immediate destruction, if need be, rather than allow them to work the threatened mischief. It is the hand which men lift up to do violence, as Cain did to his brother; or to appropriate what does not belong to them, like Achan. It is the feet which hurry us into forbidden paths, as they hurried Gehazi, or the old man of God whom the lion slew for his transgression. It is the eye which excites the lust to desire, in the spirit of Eve, something which God has seen fit to withhold. To hurt, to trespass, and to covet: what a common triple cord of sin it is! (H. M. Luckock, D. D.)
The price of salvation
The gentleness of the gospel is not toward sin, but only to win from it. It is love that lays down life for enemies, which makes these demands on friends. Jesus continually put before those who heard Him the price of salvation. It is a pearl, bought by selling all we have; the call which requires us to leave-hate in comparison-houses, lands, and dearest friends. It brings a sword to divide, a cross for us to bear. To lose a foot will make you walk slow and painful, to lose a hand will halve your power for gain or usefulness, to lose an eye is darkness and disfigurement. Precious are they, part of ourselves; bloody and anguishing the cutting off and plucking out. But it must be, it should be. Reckon it with our worldly arithmetic, and eternal life is cheap at any price. A career, however marred and maimed, which ends in heaven, is better than a painless and brilliant passage to the fire that shall never be quenched. Are things most sweet and necessary occasions of sin? Be rid of them at any cost. Spare not thyself, and God shall spare thee. Cripple thyself for holiness sake, and everlasting life shall make thee whole. Fling away ecstatic delights to embrace purifying pains, for God has infinite stores of blessings, and eternity in which to give them. It is a wondrous thing to know that the pains and chastisements of this life are fitting us to bear the awful test of Gods devouring fire, that the light which flashes from the face of God shall strike our souls, and the flames not kindle upon us. Compared with this, there are no joys, no sorrows; all other experiences get character from their power to affect this consummation. (C. M. Southgate.)
Excision of offending members
The hands, the feet, the eyes, are set forth in Gods Word as the instruments of the soul in compassing the gratification of certain distinct evil lusts: the hand is the instrument of covetous grasping and of violence; the feet are the means of evil companionship, and running into the ways of temptation and sin; through the eyes the soul covets what is not her own, and lusts after what is forbidden and polluting; through the eyes also the soul envies and hates, and the Lord classes an evil eye amongst the things that defile. But it may be asked, seeing that the members are but the instruments of the evil will, why does not the Lord denounce that, and that only? So He does when occasion serves; but in this instance He is setting forth the all-important truth that the evil will is mortified and slain, not by arguing with it, but by starving it; i.e., by forbidding the members to yield themselves to its gratification. When the Lord bids a soul, for the sake of eternity, mortify its members, its outward members, He necessarily speaks to one who has two wills, an evil will belonging to the old man, and a better and holier belonging to the new. The evil will would gratify its lusts through its members, but the better will can forbid the members to lend themselves to the evil within, and can call to its aid the Spirit of God by prayer, and can mortify the flesh, and use in faith the means of grace. (M. F. Sadler.)
Personal maiming
There are many persons who are ready to cut off other peoples offending hands and feet, forgetting that the command is to cut off their own. At all costs save the life! Hands, feet, eyes may be cast away, but let the soul be held in godly discipline. (J. Parker, D. D.)
Mortification of sin a reasonable duty
I. The duty here enjoined. If thy hand or thy foot offend thee, etc. To offend, in the language of Scripture, frequently means to put anything in the way of a person, which may cause him to fall or stumble (Rom 12:21; Mat 11:6; Mat 16:23). Even serviceable things must be removed if an occasion of evil.
II. The argument by which He enforces it. It is shortly this: that it is better for us to do what He enjoins. Why better? Because not to do it will certainly bring on us greater evils hereafter. It is better to suffer a present evil, however great, than by avoiding it to incur a greater evil in the end. Thus men reason in common things. They endure present loss in hope of future gain; they lose a limb to save a life. To feel the force of this argument we must see what these consequences are.
1. We shall be shut out from heaven. It is better to enter into life maimed, etc. Without mortifying sin now we can never be admitted there (Gal 5:21; Rev 21:27; Heb 12:14).
2. What it is to be cast into hell.
3. I remind you that if you seriously desire to set about the work, there is a powerful Friend who is ready to assist you with all needful strength and health. It is only through the Spirit that you can mortify the deeds of the body. (E. Cooper.)
Mutilation or fire
The mutilation of the body ordered by Jesus Christ. As Lord of the body He has the right to issue such requirements; common sense tells us that they cannot be meant to be without exception. His if prefacing each instance is enough to prove that He does not make them binding on everybody who enters His army. The soldier in the battle, having on the whole armour of God, does not need to be told to mutilate himself. He is not obstructed by wrongful occupation with any of the prominent members of his body.
I. A due consideration of the three-fold repetition will show that all of us are somehow affected. Jesus means to single out every person who feels reluctant to give his all up to Him as Lord and Saviour.
II. That these orders cannot require mutilation of the bodily frame. The hand, the foot, and the eye are nothing, except as they are the instruments of a person. What benefit could there be in cutting off, in plucking out, merely a member of the body? He would be utterly unfit to be a judge who sentenced the umbrella, which thrust out a mans eye, to six months imprisonment, and let the man who pushed the umbrella go free! He would be counted more idiotic than an idiot who found fault with the door of the cellar down whose steps he had fallen, and not with the careless servant who had left the door open. When you had cut off a hand, you might still wish to do the unworthy action which your hand would have carried out. When you had plucked out an eye, your imagination might still revel amid the unholy things which the eye would have gloated on.
III. The Lord backs up His appeal for our energetic action with an exhibition of the awful law under which our nature is constituted. The word, which is translated hell fire is Gehenna. It was the name given to a narrow valley close to Jerusalem. Offal and filth were usually thrown into it, and fires were lighted in it to burn all the sorts of refuse which were consumable. So the sinner is separated from the society of Jerusalem, and cast into corruption; he is exposed to burning now, and if not converted from the error of his ways, will go into corruption and fire hereafter. (D. G. Watt, M. A.)
Desire sacrificed to duty
Soldiers have dislodged their enemy from a town. They scatter themselves about its streets; some dashing into shops, and some into houses, seizing any valuable thing which the lust of their eyes prompts them to seize. Suddenly their bugles sound an alarm. The enemy is returning in force; and, whatever else the sound may suggest, it suggests this-that they must throw everything out of their hands, no matter how valuable, no matter how eagerly they long to retain it. Otherwise it would be an obstruction; they would not be free to handle their rifles, and be driven out instead of driving their foe back again. With like purpose does the Lord Jesus give forth those orders, which seem to many of us so unnecessarily harsh and stringent. (D. G. Watt, M. A.)
Hell fire in the present life
At any rate multitudes have come to regard hell as a place to be afraid of, not because of its wickedness, but because of its suffering. Theirs is a bitter mistake. It is a grotesque and misleading interpretation of that state of which Jesus tells the nature. His words assuredly point to the conclusion that a man may be in hell here as well as yonder; may be gnawed by its worm and burned by its fire now as well as hereafter. You do not lack proofs of this present truth in human life, perhaps within the range of your observation, if not of your own experience. It may be that no more striking illustration can be supplied than that of Lady Macbeth, as painted by our great dramatist. After the murder of Banquo she cannot rest. She rises from her bed and walks about. She rubs, and rubs, as if washing her hands, and continues it for a quarter of an hour. She fancies she sees a spot of blood on them. She cannot take it out; her hands will not be clean, and she cries, Heres the smell of the blood still;. all the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand. Oh! oh! oh! That sigh and cry show how sorely her heart is charged. Yet there is no repentance in her anguish. She argues in defence of the evil deed still. She is suffering mentally; she is in agony-not for the vileness of the crime she has urged on, but for its interference with her comfort and peace. Thus her case affords an instance of how a soul may be weeping, and wailing, and gnashing the teeth before it goes, with the uncleansed spots of sin, into the shadow of death. (D. G. Watt, M. A.)
The members of the body reported in their deeds
Do you know, said a young lady to her brother, there is a reporter to be at the ball to which we are going tomorrow, and a full account will be given in the newspapers of everybody who is there? Ah! yes, there was a Reporter there whom she little thought of-a Reporter who is in every place to which you can go, whether it be to the house of feasting or the house of mourning, to the resort which defiles you or which purifies you, to the place of cursing or the place of prayer; and the day is coining when that Reporter shall publish, before the myriads amid whom you shall stand at the judgment seat of God, what everyone has done in his body, according to that he has done, whether it be good or bad. What will be disclosed as to the paths on which your feet have been made to go? Will you expect to hear that you have never been, in thought or purpose, in any place but where Christs footprints were known to be before you? (D. G. Watt, M. A.)
What the hands can do
Just glance at what may be operated by the hands. Would you care to hold out your hands, before any number of your acquaintances, and say, These hands have never been soiled by touching an unholy thing. They have not once written a deceiving figure or an unbecoming word. They have never held any instrument in order to accomplish a selfish and impure object. No neighbour might shrug his shoulders at your assertion; no voice might call out, I saw you use the shaking glass of drunkenness, the cards of gambling, the jemmy of burglary! But would their inability to accuse you be a satisfactory acquittal? Would you not, as brave and honest souls, even if no human being could say that your hands were offensive to the holy God, would you not confess they are or were? Your tongue would not utter boastful things. Why? Because you are well aware that, though you have never been a drunkard, a gambler, or a burglar, you have put aside a service of self-denial, or you have grasped in your heart at an evil enjoyment. Knowing, as you do, that wishing and planning to escape from any Christ-like duty must be a grief to the Saviour, you would not like to hear His voice announce His sentence as to all your failures; you would not like to receive the due award of what your hands have done or been thought capable of doing! (D. G. Watt, M. A.)
Stumbling blocks
I. The stumbling blocks here mentioned.
II. Whether a classification of stumbling blocks be suggested or not, important lessons, as to the causes of falling, are here taught.
1. May be part of ourselves-personal appearance, etc.
2. May be in our occupation-sinful, engrossing, etc.
3. May be in that which delights us-conversation, music, etc.
4. May be in persons and society sought after by us.
5. May be in useful and lawful things.
6. Everyone must judge for himself.
III. The command of Christ.
1. Most peremptory. The cause must be removed-however valuable, painful, etc.
2. Most pressing and weighty reasons are assigned. Such conduct is indispensable to life. To act otherwise is to perish. At how dear a price sinners purchase their pleasures! (Expository Discourses.)
Maiming and life
The New Testament revisers have rightly substituted the words cause to stumble, for offend; for the popular conception of offend is misleading. It means that which is annoying or distasteful to another, but not necessarily hurtful. But the word in the New Testament habitually means something dangerous. That which offends in the gospel sense may be neither annoying nor distasteful; but agreeable and seductive. St. Paul speaks of meat as an offence to a brother. In these hard words about cutting off, our Lord is not speaking of things that are simply troublesome, for in Gods moral economy a good many troublesome things are retained as permanent factors of life. Self-sacrifice, hard duty, are troublesome things, yet they enter into every genuine Christian life; while many agreeable things are of the character of stumbling blocks. The truth here stated by Christ appears a cruel one. It is simply that maiming enters into the development of life, and is a part of the process through which one attains eternal life. We shall find that thin law is not so cruel after all. There is an aspect in which we all recognize this truth; namely, on the side where it is related to our ordinary life. No life is developed into perfection without cutting off something. The natural tendencies of the boy are to play and eat and sleep. Left to themselves, those things will fill up the space allotted to thought and culture, so that they must be controlled and restricted. The law indeed holds, from a point below human life, that every higher thing costs; that it is won by the abridgment or suppression of something lower. The corn of wheat must die in order to bring forth fruit. The seed life and the seed form must go, so that the full corn in the ear may come. This fact of limitation goes along with the entire process of human education. The man who aims at eminence in any one department of life must close the gates which open into other departments. In order to be a successful merchant, he must abridge the pleasures of literary culture. He may have equally strong affinities for medicine and for law, but he cannot become a successful lawyer without cutting off the studies and the associations which go to make a successful doctor. And success in any sphere necessitates his cutting off a large section of self-indulgence. He must sacrifice pleasant leisure and pleasant society, and needful rest and recreation. Moreover, it is true that men love life so much that they will have it at the expense of maiming. A man will leap from a third story of a burning house, and will take the chance of going through life with a crippled limb or a distorted face, rather than stay and be burned or suffocated. All that a man hath will he give for his life. Maecenas, the prime minister of the first Roman emperor, said that he preferred life with the anguish of crucifixion to death. Where is the man who will not lie down on the surgeons table, and have his right hand cut off or his right eye plucked out rather than die? The most helpless cripple, the blind man, the mutilated and disfigured man, will say, It is better for us to live maimed than to die. So that, on one side at least, the truth is not so unfamiliar or so cruel, after all. It represents, not an arbitrary decree, but a free choice. Now, our Lord leads us up into the region of spiritual and eternal life, and confronts us with the same alternative. Cut off anything, sacrifice anything, be maimed and crippled so far as this life is concerned, rather than forfeit eternal life. Life in Gods kingdom, like life in the kingdom of nature and sense, involves a process of education and discipline. A part of this discipline is wrought through the agency of the man himself; that is, by the force of his own renewed will. A part of it is brought to bear on him from without, through no agency of his own. And here, as elsewhere, development implies limitation, suppression, cutting off. Have you never known a woman on whom the door of her fathers house was closed from the moment that she went out of it with the husband of her choice, and who gave herself to him, knowing that, in taking his part, she was cutting off and casting from her parental sympathy and all the dear associations of childhood? In our great civil war, was it not true that many a man, by taking a side, became an outcast to those whom he had loved best? Has it not been so in all the great issues of history? In Christs own day, and much more in the early dais of the Church, that happened again and again which Christs words had foreshadowed. He who went after the despised Galilean or His apostles, must forfeit home and friends and social standing, and be called an ingrate and a traitor. He could not keep father and mother and old associates who hated his Master. They would be only stumbling blocks to him; and he must therefore cut them off, and go after Christ maimed on that side of his life. This text tells us that this cutting off and casting away must be our own act. If thy hand cause thee to stumble, cut it off,-thou thyself. We are not to presume on Gods taking away from us whatever is hurtful. Our spiritual discipline does not consist in merely lying still and being pruned. That must do for a vine or a tree, but not for a living will. The surrender of that must be a self-surrender. The forced surrender of a will is no surrender. The necessary abridgement or limitation must enlist the active cooperation of the man who is limited. Ye are Gods husbandry, says Paul; but, almost in the same breath, he says, Ye are Gods fellow workers. There are, however, two aspects in which this self-cutting is to be viewed. On the one band, there is, as just noted, something which the man is to do by his own will and act. On the other hand, there is a certain amount of limitation applied directly by God, without the mans agency. In this latter case, the man makes the cutting off his own act by cheerful acceptance of his limitations. Let us look at each of these two aspects in turn. In Christian experience, one soon discovers certain sides on which it is necessary to limit himself; certain things which he must renounce. The things are not the same for all men. They are not necessarily evil things in themselves, but a sensitive and well-disciplined conscience soon detects certain matters which it is best to lay violent hands upon. Another conscience may not fix upon the same points; but to this conscience they are stumbling blocks, hindrances to spiritual growth, inconsistent with entire devotion to Christ. It is enough that they are so in this particular case. It is right to have hands and feet and eyes, and to use them. But in certain cases there is an antagonism between these and eternal life. The whole question centres there. Whatever interferes with the attainment of eternal life must go. Thus much for the self-applied limitations, for conscious hindrances in the march to eternal life. But there is another class of limitations, the need of which we do not perceive. They belong in the higher and deeper regions of character, and are linked with facts and tendencies which our self-knowledge does not cover. Such limitations we cannot apply to ourselves: they are applied to us by God: and all that our will has to do is to concur with the limitations and meekly to accept them. In this region the discipline is more painful. God cuts off and takes away where we can see no reason for it; but on the contrary, where we think we see every reason against it. There are multitudes of Christian people who are going through life maimed on one side or another. There is a man with the making of a statesman, ruler, painter, or poet. He is maimed by no opportunity of culture. But every true disciple of Christ enters His school with absolute self-surrender, and will trust that God will cut off nothing that makes for eternal life. We could not win eternal life as well with these gifts as without them. And so it will be better if we can but enter into life. Better, far better, to go maimed all the way than to lose eternal life. It matters little that those stately masts had to be cut down in the raging gale. No one thinks what splendid timbers were thrown overboard, on that day when the ship, battered and mastless, and with torn sails and tangled cordage, forges into the land-locked port with every soul on board safe. Better maimed than lost. (M. R. Vincent, D. D.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 43. – 48. Thy hand – foot – eye – cause thee to offend;] See the notes on Mt 5:29-30.
Verse 43. The fire that never shall be quenched] That is, the inextinguishable fire. This clause is wanting in L, three others, the Syriac, and later Persic. Some eminent critics suppose it to be a spurious reading; but the authorities which are for it, are by no means counterbalanced by those which are against it. The same clause in Mr 9:45, is omitted in BCL, seven others, Syriac, later Persic, Coptic, and one Itala. Eternal fire is the expression of Matthew.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
See Poole on “Mat 5:29-30“, where the same things occur. Matthew only mentions the hand and the eye. All have the same significance, viz. that it is better to deny ourselves in some particular satisfaction, than to hazard eternal salvation for the gratifying the appetite in it.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
43. And if thy hand offend thee, cutit off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than havingtwo hands to go into hellSee Mat 5:29;Mat 5:30. The only differencebetween the words there and here is that there they refer to impureinclinations; here, to an ambitious disposition, an irascible orquarrelsome temper, and the like: and the injunction is to strike atthe root of such dispositions and cut off the occasions of them.
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off,…. I have observed on Mt 5:30 that by the Jewish canons, cutting off of the hand was ordered in some cases there mentioned; which, though literally enjoined, must not be understood, as though the Jewish sanhedrim had a power of inflicting such a punishment, on persons found guilty of the things instanced in; or that it was required they should do this to themselves; but such rules were delivered in such language, to show the heinousness of the crimes committed, to express an abhorrence of them g, and to deter persons from them; and to show, as the gloss h on one place observes, that it is better that the hand be cut off; or it should be more eligible to the person himself, to have it cut off, than to be guilty of such evil: and in like manner, Christ there and here, directs to what is most proper and fit to be done; even to part with what is ever so near and dear, rather than be drawn into evil by it: and his sense in this place is, that the dearest friends and acquaintance, or be they what they will, though ever so near and dear, like a right hand, the instrument of action, that obstruct the spiritual welfare of men, are to be renounced and parted with, and treated as real enemies, and of the most pernicious consequence;
[See comments on Mt 5:29],
[See comments on Mt 5:30].
It is better for thee to enter into life maimed: not that there will be any such thing, as upon the resurrection, going into heaven without a limb; for the words are to be understood, not literally, but figuratively; and the sense is, it is better to part with every thing here, that is detrimental to a man’s doing, or enjoying, what is spiritually good, and enter into eternal life,
than having two hands, to go into hell; than by enjoying such persons and things, agreeable to the flesh, to the ruin of the soul, and be cast into hell;
into the fire that never shall be quenched. This is a periphrasis of hell, and is an allusion to the valley of Hinnom, from whence hell has its name, here and elsewhere; where a constant fire was kept, for the burning of polluted things: one of the Jewish writers says i, that it
“was a place in the land near to Jerusalem, and was a place contemptible: where they cast things defiled, and carcasses; and there was there, , “a continual fire”, to burn polluted things and bones; and therefore the condemnation of the wicked, in a parabolical way, is called “Gehinnom”.”
And says another of them k,
“Gehinnom is a place known, near to Jerusalem, and a valley, , “whose fire is never quenched”; and in which they burn bones of defilement, and carcasses, and other polluted things.”
This whole clause is left out in the Syriac, Persic, and Ethiopic versions; and the phrase, “that never shall be quenched”, is not in the Arabic version.
g Maimonides in Misn. Nidda, c. 2. sect. 1. h T. Bab. Sabbat, fol. 108. 2. i Kimchi in Psal. xxvii. 13. k R. Isaac Saugari, Sepher Cosri, fol. 57. 2.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Into hell, into the unquenchable fire ( , ). Not Hades, but Gehenna. is alpha privative and from to quench. It occurs often in Homer. Our word asbestos is this very word. Mt 18:8 has “into the eternal fire.” The Valley of Hinnom had been desecrated by the sacrifice of children to Moloch so that as an accursed place it was used for the city garbage where worms gnawed and fires burned. It is thus a vivid picture of eternal punishment.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Hell. See on Mt 5:22.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And if thy hand offend thee,” (kai ean skandalise se he cheir sou) “And if your hand should offend or scandalise you,” as an individual; If it offends you in an unholy manner, God is offended worse, Mat 5:29-30.
2) “Cut it off; (apokopson auten) “Cut if off,” or cutout, stop doing what is being done by your hand to offend, to cause a weak person to stumble or fall. Is it a gambling game? or a deed that may mislead a weak child of God? Cut it out or “butt” out of it.
3) “it is better for thee to enter into life maimed,”(kalon estin se kullon eiselthein eistenzoen)”It is ideal for you to enter into life maimed,” limited in labors or deeds done by hand, even if you find pleasure in them; if a weak one may be caused to stumble by it.
4) “Than having two hands to go into hell,” (e tas duo cheiras echonta apelthon eis ten geenan) “Rather than to go on away into Gehenna-hell with two hands,” that is, than to have the works or deeds or your hands burned in hell, so that you are saved, as if by fire, 1Co 3:13-15.
5) “Into the fire that never shall be quenched:” (eis to pur to asbeston) ”Into the unquenchable fire,” the fire that is eternal, that will never go out, that will burn unregenerate men and the immoral refuse of men forever and ever, Mat 25:41; Mat 25:46; Luk 12:5.
It is in harmony with the Scriptures to teach that the. cutting off of the hand, and plucking out of the eye, that misleads and causes weak ones in Christ to stumble, means to withdraw the hand or eye from doing, or practicing anything that could hurt a weaker brother, rather than have one’s whole body (of service or influence), not his soul, burned. See? Gal 5:12-14; 1Co 3:13-15.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
(43) Into hell.Better, Gehenna, to distinguish it from the other word Hades, also translated Hell. (See Notes on Mat. 5:22.)
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
43. The fire that never shall be quenched Our Lord gives a stronger expression than Isa 66:24, presents. It is not simply “shall not be quenched,” but “never” shall be quenched. This carries the thought far beyond the mere temporal fires of Hinnom, even to that unquenchable fire for which he uses the fire of Hinnom as a figure. Jesus repeats the expression with great solemnity thrice, as if to show that the highest possible meaning was to be attributed to his word.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
“And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is good for you to enter into life maimed rather than having two hands to go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is good for you to enter into life lame rather than having two feet to be cast into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to stumble, cast it out. It is good for you to enter under the Kingly Rule of God with one eye rather than having two eyes to be cast into Gehenna, where the maggot does not die and the fire is not quenched.”
The idea of causing others to stumble leads on to the idea of what causes men themselves to stumble. We must note here first that there is no suggestion that this decapitation should be done by others as a punishment. The mutilations carried out in the name of Allah have no connection with the ideas of Jesus of of the Father. They result from cruel and heartless men misusing the word of God. And yet they think themselves righteous in doing it. How evil men are. How blind to the truth about God. Jesus was simply here talking of extreme actions which men themselves should in theory apply to themselves if there was no alternative. He was really saying vividly, ‘you must go to any lengths to prevent sin’.
‘If your hand causes you to stumble.’ The man whose hands are uncontrollable, whether through petty stealing, or through groping a woman who does not want the attention, or in any other sinful purpose, has hands that cause him to stumble. But Jesus did not really expect such a man to cut his hand off. He knew well enough that that would not solve the problem. What He was saying was that that man should be willing to take any drastic action that would enable him to control his behaviour. Although indeed, if there were no other alternative losing the hand would certainly be better than having to enter Gehenna. But Jesus knew well enough that cutting the hand off would not be the answer, for He had already declared that evil came from the heart of man (Mar 7:20). The man would be just as evil without his hand. To deal with sin he would have to cut his heart out. The same applied also with respect to both foot and eye, and the sins that relate to both. The wandering feet that take men into sinful places. The wandering eye that tempts to indulging in sin. All are to be dealt with severely.
‘Cut it off — cast it out.’ Be decisive with sin, says Jesus. Do not play with it but treat it for what it is, destructive and harmful and to be got rid of at all costs lest it finally result in judgment. This was the kind of deliberate exaggeration often favoured by Jesus in order to bring home His point. Jesus had no time for a faith that did not result in a changed life and a changed attitude to sin.
‘To enter into life.’ This is the opposite of going to Gehenna. It is to enjoy that eternal life that Jesus offered to men (Mar 10:17; Mar 10:30), life under the Kingly Rule of God (Mar 9:47).
‘To go into Gehenna, into the unquenchable fire.’ The picture of Ge-henna was based on ‘the valley of Hinnom’ (ge Hinnom). This valley outside Jerusalem was the rubbish dump of Jerusalem where there were continually burning fires, and where continually devouring maggots consumed the rubbish. It was a sight men preferred not to look at. The bodies of executed criminals were often tossed there to expose them to shame and to be rid of them, and there they burned and there the maggots and the scavengers gradually disposed of them. But it was the continuous activity of the maggots, which could not be chased away or avoided, which illustrated the inevitability of judgment.
The idea was used in Isa 66:24 to depict the end of the wicked. Those who inherited the new heaven and the new earth would ‘go out and look on the carcasses of the men who have transgressed against Me. For their maggot will not die, nor shall their fire be quenched, but they will be an abhorring to all flesh.’ It was the picture of an eternal Gehenna based on the Valley of Hinnom.
Thus Jesus was here warning men to consider their end, pictured in terms of the undying maggots and the unquenched fire which would be the guarantee of the certainty of man’s final judgment. The idea is not of conscious suffering but of being totally shamed. Compare Dan 12:2, ‘everlasting contempt’.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Mar 9:43. Offend thee, Make thee offend.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
DISCOURSE: 1436
AN OFFENDING MEMBER
Mar 9:43-48. If thy hand offend thee, cut, it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thy foot offend thee cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell-fire: where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
TO oppose and persecute the people of God is to make God himself our enemy; nor can we cast a stumbling-block in their way without aggravating thereby our own condemnation [Note: ver. 42.]. But it is not only by open profaneness that we endanger our salvation; we are no less obnoxious to the dipleasure of God if we retain any secret sin. Hence our Lord gives us the most solemn and repeated admonition to cut off every occasion of sin. In discoursing on his words we shall consider,
I.
His injunctions
There are many things which prove to us an occasion of sin
[We are too ready to be drawn aside by our worldly interests. How often have they led men to profane the Sabbath, to engage in unlawful occupations, to practise deceit and falsehood, and in a thousand other ways to violate the dictates of their conscience! How has an undue regard to them deterred many from embracing the Gospel and following the Lord fully [Note: Mar 10:22.]! And how many have been turned aside by them from the truth of God, even after they had maintained a long and honourable profession [Note: 2Ti 4:10.]! Carnal affections also frequently prove a very fatal snare. How many spiritual people have been led to connect themselves for life with an unconverted person, through an unwillingness to thwart their natural inclinations, and that too, in opposition to the most express commands of God [Note: 2Co 6:14; 2Co 6:17.]? How many through an excess of attachment have idolized the creature while they possessed it, and murmured against God the instant it was removed? Need we add sensual appetites to this black catalogue? who, that knows the danger of an impure look [Note: Mat 5:28-29.], must not tremble?]
These, as soon as ever we discover their baneful tendency, should be cut off
[We are far from condemning these things as bad in themselves. Our carnal appetites and affections were given us to be indulged, and our worldly interests indispensably require a considerable degree of care and attention; but when they become stumbling-blocks to us and betray us into sin, then they become sinful in themselves, and must instantly be cut off. Nor must any consideration whatever induce us to spare them. If they be dear to us as aneye, or useful and apparently necessary to us as ahand orfoot, we must sacrifice them without pity or reserve. Different situations indeed call for much prudence and discretion in the execution of this duty. We must not lose sight of meekness and humility when we are exercising a necessary firmness and self-denial. Nevertheless we must not tamper with our consciences, but fulfil our duty, and leave events to God.]
To aid us in obeying our Lords injunctions let us consider,
II.
The arguments with which he enforced them
Men in general are averse to hear any thing of the terrors of the Lord; but St. Paul insisted on them in order to persuade men; and our Lord himself frequently urged them on his hearers as inducements to obedience. The arguments with which he enforced his precepts in the text are most solemn and weighty:
1.
God will surely deal with men hereafter according to their conduct in this life
[This truth is not merely asserted, but assumed in the text as incontrovertible and undoubted: nor is there any truth whatever that is more agreeable to reason, or more abundantly confirmed by the sacred oracles [Note: Rom 8:13. Gal 6:7-8.]. And can any thing be a stronger argument for self-denial? Surely if eternal happiness or misery must be the issue of our conduct, we should diligently consider our ways, and put away the accursed thing that would ruin our souls. If we had no future account to give of our conduct, we might say, Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die; but, if we believe the Scriptures, we shall rather labour to act with a view to the future judgment.]
2.
Heaven, notwithstanding all the trials we may endure in our way to it, is infinitely better than hell, whatever we may enjoy in our way thither
[It is certain that the mortification of sin is often painful, like the cutting off a member from the body. But it is no less certain that that pain is followed by much peace and joy. But supposing the road to heaven were ever so thorny, will not eternal glory be a sufficient recompence for our toil? And supposing the gratifications of sin to be without alloy (though it will be found that the delicious draught is mixed with much gall) will they not be dearly purchased with the loss of the soul? Will not the torments of hell be greater than the pleasures of sin? The worms that may feed upon the body will die when our flesh is consumed; and the fire that may consume our body will be extinguished at last for want of fuel: but the worm that will gnaw our conscience will never die; nor will the fire of Gods wrath be ever quenched, because we shall be preserved as food for the one and fuel for the other to all eternity. What can sin offer us that can compensate for such a doom? Surely then this argument should induce us to mortify our most beloved lusts. Our Lord repeats it thus frequently, that it may the more deeply impress our minds. Let us then weigh it with the attention it deserves; and act as those who feel its force and importance.]
Infer
1.
In what a lamentable state are the world at large!
[Men will persuade themselves that they are in the way to heaven, even while they are neglecting many duties, and committing many actual sins. But can they derive much encouragement from the words of our text? o that they did but credit the declarations of our Lord! Shall they, who retain only one bosom lust, be in danger of hell-fire, and they be safe who live in the allowed commission of many sins? Have they no reason to dread the worm that dieth not, and the fire that is not quenched? Shall they set up their idols in their heart, and God not answer them according to the multitude of their idols [Note: Eze 14:4.]? Would to God that we could weep over such poor deluded creatures; that our head were waters, and our eyes a fountain of tears to run down for them day and night! May God give them just views of the eternal world! And may they be so persuaded by these terrors of the Lord as to flee immediately from the wrath to come, and to lay hold on eternal life!]
2.
What need have the professors of religion to watch over their own hearts!
[It is no easy thing to know whether we be freed from our besetting sin. We have many pleas to urge in extenuation of its guilt, and many specious names whereby to conceal its malignity. How were even the Disciples themselves led captive by ambition and revenge, when they were least aware of their subjection to such evil principles [Note: ver. 35. Luk 9:54.]! Thus it may be with us also. How then should we search and try our hearts to find out our besetting sins! And how should we cry to God, Search me, O God, and try the ground of my heart, &c. [Note: Psa 139:23-24.]! Let all then who name the name of Christ be jealous of themselves. And, laying aside every weight, and the sin that doth most easily beset them, let them run their race with patience.]
3.
What reason have we to be thankful for the covenant of grace!
[Whatsoever God requires of us, he has also promised to us in the covenant of grace. Has he commanded us to part with every sin, however precious or profitable it may be? He has also promised, that sin shall not have dominion over us [Note: Rom 6:14.]. He has pledged his word not only to forgive the sins of the penitent, but to cleanse them from all unrighteousness [Note: 1Jn 1:9.]. Let those then who tremble at the injunctions in the text, look up to Jesus for help. Let them plead the promises which he has made. And doubtless they shall find his grace sufficient for them. They shall do all things through Christ strengthening them. This is the portion of all who embrace that covenant, which is ordered in all things and sure [Note: 2Sa 23:5.]. Let every believer then rejoice in that covenant; and hold fast the beginning of his confidence steadfast unto the end.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
(43) And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life manned, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: (44) Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (45) And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: (46) Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. (47) And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: (48) Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
So very important, are those solemn and awful words, that the LORD Jesus was pleased thrice to repeat them. It may well become us to make as solemn an enquiry into their meaning. Perhaps the Reader will recollect, that they are a quotation from the close of Isaiah’s prophecy. JESUS thus confirms the words of his servant, by giving the authority of the Master. In that prophetical chapter, with which, Isaiah ends his ministry, he describes the result of the whole. When the LORD hath brought home his kingdom, and the new heavens and the new earth are formed; and all his redeemed are made Priests to GOD and the FATHER, in order to effect their minds with suitable impressions of distinguishing grace, they shall from time to time go forth and look upon the misery of the wicked, for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched. Isa 66:21 to the end. Now whether this prophecy referred to the Gospel Church, when Jerusalem was destroyed, or whether to the more spiritual state, when, as in the present day, the Jews nationally considered are given up to an unbelieving mind; eyes that they should not see, and ears that they should not hear. Rom 11:8 . Or, whether it hath a reference to the awful judgments of the last day, or whether the whole be included, and it refers to all taken together; in either sense the doctrine is the same. As in the case of the Parable of the rich man and Lazarus, the misery of the former was encreased in be holding the blessedness of the latter; so the terrors of hell, will be aggravated from a view of the felicity of heaven; and the glories of distinguishing mercy will make the redeemed tenfold more illustrious when looking over the battlements of heaven, they view the horrors of unredeemed transgressors.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
Ver. 43. It is better for thee to enter ] The Trojans, after long debate, concluded it better to part with Helen, though a lady of incomparable beauty, than by retaining her longer, to venture their utter wreck and ruin.
, say they. (Hom. Iliad.) Did we but forethink what sin will cost us, we dare not but be innocent.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
43 48. ] These solemn repetitions of former declarations (see Mat 5:29 ; Mat 18:8-9 ) are by no means to be regarded as arbitrary insertions by this or that Evangelist, but as the truth of what was uttered by our Lord: see Prolegomena.
Mar 9:44 ; Mar 9:46 ; Mar 9:48 are only in Mark; they are cited from Isaiah (see reff.), where the prophecy is of the carcases of those who have transgressed against the Lord . This triple repetition gives sublimity, and leaves no doubt of the discourse having been verbatim thus uttered. See note on Mat 5:22 .
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mar 9:43 . The offender of the little ones is still more an offender against himself, hence the discourse by an easy transition passes to counsels against such folly. In Mk.’s version these are given in a most particular way, hand, foot and eye being each used separately to illustrate the common admonition. In Mt. hand and foot are combined. In the third illustration is replaced by . . . The refrain: “where the worm, etc.,” is repeated in T. R. with solemn effect after each example, but the best MSS. have it only after the third, Mar 9:44 ; Mar 9:46 being thus omitted (R. V [77] ).
[77] Revised Version.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
if. A contingent hypothesis. App-118.
offend = (constantly) cause thee to stumble. Not the same word as in Mar 9:42
life. Greek. zoe(App-170.) With Art.: i.e. into resurrec tion life, or life eternal. See note on Mat 9:18.
hell. Greek. Geenna. See App-131.
the fire that never shall be quenched = the fire, the unquenchable. Greek. to pur to asbeston. Compare Mat 3:12.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
43-48.] These solemn repetitions of former declarations (see Mat 5:29; Mat 18:8-9) are by no means to be regarded as arbitrary insertions by this or that Evangelist, but as the truth of what was uttered by our Lord: see Prolegomena.
Mar 9:44; Mar 9:46; Mar 9:48 are only in Mark; they are cited from Isaiah (see reff.), where the prophecy is of the carcases of those who have transgressed against the Lord. This triple repetition gives sublimity, and leaves no doubt of the discourse having been verbatim thus uttered. See note on Mat 5:22.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mar 9:43; Mar 9:45; Mar 9:47. , to enter) Thrice put; to which there stands in antithesis, once, , to go away into hell, Mar 9:43; and twice, , to be cast, Mar 9:45; Mar 9:47.- , the fire that cannot be quenched) So Mar 9:45; and with a little variation, Mar 9:47.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
hell gehenna.
(See Scofield “Mat 5:22”)
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
if: Deu 13:6-8, Mat 5:29, Mat 5:30, Mat 18:8, Mat 18:9, Rom 8:13, 1Co 9:27, Gal 5:24, Col 3:5, Tit 2:12, Heb 12:1, 1Pe 2:1
offend thee: or, cause thee to offend, and so, Mar 9:45, Mar 9:47
maimed: Mat 15:30, Mat 15:31, Luk 14:13, Luk 14:21
Reciprocal: Num 11:1 – and the fire Deu 32:22 – For a fire 2Ch 34:25 – shall not Job 15:30 – the flame Job 20:13 – spare it Isa 1:31 – and they Isa 9:18 – wickedness Isa 14:11 – the worm Isa 33:14 – everlasting Isa 34:10 – shall not Jer 4:4 – lest Jer 7:20 – and shall Jer 17:4 – for Jer 17:27 – shall not Jer 21:12 – none Eze 20:47 – the flaming Amo 5:6 – there Mat 3:12 – with Mat 10:28 – able Mat 13:42 – cast Mat 25:41 – everlasting Mar 8:34 – Whosoever Luk 3:17 – but Luk 9:25 – what Luk 16:24 – for 2Co 5:11 – the terror 2Co 7:11 – revenge 2Th 1:9 – be Heb 10:27 – fiery Rev 14:11 – no Rev 20:15 – was cast
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
3
Offend means to cause to stumble or do wrong. The hand is a valuable member of the body and is used to illustrate anything one might be cherishing but that causes him to do wrong. One would give up the hand if it became diseased and endangered the whole life of the man. Likewise, we should sacrifice any practice or associate however dear, if our spiritual welfare should be endangered by it. A description of hell as it is defined In the lexicon may be seen with comments on Mat 5:30.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
[Cut it off.] “Rabh Mona, in the name of R. Judah, saith, A drop of cold water in the morning [applied to the eye], and the washing of the hands and feet in the evening, is good beyond all the collyrium [eyesalve] in the whole world. For he said, The hand applied to the eye [in the morning, before washing], let it be cut off. The hand applied to the nostril, let it be cut off: the hand put to the ear, let it be cut off,” etc.
Fuente: Lightfoot Commentary Gospels
Mar 9:43-48. See on Mat 16:8-9; Mat 5:29-30. The account before us is fuller, though the best authorities omit Mar 9:44; Mar 9:46.
Where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched. There is a reference to Isa 66:24. These awful words plainly point to a future state of never-ending punishment.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
In the former verse our Saviour dissuaded from the sin of scandal, or giving offence to the serious and sincere Christians, threatening a very grievous judgment against such as should any ways offend them; now in these six verses he prescribes a remedy against that and all other sins, namely, by avoiding all occasions that lead to sin.
Here observe, 1. The admonition or warning given by Christ unto us, to remove far from us all occasion of sin, though ever so dear unto us. We are not to understand the command literally as if it was our duty to maim our bodily members; but metaphorically to cut off all occasions that may betray us into sin.
Hence note, That as sin may be avoided, it is our duty to avoid whatever leads unto it, or may be the instrument and occasion of it.
Observe, 2. A reason enforcing the admonition: this is drawn from the benefit and advantage that will come by cutting off such occasions of sin. It will further us in our attainment of eternal life, and prevent our being cast into hell-fire. Now our Saviour affirms, that it is better for a man to enter into life with the loss of all those things that are dear and precious to him in this world, rather than to go into hell with the fruition and enjoyment of them.
Learn hence, That a diligent and daily care to avoid sin, and all occasions that lead unto it, will be a special means to escape the torments of hell, and further us in our attainments of heaven and eternal life.
Observe, 3. The description which our Saviour gives of the torments of hell;
First, by its extremity; it is like a gnawing worm, and a consuming fire.
Secondly, and by its eternity, a worm that never dieth, and a fire that is never quenched.
Where note, That the remembrance of things past, the experience of things present, and expectation of things to come, are the bitings of the worm of conscience, at every bite whereof damned souls give a dreadful shriek; such as will not hear the voice of conscience, shall feel, and that to purpose, the sting of conscience.
Learn hence, That there is most certainly a place and state of punishment and torment of the wicked men to suffer in, upon the score of sin committed in this world.
Secondly, That the punishment and torments of the wicked in hell are intolerable and interminable, of exquisite pain, and endless duration: Their worm never dieth, and their fire is not quenched.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Mar 9:43. And if thy hand offend thee, &c. The discourse here passes from the case of offending to that of being offended. If one who is as useful or dear to thee as a hand or eye, prevent thee from walking in the ways of God, or hinder thee therein, renounce all intercourse with him. This primarily relates to persons; secondarily, to things. See the note on Mat 5:29-30, where this subject is explained at large. The sum is, It is better to deny ones self the greatest earthly satisfactions, and to part with any and every person and thing, however precious, represented by the figures of a hand, a foot, and eye, than by these things to cause the weakest of Christs disciples to stumble, or to be made to stumble ourselves. Further, the amputation of our hands and feet, and the digging out of our eyes, when they cause us to stumble, import also, that we should deny ourselves such use of our senses and members as may lead us into sin. Thus the hand and the eye are to be turned away from those alluring objects which raise in us lust and ambition. The foot must be restrained from carrying us into evil company, unlawful diversions, and forbidden pleasures. Nor can we complain of these injunctions as severe, since by causing, or even by tempting others to sin, as well as by sinning ourselves, we are exposed to the eternal punishments of hell. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched These expressions seem to be borrowed from Isa 66:24, in which passage the prophet is describing the miserable end of hardened sinners, by a similitude taken from the behaviour of conquerors, who, after having gained the battle, and beaten the enemy out of the field, go forth to view the slain. Thus, at the last day, the devil, with all his adherents, being finally and completely vanquished, the saints shall go forth to view them, doomed by the just judgment of God to eternal death. And this their punishment is represented by two metaphors, drawn from the different ways of burying the dead in use among the Jews. 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. To this may be added, that by the worm here spoken of, that dieth not, may be denoted, the continual torture of an accusing conscience, and the misery naturally arising from the evil dispositions of pride, self-will, desire, malice, envy, shame, sorrow, despair; and by the fire that is not quenched, the positive punishment inflicted by the fiery wrath of God. Dr. Whitbys note on these verses deserves the readers particular attention. After observing that these words, Where their worm dieth not, &c., are taken from Isa 66:24, (where see the notes,) he adds, It seems reasonable to interpret them according to the received opinion of the Jews, since otherwise our Lord, by using them so frequently in speaking to them, without saying any thing to show them that he did not understand the expression as they did, must have strengthened them in their error. Now, it is certain, 1st, That gehenna (hell) was by them still looked on as the place in which the wicked were to be tormented by fire. So the Jerusalem Targum, on Gen 15:17, represents it as a furnace sparkling and flaming with fire, into which the wicked fall. And the Targum, upon Ecc 9:15, speaks of the fire of hell; and, Mar 10:11, of the sparks of the fire of hell; and, chap. Mar 8:10, of the wicked who shall go to be burned in hell. Accordingly, our Lord speaks here, Mar 9:47, and Mat 5:22, of the wicked being cast into hell fire; and, Mat 13:42, of their being cast into a furnace of fire. 2d, The ancient Jews held that the punishments of the wicked in hell will be perpetual, or without end. So Judith says, chap. Mar 16:17, , they shall weep under the sense of their pains for ever. Josephus informs us that the Pharisees held that the souls of the wicked were to be punished, , with perpetual punishment; and that there was appointed for them, , a perpetual prison. Philo saith, The punishment of the wicked person is, , to live for ever dying, and to be for ever in pains, and griefs, and calamities that never cease: accordingly our Lord says of them, that they shall go away into eternal punishment, Mat 25:41; that God will destroy the soul and body in hell, Mat 10:28; and here, that their worm dieth not, and their fire is not quenched. Whence the doctor concludes, 1st, That though it is not to be doubted that the expression, the worm dieth not, is to be understood figuratively of remorse of conscience and keen self-reflection; yet, that the bodies of the wicked shall suffer in fire, properly so called, this he thinks being suitable not only to the tradition of the Jewish and of the Christian Church, but to the constant phraseology of the Scriptures. And, 2dly, That the punishment of the wicked shall be, strictly speaking, eternal; this also being the constant opinion of the Christian Church, as he shows in a note on Heb 6:2; and this punishment being consistent with divine justice and goodness, as he proves in his Appendix to 2 Thessalonians 1. It is justly added here, by Dr. Macknight, The most superficial reader must be sensible, that our Lords repeating so frequently his declaration concerning the duration of future punishments, has in it something very awful, and implies that mankind should attend to it as a matter of infinite importance to them. It likewise affords a lesson to all the ministers of the gospel, directing them to enforce the precepts of religion, which they inculcate, by frequently and earnestly holding forth to the view of their hearers the terrors of a future judgment.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 43
Offend; cause thee to sin.
Mark 9:43-48. This language is obviously figurative. The meaning is, give up every thing, however dear, which proves a temptation to sin, and a snare to the soul. A similar passage is recorded by Matthew as a part of the sermon on the mount. (Matthew 5:29,30.)
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44 Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
Several points here. It is better to cut off your hand if it offends you.
1. Not responding to your own sin can result in hell. If your hand offends you cutting it off is better than to allow it to cause you to end up in hell. Now, this is not literal – if your hand is offending you don’t chop it off, your insurance may not cover it. However if your hand causes you to sin, it would be better to cut it off than to allow its action to cause you to end in hell.
It would seem that God is quite serious about sin. Not like so many preachers of today that speak of missing the mark, or of disappointing God, but sin is wrong and it can cause you to go to hell. Our watered down preaching of today is a shame upon the church of our generation.
The current church is more interested in entertainment and numbers than in telling people of their sin.
Recently I read of some people’s concern about the denominational VBS materials they had used this year. Several observed and agreed that it presented a very watered down Gospel. They noted that “sin” was not discussed in their materials and that they were very disappointed. Several others on the forum were rather incensed at the accusations and thought that the material did a good job.
Some are discerning and others are enablers of the system by their acceptance of the norm.
2. Hell’s fire is never quenched.
A simple yet so misunderstood statement. We ran into a young man who told me that hell’s fire and torment was only a temporary thing, that after you were purified you would be transferred to heaven – yea, right as if the Lord Jesus Christ did not know what He was saying.
Now a bit of irony here, my wife had a rich relative that always said that he was taking his money with him. He declared boldly that he had an asbestos coffin. Now we all know asbestos relates to an insulating material that insulates against fire, however in our text the phrase “that shall never be quenched” is the translation of one Greek word which just happens to be “asbestos” which means not to be quenched or unquenchable.
This fire is definitely not something that will go out just as you get uncomfortable; it is a fire that will continue on for your eternal existence. Gill points out that this fire refers to the valley of Hinnom that was actually the Jerusalem city dump where the fire was continually burning to destroy the polluted animals and trash of the city. You can imagine the Lord using such a visual to illustrate His comments.
Robertson adds a little further information about the valley, “The Valley of Hinnom had been desecrated by the sacrifice of children to Moloch so that as an accursed place it was used for the city garbage where worms gnawed and fires burned. It is thus a vivid picture of eternal punishment.”
I recall as a young boy, my father taking me to our city dump in a small town in the Midwest to shoot our little twenty-two rifle. I liked going out to shoot rats, but I can, to this day, remember the smell of burning garbage and furniture etc. I really disliked that end of the time with my father. I know, quality time with your son – going to the city dump to shoot rats – well in the forties that was a splurge for many families when it came to “bonding” time.
3. Hell is not annihilation. If, as we have already seen, the fire is non ending, then the existence there most likely is also non ending. Hell is not a temporary stop-off or transfer station for the lost it is a destination.
I have always played a little game with my mind relating to just who gained eternal life through the shed blood of Christ. I am almost persuaded that all gain eternal life, both the believer and the lost. He paid the price for all, all is available to all of mankind. The fact that they reject His gracious invitation to heaven is their own fault and of their own doing, not God’s. If they choose to spend their eternity in hell, in darkness, in fire and in eternal torment so be it. They were given opportunity, they were given revelation, yet they rejected that revelation and chose their eternal destination.
If this be true, can we ever give witness to the Gospel without a clear understanding of hell also being given? To share the love of Christ without the knowledge of hell is to share only part of the message. Our church today is so tied up in anti theological rhetoric that they fail to teach their congregations that the loving God is also a just and vengeful God that has set the standards and will enforce them no matter if we give a Reader’s Digest version of His message or not.
Accepting Christ must be based on understanding who we are in our lost condition, where we are heading due to our lost condition and that Christ can remedy both conditions through a proper understanding of Who He is and what He has done.
4. Just in case you missed it, the fire is never quenched. Need we say this? Probably not, but let no one suggest that fair warning was not given.
We have another very similar illustration. This time it is the foot that might offend. These are not to be taken literally, or the thought of really cutting your hand or foot off, but rather just the realization of just how serious sin is for the believer.
Indeed, if you cannot control your body then loosing part of it would be the more preferable. Theconclusion might be that we are able and capable of controlling our bodies and keeping them from offending us.
Fuente: Mr. D’s Notes on Selected New Testament Books by Stanley Derickson
Failure in self-discipline 9:43-50 (cf. Matthew 18:8-14)
Jesus’ proceeded to elaborate on the importance of disciples dealing radically with sin in their lives. He had just warned about leading other disciples astray. Now He cautioned against being led astray oneself.
"Seducing simple souls is disastrously easy work; but still more easy is seducing oneself, by letting the body lead the spirit astray." [Note: Plummer, p. 226.]
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Jesus compared the members of the human body to the agents of sinful activities. He did not want His disciples to perform physical surgery but spiritual surgery to excise the sin within us. The language is hyperbolic, but Jesus described real sins. The threefold repetition highlights the importance of the warning (cf. Rom 6:12-13).
"It was not a Palestinian custom to refer to an abstract activity but to the specific member of the body which is responsible for it. For this reason Jesus speaks of the offending hand, foot and eye, all members which have highly important functions to fulfill." [Note: Lane, pp. 347-48.]
"As a surgeon does not hesitate to cut off a gangrenous hand to save a life, so evil and destructive practices, though precious to us as a very part of our lives, must be sacrificed to save the soul [person]." [Note: Hiebert, p. 232.]
"Hell" translates the Greek word gehenna, the transliteration of the Hebrew phrase ge hinnom (lit. "Valley of Hinnom"). This valley, just south of Jerusalem, is where apostate Jews formerly offered human sacrifices to the pagan god Molech (cf. Jer 7:31; Jer 19:5-6; Jer 32:35). King Josiah terminated this practice and converted the site into a city dump where rubbish burned constantly (2Ki 23:10). The fire never went out at gehenna and the worms that fed on the garbage never died. Unquenchable fire must be eternal. [Note: Lenski, p. 408.] External fire and internal worms are Old Testament pictures of destruction (cf. Isa 66:24). Thus gehenna became a picture of the place of eternal punishment (Enoch 27:2; 90:26), not annihilation. [Note: See Robert A. Peterson, "Does the Bible Teach Annihilationism?" Bibliotheca Sacra 156:621 (January-March 1999):13-27.] The word gehenna appears 12 times in the New Testament, and in all but one of these occurrences Jesus spoke it (i.e., Jas 3:6).
Disciples should take prompt and decisive action against anything that might lead them away from their allegiance to Jesus. Physical temptations come through the hands (what we do), the feet (where we go), and the eyes (what we see) primarily. Disciples who are believers will suffer the loss of rewards in the kingdom if they do not exercise self-discipline. Disciples who are unbelievers will experience eternal damnation if they fail to do so.
Mar 9:44; Mar 9:46 are absent in important early manuscripts. Probably scribes added them later to fill out the parallelism in the passage. They repeat Mar 9:48.