Mark 9:42-50
Summary for Mark 9:42-50: 9:42-50 a if you cause ... sin: The consequences of causing sin ties these verses together (9:42-43 b, 45 c, 47 d). These sayings were not meant to be interpreted literally, for carrying them out would not prevent sin (see Matt 15:10-20 e). What Jesus conveys by these warnings is that no sin is worth going to hell for. It is better to repent—even if repenting is as painful as cutting off a hand, foot, or eye—than to suffer the punishment of hell.9:43 f hell: Greek Gehenna, referring to the Valley of Hinnom, which bordered Jerusalem on the southwest. It was a garbage dump for the city, and the continual burning of refuse there became a metaphor for the final place of judgment for the wicked.
Summary for Mark 9:43-48: 9:43-48 g Most of the best manuscripts do not include 9:44 h, 46 i, but a few include them. These two verses were almost certainly copied from 9:48 j and were not in the original text of Mark.
9:48 k The eternality of hell is emphasized by the phrases never die and never goes out (cp. 9:43 l). The horror of hell is emphasized by its portrayal as a place of everlasting fire, and of decay and corruption where maggots eternally eat everything away. The putrid smell of decay and the presence of maggots in the Valley of Hinnom may lie behind this imagery (see study note on 9:43). This imagery is a powerful warning for people to repent in order to escape the punishment of hell.
Summary for Mark 9:49-50: 9:49-50 m tested with fire: Literally salted with fire. The fire of testing has a purifying effect, like salt (see also 1 Pet 1:7 n; 4:12 o; Rev 3:18 p). Salt also refers to Christian character. Genuine Christian character will have a genuinely purifying influence.
• But if it loses its flavor: The salt mined from the Dead Sea often contained gypsum, so although it looked like perfectly good salt, it was useless. It did not taste salty, and it created a disposal problem.
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