Friday, May 31, 2013

Mark 9:42-50

Jesus continues to teach His disciples.  He tells them that whoever causes one of the little ones of faith in Christ to sin would rather have a millstone hung around his neck and thrown into a sea to be drowned than to have to deal with the consequences from God.  Jesus then begins a graphic passage speaking about the intentionality of removing the things in your life that cause sin.  Jesus says that if our hand, foot, or eye causes us to sin we should remove it.  After all, it is better to enter heaven maimed than to go to hell but still have a whole body.   Jesus then tells us all that we will all be tested (literally, salted) with fire.  That testing is good; but if we lose the passion that comes through that testing what good are we?  We need to be passionate about our faith and at peace with one another.

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

Jesus opens with a unique phrase here.  Jesus says, “little ones in faith who believe in me.”  So often this passage gets spun in a “don’t make children sin” kind of way.  And certainly that applies.  But that isn’t really what Jesus is saying.  If Jesus wanted to talk about children, Jesus would have used the Greek word “paidon” (παιδίον) which means child in the most generic sense.  He could have also used the word “teknon” (τέκνον) which means child as in a term of endearment or as a descendant.  He could have used the word “huiothesia” (υοθεσία) which means child in the sense of an adoptive relationship.  But Jesus doesn’t even use a word for child in this passage.  Instead, Jesus uses a word we’re actually familiar with in English.  He uses the word “micros” (μικρός) which means smaller.  Now, it is no stretch to think that Jesus is talking about children, especially because in a fairly recent passage Jesus had just picked up a child.  However, to limit this passage to children does it an injustice.  Jesus is talking about ones who are “smaller in faith who believe in Jesus.”  Jesus is talking about children as well as new Christians.  Jesus is saying that we must be careful to not lead into sin any person who is new to their faith regardless of their age.  That’s really Jesus’ point.  This is a discipleship passage, not a child-rearing passage. This is a passage telling those of us who are spiritually mature to watch out and disciple those who are less spiritually mature.

How would a new believer be led into sin by another believer?  How is it possible for a new believer to be led into sin even while being among a community of believers?  Why is this a dynamic of which we need to be careful?

Second Thought:

Jesus also talks about our need to remove temptation out of our life.  Notice that Jesus does not say, “Limit our exposure to it.”  Jesus specifically says, “cut it off.”  When you cut something off, you get rid of it from your life.  When we “limit exposure” we are really saying, “I’m still open to sinning, I’m just going to manage it so that I don’t feel too guilty too often.”  That isn’t what Jesus is talking about.  If something leads you into sin, get rid of it!  It is better to enter into eternal life feeling like you missed out on something than to miss out on eternal life completely!

How good are you at cutting things out of your life?  Why do you think Jesus is so adamant about using words like “cut off?”  Why can this be a difficult process?

Third Thought:

Jesus also talks about being salted by fire.  In the Bible, fire is always a symbol of judgment.  Sometimes fire is bad – think of hell, condemnation, etc.  However, sometimes the image of fire is a good one – precious metals are made pure through fire.  It is this good sense that Jesus is using the image of fire in this passage.  We will be tested – purified.  Through that testing, we will discover what is truly important in life and what should be cut out.  But if we lose that sense of what is important from God’s perspective and continue to live according to what we should be cutting out of our life – what good are we to God?  We must always live for the things about which God is passionate.

About what has God created you to be passionate?  What does the world put in your way of being passionate?


Passage for Tomorrow: Mark 10:1-9

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