WHAT WE DO AFFECTS OTHERS, AND IT’S ABOUT ETERNITY

Sermon Text, St. Mark 9:42-50 (ESV). “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea. And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than with two hands to go to hell, to the unquenchable fire. And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame than with two feet to be thrown into hell. And if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into hell, ‘where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.’ For everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Lord, this is Your Word and these are Your words. Sanctify us by the truth. Your Word is truth. By these words place a close guard over our hands, feet, and eyes so that we truly walk on the way of truth to life everlasting. Amen.

Dear fellow redeemed in Christ, who is not willing for any of His “little ones” to be thrown into hell: Grace to you and peace be multiplied (1Pe 1:2). Amen.

What Jesus says starts out so innocent and happy – “these little ones who believe in Me” – but it ends up like a horror movie, this talk of drowning in the ocean, body parts being cut off, and if not, being “thrown into hell, where their worm” – as in maggots – “does not die, and the fire is not quenched,” burning forever. How did we end up there, when it starts out so innocent and happy?

That’s exactly Jesus’ point. He wants us to ask this question. He wants us to ask how someone who starts out as the happiest of babies – baptized and “believing in Him” – can end up thrown into hell, where there is eternal torment – “where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.”

Jesus wants us to picture this. He actually did picture it for the disciples. We’ve been on this section of Mark for 3 Sundays. Jesus is teaching His disciples privately, inside a house in Capernaum. In case we’ve forgotten, Jesus had just responded to the disciples’ bickering about who would be greatest, by bringing a little child into the circle of disciples. He then put the boy into His lap.

When Jesus says, “one of these little ones who believe in Me,” the child is still in Jesus’ lap. And when He says, “to go to hell … to be thrown into hell … to be thrown into hell, where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched,” the little boy is still in His lap. The disciples look at this little boy, and just taking in the words about this little one being able to believe in Jesus, on equal footing with them, now they have to picture this boy suffering eternal torment. As they look at each other, they take to heart Jesus’ words that it’s possible for things they say and do to cause this little boy’s damnation.

We might think “How mean of Jesus.” Shouldn’t He shoo the child from the room first? Why must they picture torture in hell and put faces they know there? It seems cruel. But what’s really cruel would be to hide this from everyone, kids included. Its love for Jesus reveals what the world denies:

What We Do Affects Others, And It’s About Eternity

This tells us why Jesus shows us this horror movie of a person having a heavy “millstone” put around his neck and dropped in the deep abyss of the ocean, and then others who, Jesus says, should have their hands or feet cut off or their eyes put out. These disciples will be the future pastors of Jesus’ church. They know the nice part, the “fishers of men” part, getting to bring people into God’s kingdom. But the bringing-in isn’t all there is. Equally important is the staying-in.

Jesus warns the disciples that they can be to blame for these “little ones” in the faith being left outside. This happens if they make an obstacle for someone’s faith – for example, if the little fishes see the fishers of men argue over who’s the greatest, becoming divided; or if we preach one way but live the opposite; or if Christians don’t use the sword of God’s Word, if desire for approval or fearing for reputation leads them to be silent about what God’s Word says (epistle).

The message here is that what we do affects others. Jesus aims this especially at pastors and teachers, at those who have positions of responsibility in the church, at older more experienced Christians, at parents and grandparents, all those who have “littler ones” looking up to them, looking to them for guidance.

This is a burden to us. It adds pressure. So naturally we want to give it up. If there’s something we want, we don’t want to be restricted or told no. If it affects others, well, that’s their problem. Jesus says, no it isn’t. It’s your problem. What you do affects others in your life. If you’re complaining about the pastor, if the pastor is complaining about people, if you’re speaking evil of the government leaders, talking back to your teachers, complaining about your job, don’t be surprised if it comes out of the mouths of those who hear you say all this.

What about what you do with your hands – if you hit or hurt, or are careless with your work, or use your money only in self-serving ways? What about what you do with your feet – if you run away from a problem, stay away from church, if recreation takes you away from church or other duties? What about what you see with your eyes – letting your eyes take in what God says is unclean? While these are forgivable sins, they have an effect, not only you but on those around you. Your drifting into uncleanness affects them, since you’re connected to them.

If you are unserious about these sins, the “little ones” in your life will be unserious about them too. Jesus isn’t really saying to cut off the hand, foot or eye. He is saying to cut yourself off from the temptations, to be horrified by these things because He shows where they end. First He says it about the fact that a person would “go to hell,” due to their own actions; then twice He describes it as being “thrown into hell,” which refers to the fact that it’s God’s judgment – not something God wants to do but it’s a result of rejecting God’s call to repent.

In the details about the unending decay and unending burning, Jesus is showing how real and how terrible hell is. But more than that, He wants you to picture this happening to you and to your “little ones,” that is, your children, your spouse, for a pastor it’s his church members, for people in the congregation it’s the people next to you in the pew, and for all of us inside the church it’s especially the people who are outside, who don’t know Christ yet, who are the “little ones” who would perish, who might be offended through our lack of concern for them or because our life doesn’t match what we claim to believe.

Why does Jesus want you to picture them in hell? Not because He wants that to happen to them or to you. He doesn’t! That’s why He’s saying this.

Could Jesus keep all His little ones safely in His kingdom without our efforts? Conceivably, yes. He can do all things. But He’s chosen to do it through people. He puts His little ones in the care of others through whom He takes care of them. He puts them in the care of those who will take care of them imperfectly.

This doesn’t make sense. Why does God put His little ones in the care of us who are too weak to do the job right? That’s just it. He works through weakness.

“God has chosen the weak things of this world to put to shame the mighty” (1Co 1:27). It starts with Jesus. He became weak for us. While He was doing the strongest thing of all – overcoming every temptation – He looked weak: He endured hunger, received slaps, was taken advantage of and misunderstood.

Then consider the very real hell and its torments. How did Jesus defeat hell? Through suffering. When He was forsaken by God on the cross He was suffering the torments of hell, which Jesus pictures for us here. He suffered it instead of us. By taking your weakness to be His own, Jesus saved you from sin, death and hell.

But then He also works through your weakness. These sins that you do with your body, this failing to be a good example, although it isn’t good He uses it. He shows you hell, which isn’t a fictional horror movie but more real and horrible than we can imagine – so that you’ll do what little children do in response to seeing something scary: run into Mommy’s or Daddy’s arms. You run to Him who loves you better than a mother, to your loving Father – you run to His Word and His Supper – and you are healed.

This is how you “have salt in yourselves” – and salt is a purifying agent – so this is about the purity Christ gives you as He cleanses you in His Word and in His Supper. Just as what we do that’s sinful affects others, even moreso what Jesus does for us as we receive His forgiveness affects others. Through your needing God’s forgiveness – and going often to receive it – others may see and want this beautiful gift. Through your needing His help to guard what your eyes see, restrain your lips and use your body for His glory, others may seek His help.

This is about eternity! As He keeps you and your loved ones from the horrors of hell, He’s bringing you to the inexpressible beauties of heaven. As Jesus keeps repeating “to enter life … to enter life,” He’s placing it in front of you. He wants you to picture yourself, your child, your spouse, everyone in your life – He wants pastors to picture their church members, He wants you to picture the person next to you in the pew – entering heaven.

When does He do this? Whenever you hear the Gospel! When you hear that your sins are forgiven, when you eat and drink the forgiveness of sins in His Supper – and see people next to you partaking – you are to see them all entering heaven. This is how you not only “have salt in yourselves” – clean through His Word – but also you have “peace with one another” as He promises. Amen!