Mark wrote how Jesus said, “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. And if your hand offend you, cut it off: it is better for you to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched. Where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched”, and in chapter nine and verse forty-five of his book, Mark shared how Jesus said, “if your foot offend you, cut it off” where we read:
And if your foot offend you, cut it off: it is better for you to enter halt into life,
than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
The verse reads, “And if your foot offend you, cut it off: it is better for you to enter halt into life, ...” Mark began with the words, “and if your foot offend you” which means “and whether a disciple of Jesus' physical foot stumbles or impedes them”, “cut it off” or “mutilate and amputate the foot”: “it is better for you” which means “it is more excellent, advantageous, surpassing, precious and useful” “to enter halt into life” or “to make entrance into, arrive or come forth maimed, limping and crippled into the absolute fullness of life, both essential and ethical, which belongs to God”. Mark shared how Jesus said an offensive “foot” should be “amputated” if it keeps a person from entering into the “fullness” of “life” with God.
The verse continues, “... than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:” Mark added the words, “than having two feet” which means “than possessing and keeping both physical feet” “to be cast into hell” or “and be thrown into and scattered into the place of the future punishment called "Gehenna" or "Gehenna of fire”, “into the fire” which refers to “into the fiery burning fire” “that never shall be quenched” or “that in no way and not at all will be extinguished and suppressed”. Mark shared how Jesus declared a person who has an “offensive foot” and does not “amputate it” will be worse off when they are “thrown into hell” because they kept their foot.
When we meditate upon Mark's words in this verse, we may find this very difficult to understand. How could a “hand” or “foot” be offensive enough to make a person go to “hell” if they don't “amputate” it? The idea is to “remove” that which is “offensive” to the Lord, and there is nothing on earth more valuable than a person's “eternal life”. What happens after a person “physically dies” is eternal. Those who receive God's Son Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord” will receive “everlasting life”, and those who “hold on to” their “offensive things” and thereby reject Jesus, will be “cast into hell”. Jesus told His disciples about this horrible place, and those who think this through should align themselves with what Jesus said not only for themselves, but also for those who are “offensive” and do not believe.
Next time Mark shares how Jesus repeats the phrase, “where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
All references are from "Strongs Concordance".
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