My Walk Through the Book of Mark by Annette Godtland

Jesus Warns of Offenses (Mark 9:42-48)

42"But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea. 43If your hand causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed, rather than having two hands, to go to hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-- 44where

'Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.'

45And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, rather than having two feet, to be cast into hell, into the fire that shall never be quenched-- 46where

'Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.'

47And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire-- 48where

'Their worm does not die
And the fire is not quenched.'

Read literally, Jesus' warning of causing one of His children to stumble, is a pretty harsh statement. But I don't think Jesus is warning of tripping one of His children who is walking by. That would be bad. But I think he is instead referring to causing anyone who believes in Christ to stumble in his faith. That would be worse. And what would be worse than having a millstone around your neck and being thrown into the sea? Being tossed into hell where the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched.

I find it curious that it uses the phrase "the worm does not die and the fire is not quenched." I have always imagined the eternal fire in hell, but what of the worm? The first thing that comes to mind is the worms that devour the body after death. The other is the snake, the form that Satan took in the garden. Either way, I get the impression that this is referring to torment, a torment that never dies. I think of the fire as eternal pain, and the worm as emotional torment.

Back to the warning, my attention is caught by the part of this warning where it says "to stumble". It doesn't say "to fall", or "to drag down so he can never get back up", but simply "to stumble". We are being told that even something that seems as minor as making someone stumble a little in their faith is a very major deal.

Because this is together with the initial warning, I think the rest of this verse is regarding how we might sin by causing someone else to stumble. How do we make someone else stumble with our hands, feet, or eyes? Adultery is the most obvious example. But we could also make someone stumble through other temptations. It may be by what we give them or do with them, where we take them, or even how we react to them. They can read our reactions and our feelings in our eyes.

Jesus says we are better off without the ability to do these things, than to lose our eternal soul. It is within our control. We are to remove ourselves from what we could be doing that might cause someone else to stumble, even if it means removing all possibility of doing other things.