Matthew 18: 6-9
It is possible that this passage has caused more problems for believers in terms of interpretation than other sayings of Jesus. Was Jesus speaking literally or was He speaking figuratively? Some have put forward the idea that Jesus was talking about the body of Christ. But this term was not used as a metaphor for the church until about AD80-100. As Jesus goes on to talk about dealing with those who repeatedly sin in the membership of the congregation in verses 15-17, I don’t believe that Jesus was speaking about that in vv 6-9.
Today if someone were to cut off their hand or pluck out an eye, after being given emergency treatment they would be referred to a psychiatrist for treatment for a self harming disorder.
Here in these verses Jesus was talking about an individual’s attitude towards his/her own sinful behaviour. Jesus gives radical suggestion and leadership here. His words show that He had an uncompromising attitude towards sin and that we too should have an equally uncompromising attitude towards our own sinful nature. Sin is the one thing that will stand between us and God even after we accept the salvation bought by Jesus’ death on the cross. This does not give us licence to do what we like. Having accepted Christ we are expected to continue to avoid sin and strive to become more and more Christlike.
Sin is not solely due to external temptation, but is an internal reaction to temptation. Christ Himself was tempted by the devil but His internal/spiritual reaction was to reject the temptation and the self gratification that it offered.
It is our thoughts, feelings and desires which lead us into sin. Not the temptation alone. Defeating temptation and sin begins in the spirit/soul of each one of us. Strangely the best way to defeat them is by surrender. we do not win by fighting against the enemy, but by surrender to God. totally surrendering!
If we continue to sin, if we can not eradicate the selfish desire for gratification of our will, then Jesus says that we are faced with a choice between keeping the body whole and salvation in Him. The examples He gives of cutting off a hand or gauging out an eye are meant to be shocking and to be a very graphic illustration of just how vital it is to remove sin from our everyday lives. Better to go into Eternity with God without a body part but a whole spirit and be made whole again when we are with God. Than to go with a whole body to Hell and suffer spiritual torture there.
Amen