If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea. If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than to have two hands and to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life lame than to have two feet and to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out; it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell, where their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.
For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good; but if salt has lost its saltiness, how can you season it? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another (Mark 9:42-50).
Sin separates us from God. It distorts God’s created order and replaces the will of God with human will. For Jesus, overcoming sin is serious business, and he pulls no punches in communicating to his followers what is at stake in how they live and lead others.
Jesus’ warnings about leading others astray are severe. It would be better, he says, if you were to hang a millstone around your neck than to lead one of the “little ones” astray. Millstones aren’t small. Their purpose is to crush grain, and their size and weight necessitate a donkey or other large animal to turn them. Jesus uses extreme imagery to drive home a point: those who lead others astray endanger their own salvation.
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