http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 1 John Rebuked for His Zeal Matthew 18:6-14 Mark 9:38-50 Luke 9:49, 50
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 2 Texts: Matthew 18:6-14, John Rebuked for His Zeal 6. But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea. 7. Woe unto the world because of offences! For it must needs he that offences come but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! 8. Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. 10. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. 11. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. 12. How think ye? If a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13. And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 3 Mark 9:38-50, 38. And John answered him, saying, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbade him, because he followeth not us. 39. But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me. 40. For he that is not against us is on our part. 41. For whosoever shall give you a cup of water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward. 42. And 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. 43. And if thy hand offend thee, cut if off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 44. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 45. And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: 46. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 47. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: 48. Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. 49. For every one shall be salted with fire, and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt. 50. Salt is good: but if the salt have lost his saltness, wherewith will ye season it? Have salt in yourselves, and have peace one with another.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 4 Luke 9:49, 50, 49. And John answered and said, Master, we saw one casting out devils in thy name; and we forbade him, because he followeth not with us. 50. And Jesus said unto him, Forbid him not: for he that is not against us is for us. Note: Verses 44 and 46 were added sometime after the original text, but are not needed since they only repeat verse 48. Commentary: I. Whoever offends/causes to sin/to lose his soul a spiritually weak person/a child who believes in Jesus has committed a grievous sin. A. It would have been better for him had a millstone (used in grinding grain) been hanged about his neck and he had been drowned in the depth of the sea. 1. This millstone is the great millstone turned by an animal. 2. Smaller millstones were turned by hand. B. Contributing to the loss of another person's soul is an extremely serious matter. II. The world is grievously affected by offences/sins/wickednesses. A. It is not possible to eliminate all offences from the world. B. The world is our testing place.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 5 1. 1 Corinthians 11:19, For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you. 2. Mark 13:7, And when ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. 3. Acts 14:21, 22, And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and Antioch, Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God. C. However, the man who commits offences will be severely punished. III. Extreme measures may be necessary for a person to avoid committing offences. A. If our eyes, hands or feet cause us to sin, we are to pluck them out/cut them off and throw them away. 1. In some countries hands, feet and eyes are taken as penalties for crime. B. It is better to lose body parts than to continue in sin and lose our souls in unquenchable, everlasting fire/hell fire. Note: It is somewhat ironic that the Greek word asbestos used with fire means a fire which is unquenchable, while in English, asbestos is the name given to material which is less likely to catch fire.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 6 C. In hell their worm, spirit does not die. Eternal punishment is here taught. D. It is far better to enter into heaven with one foot, one eye, one hand than to be cast into hell with all our body parts. E. Are feet, eyes and hands literal, physical or both? F. Most commentators believe this is a metaphor meaning that disciples are to give up anything and everything that hinders our spiritual service. G. Jesus said this more than once. Matthew 5:28-30, But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart. And if thy right eye offend thee pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. And if thy right hand offend thee, cut if off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell. H. Surgical amputations are performed to spare the rest of the body from the spread of disease. IV. Be extremely careful not to despise/neglect/look down upon one of these little ones because: A. Their angels are always in the presence of Almighty God and will speak to him about your evil attitudes/deeds and God will exact retribution. B. On whom do we look down? Despising the poor, the lowly and the humble is anti-christian.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 7 V. The Son of man came to seek and save that which is lost. A. We are to work in harmony with Jesus' plans; that is, to save the lost. B. We must never work contrary to Jesus' purposes. VI. Jesus asked, What do you think? This was a rhetorical question asked to focus attention on the subject. A. Does not a shepherd who has 100 sheep and finds one missing leave the 99 in safety while he goes even into the mountains seeking the one that strayed away and is in danger? 1. This parable was related by Jesus at least twice. Luke 15:3-7, And he spake this parable unto them, saying, What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance. 2. In scripture goats represent sinners and sheep represent Christians. B. When he finds the lost sheep he is so happy that he rejoices more over the lost sheep than for the other 99 who were in safety.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 8 C. The point is that God does not want/will anyone to be lost! D. Christ came to seek and to save the lost. This is our work also. VII. John the apostle and son of Zebedee told Jesus the disciples had seen a man casting out demons in Jesus' name. A. John was evidencing a party spirit and sectarian attitude here. B. The human temptation to channel all good through our own hands and to despise all groups except our own is evident here. (Coffman, Mark, p. 175.) C. The apostles had told him to cease and desist because he did not follow the main group traveling with Jesus, was not one of us. D. Jesus told John, Do not forbid him to cast out devils in my name because... 1. A man who does miracles in the name of Jesus will not speak evil of Christ thoughtlessly, quickly. 2. He that is not against us is on our side, for us. 3. Were exorcists plentiful in the first century world? Were they real or quacks? 4. Luke 11:23, He that is not with me is against me: and he that gathereth not with me scattereth. E. Anyone who gives you a cup of water to drink because you are Jesus' disciples will not lose his reward.
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 9 F. Everyone will be salted with fire. Every sacrifice is salted with salt. 1. Leviticus 2:13, And every oblation of thy meat offering shalt thou season with salt; neither shalt thou suffer the salt of thy covenant of thy God to be lacking from thy meat offering: with all thine offerings thou shalt offer salt. G. Salt is good only so long as it has not lost its saltiness, has not been overly mixed with inert ingredients. 1. If salt has lost its ability to preserve it cannot be reconstituted and is to be discarded. 2. Disciples are to have salt in ourselves. 3. Disciples are to have/show peace to one another; that is, a. brotherly-love b. forbearance c. kindness d. courtesy e. consideration
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 10 John Rebuked for His Zeal Questions 1. It is better for a person to have a about his and for that person to be in the depths of the than for him to one of the little which on Jesus. 2. come, but to that by whom the comes. 3. If your or your you, cut it off and cast it from you: It is better to enter into or than having or to be cast into. 4. If your you, pluck it out and it from you. It is better to enter into with one, rather than having two to be cast into. 5. If you steal with your left hand and cut if off, couldn't you keep stealing with your right hand? If you lust with your right eye and pluck it out, couldn't you keep lusting with your left eye? 6. What did Jesus mean by these statements?
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 11 7. Don't despise one of God's because their in do always behold the of the in. 8. The of came to that which was. Don't get in his way! 9. If a man has an, and one of them goes, does he not leave the and and go into the to that which is gone. 10. When the finds the, he rejoices more for that than for the and that did not go. 11. It is the will of your which is in heaven that even of these should. 12. said,, we saw one casting out in your ; and we him because he not with us. 13. told, him not: because he that is not us is us. 14. In what situations do we now have John's attitude?
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 12 15. Whoever gives a of to because you are of, he will not his. 16. Who were the little ones of whom Jesus spoke in Mark 9:42. Are these little ones the same as those who were casting out demons in verses 38, 39? 17. What is the worm of which Jesus spoke on Mark 9:48? 18. What is the salt of which Jesus spoke in Mark 9:50? 19. What did Jesus mean by the statement, Everyone will be salted with fire?
http://www.biblestudyworkshop.com 13 20. Jesus concluded by saying, Have in, and be at with. What does this mean for you and me?