Mark 9:42-48
42“And if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to
be thrown into the sea with a large millstone tied around his neck. 43If your hand causes you to sin, cut
it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into hell, where the fire never
goes out. 45And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to
have two feet and be thrown into hell. 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 than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell, 48where
“„their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.‟ (Isaiah 66:24)
“Cut off the Cause of Sin”
“He should have been cut off.” That was the remark that was made by the public the next day as they read
the newspaper article. The man had been drinking all night, and when he got up to leave it wasn’t the first
time he had done this. He had driven like that many times before. Have a few, have a few more, and head
home. But that night, he never made it out of the parking lot. Because as he backed out of his parking spot
and took off to go home, he ended up hitting and killing a 3 and 5 year old child. Did he mean to? No, but he
should have been cut off. So, is it the bartenders fault then? No. Is it the alcohol’s fault? No. It’s the man who
chose to drive. It’s the man who chose to get drunk and chose to disobey the law. It’s his fault, he’s the one
who should have cut himself off from the cause of his drunkenness.
In a way, Jesus tells us that we should CUT OFF THE CAUSE OF SIN today, and he’s not just talking
about drunkenness. He wants us to Cut off all the pet sins and things that we hold onto so tightly and insist on
doing that are clearly against his will and commands. Cut off the things that the world holds as so right, but in
God’s eyes, are so wrong. Cut off the things that cause us to sin. While this might seem like a hyperbole, to
those who live on earth. This is something that God’s people want to do completely, in Christ.
1.
On earth, a hyperbole
I just used a word, that perhaps some of you are not familiar with. Hyperbole. The word means an
exaggeration. It is usually used to make a point. And Jesus makes a point today to his disciples. Not only did
Jesus tell them, what we heard last Sunday, whoever wants to be first must be the very last and the servant
of all, but he also takes into his arms a little child and says, whoever welcomes one of these little children in
my name welcomes me. And you can just see that he is still holding the little child in his arms and still
teaching his disciples. See, they had just come from doing what they thought was a good thing. They had told
a man who was casting out demons in Jesus name to quit doing it. Now they were looking for a pat on the
back from Jesus for their good work. They wanted to give Jesus one more chance to answer which of them
was the greatest. It was as though they had not heard a word of what Jesus just told them. Their prideful
hearts still sought credit for being the greatest.
Here is where Jesus makes his point. He takes them back to the child. It seems that he is still holding onto
the little one or at least is in close proximity to a group of children. He refers to one of them. If anyone
causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin (note that little children can believe – another reason
that baptism is essential for them), it would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a large millstone
around his neck. A millstone was used for crushing grain. It was pulled in a circle by a donkey or ox. It was
heavy thing, weighing anywhere from 2000 lbs to 12000lbs. To tie one of those around your neck and throw
you into the sea warrants death.
Why is the punishment so severe? Because the sin is so severe. Jesus is beginning to tell us to cut off the
cause of sin. The one who causes a little one who already believes to fall away would be better off thrown
into the sea with a millstone around his neck. What does this impress on us?
1. God is serious about sin. God is serious. When a parent has been given a child as a gift on loan from
God to bring up in the training and instruction of the Lord, and the parents not only allows their child to fall
away, but even more causes their child to fall away from the faith. This is what Jesus is talking about. And it
isn’t just parents who by their own example of neglect of God’s Word, but also grandparents, teachers,
pastors, and members who say and do nothing. Parents are the most important ones because they are the care
givers, and the one that is seen most often. How many times the confirmed student fails to come back to hear
God’s Word because the parents don’t show by their example and life that being a child of God is important.
2. Baptism is necessary for children and a necessary part of being a parent. Baptism is not a magic potion
that when poured over a child, they are safe. It is also important that children not be caused to fall away after
God has given them that promise of life and salvation in Baptism. Again this is where parents, pastors, and
members of the congregation come in. Take out your hymnals and turn to page 14. Read that first paragraph
under Exhortation. These are not words, they are a promise that you make each time someone is baptized here
in God’s house.
3. God is serious about cutting off the cause of sin. That is why he gives 3 examples of things that ought to
be cut off if they cause you to sin. The hand, the foot, and the eye. All things that are needed and useful, and
yet all things that if they cause sin, should be cut off. Or the consequence is hell, where the worm does not
die and the fire is not quenched.
Now here is where we stop and say, yeah, but is that really what God wants me to do. If I steal something,
I should cut off my hand? If I look at something I shouldn’t, I should gouge out my eye? If I walk away from
someone in need, I should cut off my foot? Think about this for a moment. Was it the hand, or the eye, or the
foot that caused the sin? No. Then the hand, or eye, or foot is not the cause of sin therefore it should not be
cut off. The cause of sin, is something deeper. The deepest most essential organ to the human body, the heart.
So if we follow along with that same line of thinking, if my heart causes me to sin, gouge it out. But if I do
that, I will be taking my own life. The only problem with that thinking too is that even if I were able to cut
out/cut off the right organ or limb, I would still be a sinner. That would not get rid of the cause of it. There are
two reasons for this. 1. I am a sinner, born in sin, unable to do anything about it on my own. The only thing I
can do on my own is sin and sometimes I even choose to sin. That is the nature of my being. 2. I live in a sinfilled world. It’s all around me. I could cut off the arm or leg, but then it would be only a matter of hours,
even minutes before the other would have to be cut off too.
What is Jesus hyperbole saying then? It says two things. 1. Cut off the cause of your sin. You are going to
have to change the way you live . Maybe it’s not going to the bar anymore, maybe it’s getting rid of the TV or
the internet, maybe it’s not hanging out with those people anymore. Whatever causes you to sin, cut it out of
your life. This is something that is completely against what the world says, and yet completely in line with
living life as a sanctified Christian. 2. The single most important Jesus says. Since you cannot cut out your
own sin. Since you cannot cut out completely the things that cause you to sin in this world. Since God
demands perfection or hell is the consequence. You need desperate help. You need Christ to do it for you.
Only he can do it completely.
2.
In Christ, completely
Only he did do that completely for you. You see, in Jesus today we see him not only teaching people not to
cause others to fall away but also causing little children to come to him. He caused them not to sin, but to
believe and be saved.
This was not the only time he did this. Take time to read the scriptures and pay attention to the many
instances in Jesus ministry of how he was interested in causing people to be saved in Him, not in themselves.
From his dealings with the Pharisees, and teachers of the law, to the crowds and the crippled, to those who
were lost like sheep without a shepherd, to even the little children as we heard today. Jesus did this work
perfectly and completely.
We on the other hand do not. We cannot. When is the last time you grew frustrated with your child
because they didn’t want to do something that you don’t do yourself. From eating vegetables, to learning
memory work, from going to Sunday school/Bible study to leading a God pleasing life. Instead of enabling
and in essence being the cause of sin, be the cause of their relationship with Christ. Repent with your
children. Lead them in worshipping the Triune God in church and don’t parent them to church. Even more,
show them Christ’s love and forgiveness not just with your words but with your life. Most importantly,
realize that no matter how hard you try not to cause someone else to sin, you and I will fail miserably. We
will be incomplete.
This is why Christ is such a wonderful cause for rejoicing. In Christ, we were not cut off completely from
heaven, but he was. He became the cause of our sin, there on the cross though he was without sin. He felt the
blow of sin as the worms and fire were quenched in him and his complete suffering. Where he was cut off
from his Father because of our sin, we were given cause to rejoice and bring others to the same cause.
Having seen and heard this Christ Jesus, go now. Cut off the causes of sin in your life, whatever they may
be. See the cause in Christ, who has made you complete in his perfect life and being cut off in death only to
rise again overcoming that sin for you. He gives that to each one of us in Baptism. He continues to reassure us
in that precious meal, and strengthens and keep us completely in Him through his Word. Keep the cause of
sin cut off in Christ. AMEN.