Page 111 - Demo

Another Exorcist.* 38John said to him,l
“Teacher, we saw someone driving out
demons in your name, and we tried to
prevent him because he does not follow us.”
39Jesus replied, “Do not prevent him. There
is no one who performs a mighty deed in
my name who can at the same time speak ill
of me. 40For whoever is not against us is for
us.m 41Anyone who gives you a cup of water
to drink because you belong to Christ, amen,
I say to you, will surely not lose his reward.n
Temptations to Sin. 42o “Whoever causes one
of these little ones who believe [in me] to sin,
it would be better for him if a great millstone
were put around his neck and he were thrown
into the sea. 43If your hand causes you to sin,
cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life
maimed than with two hands to go into
Gehenna,* into the unquenchable fire. [44]*
45And if your foot causes you to sin, cut it off.
It is better for you to enter into life crippled than with two feet to be thrown into Gehenna. [46] 47And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out. Better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than with two eyes to be thrown into Gehenna, 48where ‘their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’p
The Simile of Salt. 49* “Everyone will be salted with fire. 50Salt is good, but if salt becomes insipid, with what will you restore its flavor? Keep salt in yourselves and you will have peace with one another.”q
Icon of the Harrowing
of Hell
by Joan Brand-Landkamer
9:33
There is an ironic juxtaposition between Jesus’ second prediction of his passion and the disciples’ argument about which of them is the greatest. Patiently, Jesus explains to them that they must seek greatness only in humble service.
9:49
What does it mean to be “salted with re”? Salt is a preservative, a symbol for wisdom; re burns away the dross and leaves the pure metal. Jesus uses these metaphors to describe the end times, a time of testing and puri cation that everyone must undergo. We can pass through this test only if we “keep salt within ourselves,” holding fast to the wisdom of God.
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[9:38–41] Jesus warns against jealousy and intolerance toward others, such as exorcists who do not follow us. The saying in Mk 9:40 is a broad principle of the divine tolerance. Even the smallest courtesies shown to those who teach in Jesus’ name do not go unrewarded.
[9:43, 45, 47] Gehenna: see note on Mt 5:22.
[9:44, 46] These verses, lacking in some important early manuscripts, are here omitted as scribal additions. They simply repeat Mk 9:48 itself a modi ed citation of Is 66:24. [9:49] Everyone will be salted with re: so the better manuscripts. Some add “every sacri ce will be salted with salt.” The purifying and preservative use of salt in food (Lv 2:13) and the re nement e ected through re refer here to comparable e ects in the spiritual life of the disciples of Jesus.
l. [9:38–41] Nm 11:28; Lk 9:49–50; 1 Cor 12:3. m. [9:40] Mt 12:30.
n. [9:41] Mt 10:42; 1 Cor 3:23.
o. [9:42–47] Mt 5:29–30; 18:6–9; Lk 17:1–2.
p. [9:48] Is 66:24.
q. [9:50] Lv 2:13; Mt 5:13; Lk 14:34–35; Col 4:6.