3 Warnings Mark 9:42-50

A park ranger at Yellowstone National Park was leading a group of hikers to a fire lookout. The ranger was so intent on telling the hikers about the flowers and animals that he considered the messages on his two-way radio distracting, so he switched it off. As the group neared the tower, the ranger was met by a nearly breathless lookout, who asked why he hadn’t responded to the messages on his radio. A grizzly bear had been seen stalking the group, and the authorities were trying to warn them of the danger.-Jesus Warns His Followers of the Dangers of Sin

I. Millstone Warning v. 42

In our passage tonight, Jesus delivers 3 warnings to His disciples.

The first is the “millstone” warning

In the previous passage, we saw how much weight Jesus gave to “little ones”

These are the least, the vulnerable, spiritually or physically immature, and prone to failing

If it is true that Jesus values their faith, it is also true that He cares for them and how they are treated

It is possible to cause them to stumble in their faith and lead them into sin:

There are a thousand different ways that this might play out

It could happen through false teaching or bad doctrine

It could take place through the introduction of a sinful habit in my expression of personal freedom

It could be through modeling poor attitudes or behaviors

It could be by involving them in controversy and conflict

Regardless, the impact is the same:

God judges this harshly: it would be better to be drowned than this!

This is not a statement of eternal judgment, but it is a recognition of the harsh discipline that our Father has even towards His own children when they engage in this kind of foolish or wicked behavior

I think that this has to be at the forefront of our attention as followers of Christ. I once had the good opportunity to blow up a bad deacon’s meeting. Truth be told, the brother that organized it probably deserved it! However, what stopped me was the recognition that two young men were attending their first ever deacon’s meeting. I knew that if I acted foolishly it could do serious damage to their faith. I didn’t and I believe that God has honored that.

II. Amputation Warning vv. 43-48

Next, we see Jesus warn about the dangers of sin; it’s so serious that He offers amputation as a solution!

We see 3 principles at play here:

A lifestyle of ongoing disobedience is costly!

Jesus is not setting aside salvation by grace through faith; instead He is warning that a life of rebellion is inconsistent with the character of a disciple of Jesus

We will be marked by the seriousness of our sacrifices as much as we are the nature of our rewards

Extreme obedience is highly valuable

Jesus uses these shocking images (not to be taken literally) of amputation:

The hand that acts with violence or snatches with greed

The foot that runs to pursue unrighteousness

The eye that looks with lust or deception

It is better to do whatever we have to do to pursue a holy life!

Hell is horrifying

Jesus uses an image of Gehenna, the valley where the trash was burned outside of Jerusalem to give us an image of the judgment to come

The fire and the worms never cease there! It is a picture that ought to make us squirm and show some fear!

The stakes are not heaven or not heaven; they are heaven or hell!

1500 Illustrations for Biblical Preaching Hell

Archimedes, one of the greatest of the ancient Greek mathematicians and scientists, was working on a math problem when his native city of Syracuse was conquered by the Roman general Marcellus in 212 B.C. The scientist ignored the final assault and continued working on his math while the enemy entered the gates of the city. As the Roman soldiers came down the street where Archimedes was, he continued to work the problem in the sand and offered no resistance, even as one of them ran him through with a sword and killed him.

Many unbelievers are somewhat like Archimedes, oblivious to what is really happening around them until it is too late to do anything about it

III. Salt Warning vv. 49-50

Finally, Jesus shifts the picture just a bit:

There is a fire that destroys, but there is also a fire that purifies

Sometimes, the fire salts us!

It is a beautiful thing to know that, as a believer, when I face the suffering and pain of the fire, God is changing me and making me “salty”. God uses these experiences to purify our character so that it preserves the world around us and serves to attract non-believers

There is a danger however: We might lose our saltiness

Why would I want to give back the character that I’ve gained through the fire?

Wouldn’t it be better to stay salty?

This salt, when it is within us, is what gives us peace. We must not lose it!

There is a story from the Arabian Nights about a Sultan who had three daughters and he wanted his daughters to come before the entire court, and to give expressions of love for him. He was an egomaniac, I think. "Come and tell me how much you love me." And so the first, the eldest daughter came and said, "You are the apple of my eye." Well that was old, but maybe back then it was not old, maybe it was new. "You are the apple of my eye, you are what I like to look at the most." The second daughter said something poetic like, "You are a fragrant breeze blowing across the garden." Well, that sounded good too. The third daughter, however, looked at him and she was the shrewdest, most clever of the three, and she said, "You are the salt in my food." And he was insulted by this. He thought, "This is terrible, how could you say this in front of all these people." He was angry and he told her to go out, go out from the court. Several weeks later she had the opportunity to demonstrate what she meant. She connived with the cook and said, "I want to cook his favorite meal but I am going to cook it my way." And so she cooked the meal, his favorite dish, without salt and she served it to him without any salt on the table. But she wore a veil. He did not know who she was, and he ate the food and it tasted just like Job said, "It tasted tasteless." There was something missing, and then she came in and she presented him with a gold tray and a little container of salt with the spoon, and he salted the food and it tasted good. At that moment she removed the veil and said, "Father, you are the salt in my food." And then he understood. Without salt, it was tasteless.