Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 18:9
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast [it] from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
Mat 18:6; Mat 18:9
Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee.
Renouncing things that hinder
The every-sided development of all our faculties, the inferior, as well as the more elevated, is certainly to be regarded as the highest attainment, yet he who finds by experience that he cannot cultivate certain faculties-the artistic for example-without injury to his holiest feelings, must renounce their cultivation, and make it his first business, with painstaking fidelity, to preserve entire the innermost life of his soul, that higher life imparted to him by Christ, and which, by the dividing and distracting of his thoughts, might easily be lost, nor must it give him any disturbance, if some subordinate faculty be thus wholly sacrificed by him. Assuredly, however, we must add, that this loss is only in appearance, for, in the development of mans higher life, everything of a subordinate kind which he had sacrificed is again restored with increase of power. (Olshausen.)
Better suffer than sin
It is not merely that we should abstain from actual wrong-doing. That of course. It is not even that we should shun the avenues of sin; but, whatever the pain or loss involved, we are utterly to renounce that which we find to be the occasion of sin. The merely literal and outward is not the thing to dwell open. A man might cut off both hands, or pluck out both eyes, and yet leave the root of sin untouched. What Christ summons to is the surrender of everything, however pleasant, or dear, or seemingly necessary for the present life, and whatever suffering there may be in the surrender, rather than sin against God. The boldly figurative language well expresses the intensity of the change. (Dr. Culross.)
Moral surgery
I. That the sinners sin is his own-a part of himself. Thy right hand. Few people admit the ownership of their sins.
II. That deliverance from sin can be effected only through the sinners own act. Cut it off.
1. Painful. Cut it off.
2. Promptness. Cut with a determined stroke.
3. Persistent. Cut it off.
III. That heroically, in order to make reformation a permanent blessing, must the sinner abandon his sin. Cast it from thee.
1. This figure is suggestive of danger. The last resort.
2. The great Physician Himself urges the operation.
3. Every consideration, past, present, and future calls upon the sinner to decide. It is profitable for thee.
4. The fearful consequences of neglect. Cast into hell. (J. Kelly.)
Self-discipline
The Rev. R. Cecil possessed remarkable decision of character. When he went to Cambridge he made a resolution of restricting himself to a quarter of an hour daily in playing the violin-on which instrument he greatly excelled, and of which he was extravagantly fond; but, on finding it impracticable to adhere to his determination he cut the strings, and never afterwards replaced them. He had studied for a painter; and retained through a life a fondness and taste for the art. He was once called to visit a sick lady, in whose room there was a painting which so strongly attracted his notice, that he found his attention diverted from the sick person and absorbed by the painting; from that moment he formed the resolution of mortifying a taste which he found so intrusive, and so obstructive to him in his nobler pursuits and determined never again to frequent the exhibition.
Self-mortification
This is the circumcision of the heart, the mortifications of earthly members, which is no less hard to be done than for a man with one hand to cut off the other, or to pull out his own eyes, and then rake in the holes where they grew. And yet, hard or not hard, it must be done; for otherwise we are utterly undone for ever. Hypocrites, as artificial jugglers, seem to wound themselves, but do not: as stage-players, they seem to thrust themselves through their bodies, whereas the sword passeth only through their clothes. But the truly religious lets out the life-blood of his beloved lusts, lays them all dead at his feet, and burns their bones to lime, as the king of Moab did the king of Edom (Amo 2:1). As Joshua put down all the Canaanites, so doth grace all corruptions. As Asa deposed his own mother, so doth this, the mother of sin. It destroys them not by halves, as Saul; but hews them in pieces before the Lord, as Samuel. (John Trapp.)
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 9. See Clarke on Mt 18:8.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
[See comments on Mt 18:8].
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
Ver. 9. Pluck it out ] This is the circumcision of the heart, the mortification of earthly members, which is no less hard to be done than for a man with one hand to cut off the other, or to pull out his own eyes, and then rake in the holes where they grew. And yet, hard or not hard, it must be done; for otherwise we are utterly undone for ever. Hypocrites, as artificial magicians, seem to wound themselves, but do not: as stage players, they seem to thrust themselves through their bodies, whereas the sword passeth only through their clothes. But the truly religious lets out the life blood of his beloved lusts, lays them all dead at his feet, and burns their bones to lime, as the king of Moab did the king of Edom,Amo 2:1Amo 2:1 . As Joshua put down all the Canaanites, so doth grace all corruptions. As Asa deposed his own mother, so doth this, the mother of sin. It destroys them not by halves, as Saul, but hews them in pieces before the Lord, as Samuel.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
9. ] , in classical Greek, is ‘ born blind of one eye; ’ here it is used for . See Herod. iii. 116.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 18:9 . , the eye, referred to as the means of expressing contempt ; in chap. Mat 5:29 as inciting to lust . , properly should mean having only one eye by nature, but here = wanting an eye, for which the more exact term is , vide Lobeck, Phryn., p. 136.
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
9.] , in classical Greek, is born blind of one eye; here it is used for . See Herod. iii. 116.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 18:9. , eye) The eye offends by pride, as in this place; by envy, as in Mar 7:22; by wantonness [as in Mat 5:28-29.] There is a gradation here; for the eye is dearer than the hand or foot. Frequently, when the offence of one member has been conquered, offence ensues from another.-, with one eye) , has the same force in Matthew and Mark as has in Ammonius.- , hell) eternal fire: see the preceding verses.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
hell
gehenna. (See Scofield “Mat 5:22”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
to enter: Mat 19:17, Mat 19:23, Mat 19:24, Act 14:22, Heb 4:11, Rev 21:27
rather: Mat 16:26, Luk 9:24, Luk 9:25
Reciprocal: Deu 32:22 – lowest Psa 18:23 – I kept Pro 23:2 – General Isa 30:33 – Tophet Mat 5:22 – hell Mat 5:29 – if Mar 9:43 – if Luk 16:23 – in hell
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Mat 18:9. The hell of fire. The only variation between this verse and the last and a suggestive one (comp. the more detailed form in Mar 9:43-48). Certain and awful future punishment is threatened in cases where some darling sin (or cause of sin) is preferred to Christ.