Mark 9:30-50

Chapter 9, starting at verse 30. If you are looking at one of the Pew Bibles, that is page 845.

So, you can turn there if you want to follow along, or I think it will also be up on the screen.

Do whichever one works best for you.

So, let me begin by reading the passage, and then I'll give some teaching on it, and then we'll have a song of reflection, and then there's going to be a time of open question and answer.

So, if you have questions along the way, feel free to jot those down or keep them in mind, because you'll have a chance to ask them, and we can interact over them at the end.

All right, Mark chapter 9, beginning at verse 30.

Mark 9 · chapter mention

It says,

And they came to Capernaum.

And when he was in the house, he asked them,

What were you discussing on the way?

But they kept silent.

For on the way they had argued with one another about who was the greatest.

And he sat down and called the twelve.

And he said to them,

If anyone would be first, he must be last of all, and servant of all.

And he took a child and put him in the midst of them.

And taking him in his arms, he said to them,

Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.

And whoever receives me receives not me, but him who sent me.

John said to him,

Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name,

and we tried to stop him because he was not following us.

But Jesus said,

Do not stop him.

For no one who does a mighty work in my name

will be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.

For the one who is not against us is for us.

For truly I say to you,

Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink

because you belong to Christ

will by no means lose his reward.

Whoever causes one of these little ones

who believe in me to sin.

It would be better for him

if a great millstone were hung around his neck

and he were thrown in the sea.

And if your hand causes you to sin,

cut it off.

It is better for you to enter life crippled

than with two hands to go to hell,

to the unquenchable fire.

And if your foot causes you to sin,

cut it off.

It is better for you to enter life lame

than with two feet to be thrown into hell.

And if your eye causes you to sin,

tear it out.

It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God

with one eye

than with two eyes to be thrown into hell

where their worm does not die

and the fire is not quenched.

For everyone will be salted with fire.

Salt is good,

but if the salt has lost its saltiness,

how will you make it salty again?

Have salt in yourselves

and be at peace with one another.

Let's pray together.

Amen.

Lord, high and holy,

meek and lowly,

let me learn that the way down

is the way up,

that to be low

is to be high,

that the broken heart

is the healed heart,

that to bear the cross

is to wear the crown.

Let me find your light

in my darkness,

your life

in my death,

your joy

in my sorrow,

your grace

in my sin,

your riches

in my poverty,

your glory

in my valley.

Amen.

So how would you define

your life purpose?

If you go online,

you can find several websites

devoted to helping you craft

your very own life purpose statement

or personal mission statement

in 20 minutes or less,

summarizing what you're all about

and what success looks like to you.

I won't ask you to raise your hand

if you have one of these statements,

but one website lists 15 questions

that you should ask

to craft one of these purpose statements

or mission statements,

including these.

Number one,

what makes you smile?

Number two,

what makes you feel great about yourself?

Number three,

what are you naturally good at?

Number four,

what do people ask you for help in?

Number five,

what are your deepest values?

Number six,

imagine you're 90 years old

looking back over your life.

What memories or accomplishments

will matter most to you.

I won't go through all 15,

but you get the idea.

Now,

here are a few examples

of personal mission statements

that people have posted.

Number one,

my mission is to create,

nurture,

and maintain

an environment of growth,

challenge,

and unlimited potential

for all those around me.

Second one,

my purpose in life

is to be a mom,

to empower independence,

self-reliance,

and confidence in others

through being a positive,

supportive role model.

Third,

what matters most

is my connection with myself,

being present

and feeling blissful.

Now,

at the beginning of this passage,

Jesus

gives his disciples

something like

a personal mission statement

in verse 31.

And it goes like this.

He says,

the Son of Man

is going to be delivered

into the hands of men

and they will kill him.

And when he is killed,

after three days,

he will rise.

Now,

by almost any standard,

that's a really weird

personal mission statement

or life purpose statement

for two reasons,

really.

First,

Jesus defines himself

in a very odd way.

He refers to himself

as the Son of Man.

Not just a Son of Man,

but the Son of Man.

In other words,

it's like somebody

identified themselves

and said,

I am the human being.

I am the perfect expression

of true humanity

as God always intended it to be.

I am the perfect expression

of bearing the image of God

and ruling over the earth.

I am the human being.

destined to rule

over the world.

And you think,

boy,

that's a little unusual way

to describe yourself.

But then he says,

I'll be handed over

to human beings

and killed by them.

And my purpose in life

will be achieved

through my suffering

and through my death.

Now,

this isn't the only time

Jesus said something like this.

He already said this

if you look back

in chapter 8,

verse 31 and 32.

It says,

He began to teach

his disciples

that the Son of Man

must suffer

and be rejected

and killed

and after three days

rise again.

In other words,

this isn't just an accident,

a bad accident

that's going to happen

to him.

He says,

I must do this.

In other words,

this is part of

my divinely ordained destiny.

This is the way

I will fulfill

my God-appointed mission

through suffering

and death

and then rising again.

I mean,

just think of it.

How would you react

if your best friend

said to you,

I'm the perfect expression

of humanity

and I'm going to fulfill

my purpose in life

by being handed over

to people

unjustly accused

suffering and dying

and only through that

fulfilling my purpose

in life.

Well,

verse 32 says

the disciples

didn't get it either.

Right?

You sort of think,

are you making a bad joke?

Are you having a bad day?

Like,

what's going on?

See,

the disciples,

they were starting

to get this idea

that Jesus is the Messiah.

Peter had said it

back in chapter 8

in the last chapter

and they liked that idea.

He was the king.

He was going to

rule the world

and bring them

with him to glory

and bring them

to victory.

It's like

getting a star player

joining your team

and you think,

we're going to win

the championship this year

because we've got

the star player.

And then he says,

I'm going to totally lose it.

I'm going to lose it all.

And you think,

what?

The other thing

Jesus says

is not only

is this

his personal mission,

but he says,

if you follow me,

my mission

becomes yours.

Your mission

or my mission

shapes yours.

That's really

what this whole passage

tonight is about.

How Jesus'

mission on earth,

in particular,

his mission

to suffer and die

and then rise again,

how that shapes

our mission

and our lives

if we follow him.

In other words,

if we follow Jesus,

our personal mission

becomes replaced

with his mission

for us

and his purpose

for us.

And instead of being

defined by

what makes me smile

or what I'm good at

or what I like

or what I envision

for my future,

we become defined by

how Jesus sees us

and what he has

in store for us.

Instead of being

self-centered

and self-defined,

we become

self-sacrificially

identified with Jesus.

That's the main theme

that we'll see

running through this passage

is that

the cross of Jesus

makes us

self-sacrificial

instead of self-centered.

And the passage

fleshes out

what that looks like

in three specific areas.

So first,

verse 33 to 37.

And in these verses,

we see that

instead of seeking

to be the greatest,

we seek to serve people

who are the least.

You know,

it's very natural

for us to define ourselves

by comparing ourselves

to somebody else

and by seeking

to be great

in comparison

to others.

Maybe that's

what motivates you

to study every day

and to pull all-nighters

is because you want

to get a certain

class rank

so that when you graduate,

you can have

a certain GPA

on your resume

and then you'll have

a better chance

than others

who have a lower GPA

to get the job

that you want.

Or maybe that's

what motivates you

to work

because you want

to advance

to a certain level

in your career field

and you know

that to get there,

you're going to have

to surpass everybody else.

And so you work hard,

you're motivated

by this desire

to excel

compared to

the norm,

compared to

everyone else

around you.

Maybe that's why

you play sports

or play music

or exercise

or diet

or all kinds

of things.

We want to

feel better

about ourselves

because

we pursue

some kind

of greatness

and we define

that greatness

in comparison

to others.

Now maybe you feel

satisfied because

you've achieved

a certain level

of excellence

and you feel

gratified by that.

Maybe you feel

discouraged.

Maybe every day

you wake up

and you know

you haven't made it

and you look around

at everybody else

and everybody else

seems really successful

and you feel

like a failure.

See, both of those

ways we're defining

ourselves in comparison

to other people

around us.

Now the disciples,

they were the

ambitious types.

They were arguing

about who was

the greatest.

They were ashamed

to admit it

when Jesus asked them.

Jesus says,

what were you

talking about?

They all sort of

look at one another.

I'm not telling.

I'm not telling.

I'm not telling.

But Jesus knows

he had heard them.

Right?

So he says,

if you want to be first,

if you want to be

the greatest,

you have to be the last.

You have to be

the servant of all.

He says,

if you want an example

of what that looks like,

think about what it means

to receive a child.

Now if you're a parent

or if you've been

around parents a lot,

you know that

receiving a child

into your life

does not make

your life easier.

It will not help you

advance faster

along your career path.

It will not give you

more free time

to pursue your hobbies

and hang out

with your friends.

A child will slow you down

and interrupt your plans

and make your life a mess.

And make your house a mess.

And make your sleep patterns

a mess.

There's no such thing

as sleeping peacefully

through the night

with a baby

in your house.

Or sleeping in

on a Saturday morning

with toddlers.

Right?

There's no such thing

as a quiet,

leisurely dinner.

When you receive

a child into your family,

whether by birth

or adoption,

your life isn't

your own anymore.

It's not just

you and your spouse.

Right?

It's not just you.

If your kid gets sick,

you have to take care of them.

And half the time

you get sick too

because you're around them

so much.

Every winter

you get sick a lot more

than you used to.

Right?

If your kid grows up,

if they need clothes,

if they need school supplies,

I could go on and on.

Right?

Children are helpless

and needy

and they make a mess

all the time.

And Jesus says

true greatness

looks like

receiving someone

into your life

who's helpless

and needy

and makes a mess

all the time.

And not just

serving them

grudgingly

from a distance,

but welcoming them.

That's what that word

receives means.

To welcome them,

to embrace them

self-sacrificially.

To love them.

Now maybe,

you know,

this could look like

if you're married,

having a child.

Or if you have a child

seeking to be

the parent,

as much,

as involved in your life,

in their life as you can.

And caring for them.

And seeking to love them.

And making the sacrifices

necessary

in whatever situation

you're in

to seek to raise them

as well as you can.

Even if it holds you back

in other ways.

Or if you're single,

or if you're not at a point

where you're having children,

it might mean

taking someone else

into your home

who needs a place to stay.

Or meeting up with someone

once a week

who needs help.

It could look

all different ways.

But Jesus,

but when you think about it,

this is why

Jesus came into the world.

He says,

I came to be

the servant of all.

I came to receive you

as my children.

As my brothers and sisters.

As children of God the Father.

Jesus was the greatest,

but he didn't come

into the world

to gain greatness

in comparison to others.

He came to humble himself

to the point of death

on a cross as a servant.

So that he could welcome us

into his family.

I mean, think of it this way.

Jesus had the Father

and the Holy Spirit

from all eternity.

He was the Son.

He had the perfect family.

If you want to think

about it that way,

nothing ever came between

the Father,

the Son,

and the Holy Spirit.

They were united

in perfect love.

They perfectly understood

one another.

They carried out their plans

in perfect harmony.

They ruled over

the whole universe.

Unlimited in power

and glory.

They were completely

satisfied in one another.

They didn't need anybody

outside of them.

They had everything

that they could ever desire.

All the glory

was contained in them.

But for some

unfathomable reason

that I still don't understand,

the Father,

Son,

and Holy Spirit

chose to create

beings

outside themselves.

And then when

they had created us,

they saw us.

They saw the human race

after we had rebelled

against God.

Creatures,

right?

What do you see

when you look around

at the human race?

Creatures who are not only

weak and helpless,

but also rebellious

and proud

and jealous

and divisive.

Compared to God,

we have nothing to add

to Him.

We don't bring Him

anything that He

didn't have already.

We don't add anything

to His life,

to His glory,

to His satisfaction.

But the message

of the Bible

is that the Father

and the Son

and the Holy Spirit,

God Himself

chose

to reach out to us

and bring us

into

His fellowship.

And that Jesus Christ,

the eternal Son of God,

said,

I am going to share

my glory

and my righteousness

and my status

and my honor

with these people

so that they too

can be called

sons and daughters

of God.

And I'll pay

whatever price

it takes

to bring them in

and adopt them

and keep them

all the way

to the end,

even if that price

is me

being rejected

and killed by them.

You see,

that's why

Jesus had to come

and suffer and die.

is to pay the price

to bring us home

with Him.

You see,

Jesus is the greatest,

but He displayed

His greatness

by becoming

the last of all

and the servant of all,

by receiving

and welcoming us

when we had nothing

to offer Him

at great cost

to Himself,

at a great sacrifice

to Himself.

But He did it

with great,

for He considered

it a joy

to receive us.

So Jesus says,

instead of seeking

to be the greatest,

if you follow Me,

seek to love people

who are the least,

since I've loved you

and welcomed you.

So that's the first contrast.

The second one

is in verse 38

through 41.

And I'd summarize it

this way.

Instead of assuming

that God's kingdom

is centered around

us,

we seek to encourage

anyone else

who is centered

around Jesus.

So John says,

Teacher,

we saw someone

casting out demons

in your name

and we tried

to stop him

because he wasn't

following us.

Now,

there are several

ironic things

about this statement.

First,

if you were here

last week,

or if you look

in verse 14

through 29

of this chapter,

Jesus' disciples

just failed

to cast out a demon.

So,

they're trying

to stop someone else

from doing

what they just

failed to do.

Second,

they want these people

who are doing

what they can't

to follow them

and get behind them.

Third,

it says,

we tried to stop him,

which implies

we tried

and we failed.

They weren't able

to stop him

even though

they tried.

When you think

of it,

this is a very

foolish statement.

Now,

why did they say,

why did John say

something so foolish?

Why do we say things

that are sometimes

very foolish?

The problem was,

the disciples saw

doing mighty works

in Jesus' name

as a mark

of their own greatness.

And they didn't want

to share their greatness

with anybody else.

They thought

the kingdom of God

revolves around us.

And as a result,

they ended up

saying and doing

some pretty foolish things.

And you know,

we can fall into

the same trap.

Things like envy

or jealousy

or pride

or divisiveness

can be just as much

of a problem

for us.

We can fall into

the trap of thinking

the kingdom of God

depends on me

or it depends on

my church

and nobody else.

Now,

this can be a

particular temptation

for church leaders

and ministry leaders.

So,

if you're thinking

of going into

full-time Christian ministry

or becoming a leader

in the church,

beware.

Because I can guarantee

you,

you will face

this temptation.

Sometimes we want

to judge our success

by how much

our church

or our ministry

is growing.

And we don't think

about how are we

contributing

to the work

of God's kingdom

more broadly.

So,

example.

You hear through

the grapevine

that someone is

starting a new church

in town.

What is our,

what is the immediate

reaction?

Suspicion.

Right?

They must be trying

to compete with us.

They must not recognize

the good ministry

that we're already doing.

They must be

naive and foolish

outsiders.

Maybe their ministry

will fail.

Maybe it should fail.

They didn't bother

to reach out to us,

so we shouldn't bother

to reach out to them.

Or maybe,

on the other hand,

maybe you're the one

wanting to start

a new ministry

or plant a new church

or go to a new area

and you think,

God is going to use me

to save

this city,

to change

the world.

But,

do you take the time

to do research

beforehand

to see,

what is God

already doing?

Who are the people

that God's already using?

What are the ministries

or churches

that are already here

that are teaching

the truth about Jesus?

How can we

work together

and come alongside

one another?

You see,

whichever side you're on,

we can fall into this trap

or on an individual level.

Sometimes we can be

very focused on

how is God

using me?

I want to use

my gifts.

We think,

if I'm not using

all my gifts,

then

my church

must be wrong

because they're not

using all the gifts

that I know I have.

But sometimes

we need to,

sometimes God

allows us

to take a back seat

and play the role

of encouraging

other people

in using their gifts.

So,

I had an experience

after my freshman year

in college.

I was a camp counselor

for one week

at a Christian camp

on Martha's Vineyard.

And I felt like

a total misfit

the whole week.

I felt like

all the other counselors,

it was my first time there,

I'd never been there before,

it seemed like

all the other counselors

had been there before

and knew the students

who were there

and the campers

and they were all

more talented,

all the other counselors

seemed more talented,

more exciting to be around,

had better speaking skills,

connected more deeply

with the kids,

and I felt like

God was doing

some really neat things

in people's lives

during that week.

but I felt like

none of it was going

through me.

I felt like I was

relatively useless.

And it forced me to ask,

do I compare myself

with other people

and feel frustrated

or can I rejoice

in what God's doing

through the other people

around me

and think,

how can I

encourage them

or just

pray for them

and just

get behind them?

You see,

we often get it

upside down.

Jesus says,

the kingdom of God

is not centered around us,

it's centered around Jesus.

Jesus is the king

and his kingdom

is bigger than

us.

It's bigger than

any one church

or any one

denomination

or any one

network.

And so we should

never do anything

to hinder

someone else

who's doing ministry

in Jesus' name.

Now what does that mean

in Jesus' name?

That doesn't just mean

anybody who says

the name of Jesus,

but in Jesus' name

means doing things

under the authority

of Jesus

and according

to the word of Jesus

and in line

with the character

of Jesus.

So when we see

someone

serving other people

or even doing

powerful things

that maybe

you've never,

maybe we've never

experienced

ourselves,

we shouldn't become

jealous or envious,

Jesus,

but we should

come behind them

as long as it's

proclaiming the truth

about Jesus

and bringing glory

to Jesus.

Now Jesus tells us

in other places

that we should

exercise discernment

because he warns

that some people

will go around,

he says some people

are false prophets.

In other words,

they're preaching

a false message

or a confused message

that doesn't

clearly reflect

the biblical picture

of Jesus.

And so Jesus says

be careful,

be discerning,

don't just support

anyone and everyone

who's a religious

teacher.

But he says

it's not about,

in this passage

his emphasis is

it's not about you.

We should rejoice

whenever someone else

does a mighty work

in Jesus' name

and to encourage them.

Verse 41 says

whoever gives you

a cup of cold water

because you belong

to Christ

will by no means

lose their reward.

In other words,

doing something

as small

as bringing someone

a glass of water

to quench their thirst

because they love Jesus

and because you want

to support them

in what they're doing

to love others

in Jesus' name,

Jesus says

you won't lose

your reward.

That's an important

ministry in itself.

Sometimes God

will put you up front

and sometimes

he'll have you

sitting back.

And you know what?

It's all the same

in God's eyes.

if you're focused

on him.

When my wife

Jane

was in

Boston

in seminary

she went to

a little church

in Boston

called

South End

Neighborhood Church

and it was a

it's a really neat

church.

If you go to Boston

if you have a Sunday

and you have to visit

somewhere

it's a neat place

to visit.

It's been around

for about 40 years.

it meets in

a rented

building space

that about

three other

churches use

and it's never

grown more

than 100 people.

But it has

all kinds

of people there.

There's homeless

people,

there's people

with drug

addictions

and recovering

from drug

addictions,

there's Harvard

students and MIT

students,

there's couples

and families

who have

been doing

ministry in

Boston all

their lives.

There's the

whole range,

young,

old,

any racial

group you can

think of,

rich,

poor,

but it's

never grown

to be a

large church.

But in

40 years

they have

planted

six other

churches.

They've started

six other

churches.

One of them

is a

Spanish-speaking

church that

now has

several hundred

people.

So almost

all the other

churches they've

planted are

bigger than

them.

But they've

sent people

out,

they've

supported

pastors,

they've

encouraged

other people

to go into

other parts

of the city

to be

doing ministry

in Jesus'

name.

Now their

annual church

budget is

less than

a hundred

thousand

dollars.

It's a,

it's not

a power,

you know,

if you look

up, if you

look them up

on the

website,

they have a

very simple

website,

they're not

part of any

of the

flashy networks,

you won't

see the

pastor speaking

at a big

conference that

thousands of

people go to,

but he's a

faithful pastor,

and he loves

the people,

and he teaches

them God's

word every

week, and

he spends

time in

their lives,

and God's

used him,

he's been

there for

thirty years,

he and his

wife have

ministered

together to

people in

that church,

and raised

their kids in

that church,

and it's

been hard,

but God's

used them,

because they

have this

kind of

humble attitude,

saying we

want to be

about Jesus,

and not about

us.

So that's the

second thing,

instead of assuming

that God's

kingdom is centered

around us,

seek to

encourage anyone

else who's

centered around

Jesus.

Third, the

third contrast

is in verse

42 through

50, instead

of doing

whatever feels

good to us,

we make

sacrifices to

fight against

sin in our

lives.

Now if you

read verse

42 through

50, it

sounds sort

of harsh at

first, and

there are

strong words,

if your hand

causes you to

sin, cut it

off, if your

foot causes you

to sin, cut it

off, if your

eye causes you

to sin, cut it

off.

And you

think, what

does that

mean?

Now obviously,

Jesus isn't

speaking literally,

okay, so don't

go home and

amputate yourself.

There's been a

couple people in

church history who've

gone a little

overboard on this

verse.

I won't go into

details.

But what he's

saying here is,

kill sin, or

sin will be

killing you.

Sin is like a

deadly virus or

an infection, and

unless you deal

with it, it will

spread and infect

the rest of your

body and your

relationships, and

so deal with it

seriously.

You know, in

order to, just

like a doctor,

might have to

amputate a leg to

save a life if you

have a terrible

infection or

gangrene in your

leg.

And so Jesus is

saying it's better

to be alive with

one leg instead of

dead with two.

So what might,

now what might this

look like?

Well, some

examples.

You might need to

cut off an

unhealthy dating

relationship if it's

leading you into

emotional

codependence and

sexual compromise.

Or you might need

to cancel your

Facebook account,

account, or your

internet access if

it's, if the web is

sucking up all your

free time in vain

pursuits.

You might need to

cut up your credit

cards and throw them

away if you're

spending money

unwisely and getting

yourself into a

hole of debt.

You might need to

go to someone else

and say, I'm

struggling in this

area, I need you to

help keep me

accountable because I

can't fight this

battle on my own.

Now all those

things are painful

to do at first.

But in the long

run, it's the only

way that you can be

truly free.

The alternative is

far worse.

It's painful now or

it's much more

painful later.

You know, Jesus' words

may sound harsh, but

he says, sin is

destined for hell.

Now the word Jesus

used for hell was

Gehenna.

And that was the name

of the garbage dump

outside the city of

Jerusalem.

It was a place where

the fire was

perpetually burning,

where worms and

maggots fed on

decaying flesh, and

where the stench was

horrible.

It's not a

pleasant image.

But Jesus is saying

this is a reality to

be avoided at all

costs.

It's much better to

suffer terribly in

this life than have a

pain-free life on

earth and suffer for

all eternity.

And Jesus spoke more

than any other

biblical author about

hell.

It's a hard teaching.

You may have

questions about it.

We may need to

grapple with that.

But Jesus said these

things very seriously.

And he said them

because he doesn't

want this to happen

to us.

And Jesus also said

this because he knew

better than anyone

else what he was

talking about.

Because you know

what?

When Jesus came to

earth, he didn't

just come to suffer

by having his leg

amputated or having

his hand cut off.

He didn't just have

his eye gouged out.

He had his hands and

feet nailed to a

cross.

And his head was

bleeding from a

crown of thorns

pressed into his head.

His back was

scourged by a whip

containing pieces of

bone and metal.

He was mocked by the

crowds and abandoned

by his friends.

And on the cross he

cried out,

my God, my God,

why have you forsaken

me?

When Jesus was

hanging on the cross,

he literally went

through hell

to save us from it.

When he was on the

cross, he offered

himself as a sacrifice

on our behalf

so that we

might be

cleansed

cleansed

and forgiven

and made whole

and made complete

in him.

You see, Jesus

knows what he's

talking about

when he speaks

about hell

because he actually

went through that.

He went through that

to pay the penalty

that we could not

pay.

He went through that

so that we might

become part of

his family

and be with him

forever.

You see, when that

hits home,

when we realize

that that is

the extent,

that is how far

Jesus has gone

to love us

and serve us

and rescue us

and bring us

into his family,

you see,

then we start to

look at life

in a whole new way

and this passage

starts to make sense

and we realize

that when Jesus

calls us to

sacrifice,

it's not because

he wants to take

away our joy

or our happiness

but because he

wants us to have

true and pure

and eternal

joy and happiness

in him.

And when we see

the great promise

that he has for us,

then we're set free

to become

self-sacrificial

instead of

self-centered.

Because it's not

just about

getting as much

as we can

in this life

or becoming

the greatest

or being better

than someone else.

But it's about

living for him

who loved us

so much

and who promises

that just as he died

and rose again,

that whatever

we have to suffer

or die to

for his sake,

he'll restore it

many times over

either in this life

or in the life

to come.

He promises that

at the end of the

next chapter.

We'll get there

in two weeks.

He says,

whatever you give up

for my sake,

I'll restore it

many times over.

You won't lose it

forever.

That's how we

can become

self-sacrificial

instead of self-centered.

And that's what

the last two verses

are about.

Verse 49 and 50

talk about fire

and salt.

You might think,

what in the world

is that?

Well, it's about

a sacrifice.

Because all the

sacrifices in the

temple were burnt

on the altar,

on the fire,

and all of them

had salt sprinkled

on them.

Leviticus 2.13

says that.

With all your

offerings,

you shall offer

salt.

So the point

about these verses

about salt and

fire is about

offering our

lives as a

sacrifice that

is pleasing to

God through

Jesus in

response to

the unique

sacrifice that

he made for

us.

So instead of

pursuing greatness

for ourselves,

we love those

who are the

least because

Jesus came as

a servant of

all.

Instead of

assuming that

God's kingdom

is centered

around us,

we seek to

encourage anyone

else who's

centered around

Jesus because

it's about him

and not about

us.

And instead of

doing what feels

good to us,

we're willing to

make sacrifices

to fight sin

in our lives

because Jesus

made the ultimate

sacrifice to

free us from

sin and its

consequences.

So let me

close with a

verse from

Romans that I

think captures

the message of

this passage.

And the

apostle Paul says

this, he says,

therefore I

urge you,

brothers and

sisters, in

view of God's

mercy, offer

your bodies as

a living sacrifice,

holy and

acceptable to

God, for this

is your reasonable

service.

Do not be

conformed to the

pattern of this

world, but be

transformed by the

renewing of your

mind.

Let's pray.

Lord Jesus, we

thank you for the

price you paid to

reclaim us, to

adopt us, and to

take us in as

your children with

all the mess and

all the sin and

all the weakness and

all the neediness

that we bring with

us.

We thank you for

the love and joy

that you have in

bringing us near to

you and in

welcoming us into

your family.

We thank you for

the great sacrifice

you made for us.

Lord, we pray that

what you have done

for us would

shape us and

change us.

For your sake.

Amen.

Amen.

Mindy.

Yes.

Yes.

So the word

translated hell here

is a Greek word

Gehenna, which is

from the, it's a

word that referred,

that was used to

refer to the garbage

dump outside the

city of Jerusalem in

what's called the

Valley of Ben-Hinnom.

So the Hebrew

Hinnom and

Gehenna, that sort

of came, the words

are related.

It was an image

that was common in

Jesus' day for

hell as a place of

punishment and

separation from

God's presence.

So he was using a

familiar image that

would have brought

up these images in

people's minds of

a stinky, rotting,

burning,

dump.

So.

Should we take him

literally?

Is that what hell

was going to be like?

Should we take him

literally?

Yeah.

Yeah, that's a good

question.

No, that's a good

question.

I think, so I think

there's several, there's

a few different images

that come up in

scripture for hell.

Some are related to

fire.

some are related to

darkness, being the

outer darkness.

Some are related to

anguish and frustration

that's never resolved.

And hell is described

as a place where

there's, where things

are never made right

with God.

where people continue

in their

rebellious

attitude toward God

and

don't.

That there's

sort of a

point of no return.

How literally

should we take those

things?

I think if

if they're not

literal,

they're meant to

point to something

if, so if it's a

metaphor, the reason

why we have

metaphors is because

it's a reality that's

greater than we can

literally describe.

And so, if it's

metaphorical, I think

it's basically saying,

it's not saying it's

not that bad, it's

saying it's worse.

So, the point is, I

think in all the

descriptions of hell,

the point is not to

figure out exactly what

hell is like.

It's to realize you

don't want to be

there.

And thank God that

Jesus has been

willing to go through

that to provide a

way out.

And I think it puts

some of our

sufferings in this

life in perspective

where Jesus is

saying, you know,

consider the

alternative.

Yeah, is it hard to

follow me?

Yes.

Does it require

sacrifices to follow

me of things that

feel like giving up

a lot?

Yes.

But when we think

in light of eternity,

both in light of

hell, but also in

light of what he

promises in heaven.

And I think we'd

see our lives

differently and be

free to sacrifice

some things now for

a good purpose instead

of holding on to them

because we feel like

this is all we've got

and this is what we're

living for in this

life.

more questions.

Yes.

Yes.

That's a very good question.

How do you know what to take literally versus figuratively in the Bible?

And what are the criteria that we would use to, you know, responsibly determine that?

That's a great question.

So it's a big question.

So some parts of the Bible, so if you take one of the Psalms, the Psalms are poetry.

And in other parts of the Bible, some of the prophetic literature is poetic literature.

And so when you're reading poetry, you look for symbols.

You look for metaphors.

You look for things that are describing things, not in a scientifically precise way, but in an evocative way,

in a way that engages your emotions and conveys some of the reality of what they're talking about.

When you're reading some of the narratives, say some of the gospel narratives about Jesus,

they're written in a very historical narrative format.

And, you know, if you can compare them to other literature, they're not written in the same way as, you know,

myths about Greek gods or something like that.

It's a different form of literature that's rooted in history.

So I think some of it is the kind of literature sort of looking at what kind of book are we reading.

So that's why it's always helpful when you face a particular verse or a paragraph or passage

and you're thinking, how do I interpret this?

We have to step back and say, well, what book am I reading this in?

And what's the main point of this book and how does this passage fit into the larger point of this book?

So, and then also comparing it to other passages that are teaching similar things here.

So I think whenever the Bible is describing things that haven't happened yet or that are in the future in our experience.

So in the Old Testament, when there are prophecies about the Messiah, there were descriptions,

but a lot of it is, it's something that people hadn't yet experienced and so they couldn't fully put it into words.

So in the same way in the New Testament, when there's descriptions of heaven or descriptions of hell,

they are metaphorical because we haven't yet experienced them fully and so we can't fully put them into words,

which is different than writings about things that have happened, like writings about what happened in Jesus' life.

Well, that had already happened, they'd experienced it, so they're putting it into words in a historical way.

Looking towards something in the future, I think God is giving us a picture of what it's going to be like,

but it's, but it is, there's a metaphor involved in that we haven't yet been there.

But he's giving us a description of what it's going to be like so that we can live our life in light of that.

It's, how would I put it?

It's, I mean, it's like if you're trying, I mean, it's like if you're trying to tell someone, you know, where you're going on a road trip,

and they've never been, it's like if you're trying to tell someone about the Grand Canyon,

and they've never been there, and let's say you don't have any photographs, you know,

and you have to describe it, and you're trying to describe this amazing thing.

If you've been there, if you've seen it, or if you've been to any sort of natural wonder,

it's almost beyond what you can describe in words.

Even if you, like, draw a little diagram, that doesn't quite do it.

And so you're trying to describe this great reality so that, so the person will be like,

yeah, like, it's worth the road trip to get there.

It's worth driving all the way across the country through the desert for days and days,

and hiking down to the bottom of it, or something.

Whatever you want, you know, you get the idea.

But this is a very good question.

We could talk more about that, but maybe that's a beginning to it.

All right, well, if you have more questions, stick around.

Talk with one another.

Talk with me if you want.

But there's snacks in the back.

Get a bulletin as you go out.