7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes! 8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. 9 If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell. 10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven.”
Continuing His warnings, Jesus adds force by starting with “Woe.” His teaching here is not to be trifled with! Further, his warning comes in a picturesque way, using a figure of speech called a metonymy, where one thing is used in the place of another. For example, the psalmist says, “My lips shall praise you,” the “lips,” which are the instrument of communication, are used by the writer in the place of the person himself. This adds emphasis and color to the point being made. Jesus uses “feet” as a metonymy, in place of the inner person who controls the feet, the real source of the problem. “But each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust. Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death” (James 1:14-15). So Jesus uses feet, hands, eyes as metonymies in a dramatic way to refer to the person himself.
The terseness of His warning is due to the use of another figure of speech called hyperbole, which is a rhetorical device that uses exaggeration to emphasize a point. The exaggeration in this case is to amputate one’s body part if it causes stumbling. The consequences are serious! An application of this teaching might be: if using the internet/TV/magazines cause a person to sin, he does well to eliminate it from his life altogether.
This message must have thrown Jesus’ listeners on their ears! As we have noted before, in those days physical suffering or disabilities were seen as God’s judgment. The spiritual economics of Jesus point to such maiming as actually a good thing because it avoids (in this hyperbolic sort of way) God’s judgment!
Coming full circle, Jesus adds a final motivation for not stumbling children, because they have a vital relationship with God, as depicted in a personal, angelic representative in the very presence of God. They have real souls, and to mess with them is to mess with God!
Lord, help me to be clear about the real priorities of life that come from a close walk with you and not to live by popular religious notions.
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