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Matthew 18:8,9
Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and castthem from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire…

Mark 9:43-48
And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched: …

offend thee.

Matthew 19:12
For there are some eunuchs, which were so born fromtheir mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receiveit, let him receiveit.

Romans 6:6
Knowing this, that our old man is crucified withhim, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin.

Romans 8:13
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.

for.

Matthew 16:26
For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

Proverbs 5:8-14
Remove thy way far from her, and come not nigh the door of her house: …

Mark 8:36
For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?

gouge it out and throw it away
This hyperbolic language is not meant to be taken literally but underscores the radical measures one should take to avoid sin. The act of "gouging out" signifies a decisive and painful action to remove sin from one's life. It reflects the Jewish teaching style of using vivid imagery to convey moral truths. The idea is to eliminate anything that leads to sin, no matter how valuable it seems, echoing the call for repentance and transformation found throughout the New Testament.

It is better for you to lose one part of your body
This phrase highlights the concept of sacrifice for the sake of spiritual well-being. The loss of a body part is a metaphor for giving up something significant to maintain righteousness. It aligns with the biblical theme of self-denial and taking up one's cross, as mentioned inMatthew 16:24. The emphasis is on prioritizing eternal life over temporary, earthly pleasures or attachments.

than for your whole body to be thrown into hell
The term "hell" here is translated from the Greek word "Gehenna," which refers to the Valley of Hinnom, a place outside Jerusalem associated with idolatry and child sacrifice in the Old Testament (2 Kings 23:10,Jeremiah 7:31). By Jesus' time, it had become a symbol of final judgment and eternal separation from God. This phrase serves as a warning about the consequences of unrepentant sin, emphasizing the eternal stakes involved. It reflects the broader biblical narrative of judgment and redemption, urging believers to live in a way that aligns with God's kingdom values.

“If your right eye causes you to sin” sets the stage by identifying the trouble spot—what we look at. Throughout Scripture the eye is portrayed as a gateway to the heart (Genesis 3:6;Joshua 7:21;1 John 2:16). Jesus singles out the right eye—often considered the most valued—showing that nothing is too precious to surrender if it entices us to sin. Practical takeaways:

• Guard the intake. Like Job, “I have made a covenant with my eyes” (Job 31:1).

• Redirect quickly.Psalm 119:37 prays, “Turn my eyes from worthless things.”

• Replace the gaze.Philippians 4:8 urges fixing our minds on what is pure and praiseworthy, not merely avoiding the impure.

“Gouge it out and throw it away” sounds shocking, yet Jesus deliberately uses startling language to stress decisive action. Scripture is literal and true; the Lord employs vivid imagery to call for radical separation from sin, never glorifying self-harm but underlining sin’s lethal danger (Romans 8:13;Colossians 3:5). Helpful ways to “gouge out” an offending eye today include:

• Eliminating access (Matthew 18:8–9 mirrors this teaching; compare2 Timothy 2:22).

• Installing accountability—inviting a trusted believer to monitor media choices (Ecclesiastes 4:9–10).

• Filling the gap with godly pursuits—prayer, Scripture memory, service (Galatians 5:16).

“It is better for you” highlights Christ’s loving concern. Losing something valuable in this life is preferable to losing eternal life.Romans 12:1 calls us to present our bodies as living sacrifices; here Jesus applies that sacrifice to the eye. The comparison shows:

• Eternal perspective outweighs temporary comfort (2 Corinthians 4:17–18).

• Obedience may be costly, but the reward is greater (Matthew 13:44–46).

• Personal responsibility—no excuse that “others do it” (Galatians 6:5).

Hell (Gehenna) is no metaphorical scare tactic; Jesus speaks of a literal place of judgment (Matthew 10:28;Revelation 20:15). The warning underscores:

• Sin’s endgame is destruction if unrepented (James 1:14–15).

• God’s justice is as real as His mercy (Hebrews 10:26–27).

• Salvation provides rescue; perseverance in holiness gives evidence of genuine faith (1 Peter 1:15–17;2 Peter 1:10).

Jesus calls for ruthless warfare against sin because the stakes are eternal. Whatever threatens to drag us into disobedience must be removed, no matter how cherished, for it is far better to part with a prized possession now than to face everlasting loss later.

Pluck it out.--The bold severity of the phrase excludes a literal interpretation. The seat of the evil lies in the will, not in the organ of sense or action, and the removal of the instrument might leave the inward taint unpurified. What is meant is, that any sense, when it ministers to sin is an evil and not a good, the loss of which would be the truest gain. Translated into modern language, we are warned that taste, culture, aesthetic refinement may but make our guilt and our punishment more tremendous. It were better to be without them than

"Propter vitam vivendi perdere causas."

[" And for life's sake to lose life's noblest ends."]

It is profitable.--The element of prudential self-love, of a calculation of profit and loss, is not excluded from Christian motives. As addressed to a nation immersed in the pursuit of gain, it conveys the stern, yet pertinent, warning--"If you must think of profit, make your calculations wisely."

Hell.--Gehenna, as inMatthew 5:22. The language is still symbolical. The horrid picture of a human body thrown into the foul, offal-fed flame of the Valley of Hinnom is again a parable of something more terrible than itself.

(1) that they are there adduced with reference to "offences" generally;

(2) that the foot is mentioned, as well as the eye and the hand. It seems not improbable that this saying was spoken twice.

The reason why our Lord did not mention the foot here may be either that that member is less immediately connected with sins of the flesh than the other two (cf. Wetstein,in loc., "Averte oculum a vultu illecebroso: arce manum ab impudicis contrectationibus"), or, as seems more probable, that the eye and the hand represent the two sets of faculties receptive and active, and together express man's whole nature. The insertion of the foot in ch. 18:8, 9, only makes the illustration more definite. "The remark in ver. 29f treats of what is to be done by the subjects of the kingdom when, in spite of themselves, evil desires are aroused" (Weiss, 'Life,' 2:149).Verse 29. -Right. Not in ch. 18, and parallel passage. Inserted to enhance the preciousness of the members spoken of (cf.Zechariah 11:17; cf. ver. 39).Offendthee; Authorized Version,do cause thee to offend; Revised Version,cause thee to stumble (σκανδαλίζει σε). Perhaps the verb originally referred to the stick of a trap (σκάνδαλον, a Hellenistic word, apparently equivalent toσκανδάληθρον) striking the person's foot, and so catching him in the trap; but when found in literature (almost solely in the New Testament) it has apparently lost all connotation of the trap, and only means causing a person to stumble (for an analysis of its use in the New Testament,vide especially Cremer,s.v.).Pluck it out, and cast it fromthee. The second clause shows the purely figurative character of the sentence. Our Lord commands . . .

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