They came to Capernaum. When Jesus was in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet because on the way they had argued about who was the greatest. After he sat down, he called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”
He took a little child and had him stand by his side among them, and said, “I tell you the truth, unless you turn around and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven! Whoever then humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever welcomes this child in my name welcomes me, and whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me, for the one who is least among you all is the one who is great.”
“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop, because he was not one of us.” “Do not stop him,” Jesus said. “For no one who does a miracle in my name can in the next moment say anything bad about me, for whoever is not against us is for us. Truly I tell you, anyone who gives you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah will certainly not lose their reward.”
Jesus said to his disciples, ”Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a huge millstone tied around his neck and to be thrown into the sea. Watch yourselves!
If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go into Gehenna. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life crippled than to have two feet and be thrown into Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to stumble, 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 Gehenna, where “the worms that eat them do not die, and the fire is not quenched.” Everyone will be salted with fire. Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can you make it salty again? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with each other.”
* * * * *
Here is the same passage, but with added commentary that provides context and explanation baked into the story. It’s like my version of The Message that will hopefully add clarity.
After a long journey and a private but heated discussion among the disciples, they came to Capernaum. When Jesus joined them in the house, he asked them, “What were you arguing about on the road?” But they kept quiet, because it was a little embarrassing. On the way they, had argued about who was the greatest.
Peter had the keys to the gates of Hades given to him; then only Peter, James and John had been on the Mount of Transfiguration with Jesus while the rest of them were failing to bind and cast out a demon after having been successful before. Then, Jesus rebuked them. So, yeah, there was some posturing going on.
So Jesus sat down like all rabbis did when it was time to teach, and he called the twelve to him. “Fellas, listen carefully. If anyone wants to be first in the Kingdom of heaven – if anyone wants to be the greatest – it’s not going to look like the world’s greatness. The greatest in the Kingdom is the one who serves everyone. Greatness is not defined by power, prestige, or skill; it’s defined by humility and service.”[1]
He gestured to one of their host’s children. “You know how children are treated by the Gentiles. They are the least in the family, the ones with the lowest status. They have no privileged position.” He called to one of their hosts’ toddlers to come stand by his side.
“I tell you the truth, unless you turn your attitude and focus around and are willing to embrace that kind of role, you will never understand life in the kingdom of heaven! Whoever is content to be in a humble station in life like this little child – they are the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.”
Taking the child in his arms, he said to them, “Whoever takes the time to welcome this child on my behalf – elevating them by your attention, re-enforcing their dignity and worth by treating them as people worthy of honor – well, whoever does that, it’s as if they were welcoming and honoring me. And whoever welcomes me welcomes the one who sent me.” He watched the child run off to play. “The least among you all is the one who is great.”[2]
Well. That was not how the disciples had expected that conversation to go. John finally broke the awkward silence with some news he hoped would perhaps impress Jesus instead of creating the need for yet another teachable moment.
“Teacher,” said John, “we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we told him to stop,[3] because he was not one of us.”[4]
“So, you weren’t able to free people from demons, and he was, and you tried to stop him?” Jesus asked. “Don’t you remember what has been shown to you in the Torah?” And as they talked amongst themselves, they remembered:
“Two men, whose names were Eldad and Medad, had remained in the camp. They were listed among the elders, but did not go out to the tent. Yet the Spirit also rested on them, and they prophesied in the camp. A young man ran and told Moses, “Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp.”
Joshua son of Nun, who had been Moses’ aide since youth, spoke up and said, “Moses, my lord, stop them!” But Moses replied, “Are you jealous for my sake? I wish that all the Lord’s people were prophets and that the Lord would put his Spirit on them!” [5]
Seeing that they remembered, Jesus continued. “Were you jealous? Do you think that my Spirit only falls on you? Do you think the good this man did is suspect because he didn’t have your permission? Why are you acting like territorial religious leaders who judge anyone who’s not just like you? You are binding something Heaven has loosed.
Those who do miracle through faith in me are expanding the Kingdom of God. He is clearly not against us; he is helping the mission and ministry of my Kingdom – he’s setting captives free! Anybody who is not against us is for us. Even if all someone does is give you a cup of water in my name because you belong to the Messiah, that person – no matter who they are - will be rewarded.”
Then Jesus said to his disciples, “My heart breaks for the world when people, instead of being the Rock on which I build my church, (*looks pointedly at Peter*) become stumbling blocks (*looks pointedly at Peter*) on the road to Kingdom! No doubt, stumbling blocks are sure to come, but my heart is grieved for the ones through whom they come!”
(The disciples whispered among themselves, “Is he talking about us? I think he’s talking about us.”)
“What you do to a child, you do to me. Remember? This man, whom you want to stop, is a child in my Kingdom. You should be welcoming this spiritual child on my behalf like you should a physical child – elevating him by your attention, re-enforcing his dignity and worth by treating him as someone worthy of honor. Listen: do not let your life be the cause of one of my children stumbling. If your arrogant attitude and corrupted character push people away from me instead of draw people toward me?[6] Well…
You’ve heard how the Romans tie a millstone around the necks of traitors and throw them into the sea, and their bodies are never recovered, right? You know that they believe it's the most dishonorable and terrible kind if death. It would be better for those who cause my children to stumble to have a millstone tied around their necks and to be thrown into the sea.[7] It’s that big of a deal to me. So, watch yourselves!”
“Teacher, we have been taught that it is a curse if the earth does not receive our bodies after we die. Moses wrote of a punishment where ‘carcasses shall be food unto all fowls of the air, and unto the beasts of the earth.’[8] Jeremiah showed us the judgment of King Jehoiakim in which he was buried ‘with the burial of a donkey, cast forth beyond the gates of Jerusalem.’[9] You have told us many times how important it is to feed the hungry and clothe the naked; Tobit teaches that a decent burial even to a stranger ranks with giving bread to the hungry and garments to the naked.”[10] It’s a terrible curse to not be buried with our ancestors, for our soul to wander in Sheol for eternity with no people and no home.”[11]
Jesus nodded. “Indeed. It would be better for those who cause my children to stumble to have a millstone tied around their necks and to be thrown into the sea.”
“I’m picking up what you’re laying down,” muttered Peter.
“I’m not sure you are,” responded Jesus.“You have been raised by rabbis who taught you that when you sin, you inflict judgment upon yourself.[12] The more severe the sin you sow, the more severe the harvest of judgment you bring upon yourself.[13] With that in mind, if your hand or foot causes you to stumble or become a stumbling block, cut it off. If your eye causes you to stumble or become a stumbling block, pluck it out. The consequence of causing one of my children to stumble because of your life is…” Here Jesus paused. “Tell me what you know about the Valley of Ben Hinnom.”
“Teacher, it’s the ravine south of Jerusalem where Ahaz and Manasseh sacrificed their “little ones,” the children, to Molek.[14] Jeremiah prophesied it would be renamed the Valley of Slaughter when the Babylonians would discard the unburied bodies of the people of Jerusalem in the very place they had sacrificed their children.[15]
Jesus nodded. “Isaiah described the fate of those who do terrible things to the children of God. He describes a battlefield where those who did great evil have been harvested the death that followed the evil they planted. “the worms[16] that eat them will not die, the fire that burns them will not be quenched, and they will be loathsome to all mankind.[17] Remind you of anything you have seen?”
“Yes, Teacher. It’s Gehenna. It’s a fate worse than being buried in the sea. The Talmud teaches that death by fire is a dishonorable way to die, and that burning the remains of the dead shows terrible disrespect to their bodies. When one’s remains are burned, the soul cannot leave the body, and they will not be able to participate in the world to come.[18] Burning the dead is the ultimate punishment.”[19]
“That is indeed what you have been taught. And I am telling you that those who do evil to my children will bring upon themselves the wages of their sin – and those wages are terrible. [20] In fact, it is better for you to enter the kingdom of God maimed, crippled and half blind than to be physically whole and be thrown into a Gehenna of judgment[21] with those who kill and abuse in any way not only children but also the children of the people of God.”[22]
John broke a sobering silence with the question all of them were thinking, “Lord, This is a hard teaching. The Law never tells us to maim ourselves. That is something others do, but not us. Are you trying to make a point, or is this a command? Or both?”
Jesus replied, “I’m making a point. The millstone and the battlefield full of worms and fire were images to help you understand how seriously you must take this teaching. This is too. Your hand, foot, and eye are what you do, where you go, and what you desire. When any part is corrupted, it corrupts the whole.[23]
This is why everyone must be salted with fire, just like every sacrifice must be salted with salt that never loses its power. Be salt, and be at peace with each other.” Noticing their confusion, he added, “Talk amongst yourselves.”
* * * * * *
Which is what we are going to do J We’ve talked before about how Jesus often taught in a way that was meant to provoke discussion after he was done. No doubt, this teaching did exactly that.
Weston Fields noted that “salted with fire” passage has at least 15 different explanations. Like last week, what I have to offer is an opinion on how to understand what Jesus is trying to convey. I favor the 1 that believes Jesus is referencing Old Testament teaching. It is likely his disciples would have thought of this passage, which was about the ritual cleaning of items in the Tabernacle:
“Every thing that may abide the fire, you shall make go through the fire, and it shall be clean; and all that abides not in the fire, you shall make go through the water.” Numbers 31:23.
Fire purifies. When it’s not obviously literal, it’s often a way of describing what the Word of God does to people through the refining power of truth.
The sinners in Zion are afraid; fearfulness has surprised the hypocrites. Who among us shall dwell with the devouring fire? Who among us shall dwell with everlasting burnings? He that walks righteously, and speaks uprightly; he that despises the gain of oppressions, that stops his hands from holding of bribes, that stops his ears from hearing of blood, and shuts his eyes from seeing evil.” (Isaiah 33:14-15)
“By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as a wise builder … If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay or straw, their work will be shown for what it is… revealed with fire [that] will test the quality of each person’s work. If what has been built survives, the builder will receive a reward. If it is burned up, the builder will suffer loss but yet will be saved—even though only as one escaping through the flames. (1 Corinthians 3: 10-15)[24]
Fire is also used to represent trials that purify us by burning out the wood, hay and straw of our lives.
Just as some sacrifices needed salt to be acceptable (Lev 2:13), so the disciples (perhaps themselves seen as sacrifices, Rom 12:1) will need to be salted with the purifying fire of suffering … if they are to enter the kingdom of heaven. (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)[25]
If fire purifies, salt preserves.
For example, it was added to offering in the Old Testament, I suspect because the food of the offerings fed the priests (and what was left fed the families who brought the sacrifice):
“You shall season all your grain offerings with salt. You shall not let the salt of the covenant with your God be missing from your grain offering; with all your offerings you shall offer salt” (Lev. 2:13).
Salted with fire - followers of Jesus will actually be preserved in the Kingdom by the fire in their lives. This could be the discipline of self-denial that accompanies taking up a cross, which includes how we face trials and tribulations in life. This could be about testing and persecution that follows those who follow closely in the footsteps of Christ. It’s likely both.
The refining fire of cross-bearing is what God uses to make us holy (set apart in the Kingdom); the fire of testing and persecution is what we experience because we are holy. (paraphrase of a quote from the Expositor’s Greek Testament)
BE SALT, AND BE AT PEACE WITH EACH OTHER
Salt was a sign of covenant obligations (Leviticus 2:13; 2 Chronicles 13:5). To eat salt together meant to make peace by (in a sense) entering into covenant intended to preserve us as individuals and as a group.[26] In Matthew’s gospel, this teaching is followed immediately by:
· the Parable of the Lost Sheep, which focuses on the love, compassion, and faithfulness of God
· a teaching on restoring someone who has fallen into deep sin[27]
· the Parable of the Debtor who owed Ten Thousand Talents, which focuses on forgiveness
This is where that whole section was leading: the importance of being a presence in the world such that we bring holy healing and preservation, not chaos and sinful decay.
The man casting out demons. As salt, the disciples should have valued and validated the work of God in the world wherever they saw it. Whenever someone truly builds the Kingdom in the name of Jesus – whenever someone ‘binds and loosens’ what has already been planned in Heaven as an outworking of worship – we should be applauding. Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven? Those who applaud and support others when they are positively impacting the world for the Kingdom.
But what if their denomination makes me nervous? What if how they do ministry is different from how I would do it? We have to get over ourselves. Just because a denomination (or non-denomination) approach to church fits us, or just because we do ministry in a particular way, doesn’t mean it’s the only way. God’s a big God. We don’t define the parameters how, when, and through whom God will work. God does.
The child . We must preserve and honor the dignity and worth of ‘the least of these’ in our culture and in our church. Caring for the least is what makes us great in the Kingdom of Heaven. Jesus wasn’t telling them this is how you get power and prestige. He’s teaching that a sign of greatness in the Kingdom is investing in the overlooked, the forgotten, the dismissed, the marginalized, the disdained, the used and abused. Jesus never intended those who follow him to pander to the powerful; he intended for us to preserve the powerless.
Jesus is more than clear: We dare not make them stumble. In a church setting, the stumbling seems to be the kind of situation where we run into someone in such a way that our impact in their life pushes them away from wanting to be a follower of Jesus. We can be salt, or we can be a poisonous stumbling block.
· Hypocrisy is poison; integrity is salt, and brings peace;
· Rudeness is poison; kindness is salt, and brings peace.
· Abuse is poison; care is salt, and brings peace.
· Pride is poison; repentance is salt, and brings peace.
· Bitterness is poison; forgiveness is salt, and brings peace.
· Combativeness is poison; peace-making is salt, and brings peace.
· Arrogance is poison; humility is salt, and brings peace.
· Cliques are poison; fellowship is salt, and brings peace.
· Anger is poison; gentleness is salt, and brings peace.
· Power flexes are poison; meekness is salt, and brings peace.
· Indifference and hate are poison; love is salt, and brings peace.
· Lies are poison; truth is salt, and brings peace.
· ‘Us vs. them’ is poison; ‘us for them’ is salt, and brings peace.
We can be poison, or we can salt. Do we want to be great by Kingdom standards? Then let’s be salt, and live at peace with each other.
_______________________________________________________________________________________
[1] “Jesus is not attacking leadership positions, but showing the way in which such roles should be exercised (i.e., as the ‘last . . . and servant of all’). This principle is exemplified by Jesus Himself who ‘came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’” (ESV Reformation Study Bible)
[2] “To show kindness to a child—who can offer nothing in return—is to serve God (9:37). Greatness is not achieved through marvelous actions that all see. It’s often achieved through lowly and unseen acts of service toward those who cannot repay.” (CSB Tony Evans Study Bible) “They should care for those who have little status in the world, such as a little child. (ESV Global Study Bible)
[3] “There are some who are so wedded to their own creed, and religious system, that they would rather let sinners perish than suffer those who differ from them to become the instruments of their salvation. Even the good that is done they either deny or suspect, because the person does not follow them. This is an evil disease.” (Adam Clarke)
[4] “Here their self-importance leads them to think that they, like the Pharisees and teachers of the law, can define who is ‘in’ and who is ‘out’ of God’s people (cf. Luke 11:52).” NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible) “This phrase does not deny that the man was not a follower of Jesus; he was casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Probably what is meant is that he does not recognize the authority of the Twelve.” (ESV Reformation Study Bible)
[5] “Numbers 11:26-29 The reader will observe that Joshua and John were of the same bigoted spirit;Jesus and Moses acted from the spirit of candor and benevolence. (Adam Clarke)
[6] “Derailing the faith of those of little worldly importance through an egotistical use of power calls for the most severe punishment.” (ESV Reformation Study Bible)
[7] Augustus used this method on people he really disliked. He appears to have used this to punish people involved in the insurrection led by Judas of Galilee (a contemporary of Jesus).
[8] Deuteronomy 28:26
[9] Jeremiah 22:19
[10] Tobit 1:17–18. This was a popular Jewish book written in the 2nd century BC.
[11] Read Death and Bereavement in Judaism at the Jewish Virtual Library. https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/ancient-burial-practices
[13] Galatians 6:7
[14] 2 Kings 16:3; 21:6
[15] Jeremiah 7:30–34; 19:1–15
[16] Isaiah associates worms with death. ‘Your pomp and the music of your harps have been brought down to Sheol; Maggots are spread out as your bed beneath you, and worms are your covering.’ (14:11)
[17] In Daniel 12:2, the same word is translated as "contempt".
[18] “Judaism and Cremation: Overview of Jewish Beliefs on Cremation.” https://www.cremationsocietyofphiladelphia.com/judaism-and-cremation/#Jewish_Law_Forbids_Cremation
[19] https://www.jpost.com/magazine/ask-the-rabbi-why-does-jewish-law-prohibit-cremation-576174
[20] The immediate object of the description of the worm as never dying and the fire as never being quenched, appears to be to mark the destination of those men as a perpetual witness to the consuming judgments of God, and one which all flesh may see. … present the men in question as a perpetual spectacle of shame to all beholders.” (Cambridge Bible For Schools And Colleges)
[21] “Gehenna’s association with abusing children is grimly appropriate.” (NIV Biblical Theology Study Bible)
[22] Our Bibles often say “Hell” to refer to four distinct words: Sheol (Hebrew), the subterranean world of the dead; Hades (Greek), the abode of the dead; Tartarus (Greek), a place of eternal torment for fallen angels found only in 2 Peter 2:4; and Gehenna (Greek), the valley of Hinnom (or Ge-Hinnom), a valley of Jerusalem. Gehenna accounts for 12 of the 13 times we read of Hell in the New Testament.
[23] We see this principle in James 3:6 “The tongue also is a fire, a world of evil among the parts of the body. It corrupts the whole body, sets the whole course of one’s life on fire, and is itself set on fire by Gehenna.”
[24] “No one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw - each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done.” (1 Corinthians 3:11–13)
[25]“Perhaps the best interpretation is that believers are being offered to God (compare Rom. 12:1), and the fire with which they will be ‘salted’ is purification by the “fire” of suffering and hardship. (ESV Global Study Bible) Every true disciple is to be a total sacrifice to God (cf. Ro 12:1); and as salt always accompanied the temple sacrifices, so fire—i.e., persecution, trials, and suffering—will accompany the true disciple's sacrifices (cf. 10:30; 1Pe 1:7; 4:12).” (Expositor’s Bible Commentary)
[26] Cambridge Bible For Schools And Colleges
[27] An application of binding and losing – still on that theme J