Day 33: Nothing is more important than entering God’s kingdom
Do you remember what Jesus said before He healed the paralyzed man? “Son, your sins are forgiven!” (Mark 2:5). The man probably thought that being unable to walk was his main problem. But Jesus seemed to think that the man having his sins forgiven was even more important than being able to walk. In today’s passage, we’ll hear Jesus say this clearly: entering God’s kingdom is much more important than being able to walk.
In verse 28, John tells Jesus that the disciples had seen a man driving out demons in Jesus’ name, and they told the man to stop. How does Jesus respond (v. 39)?
In verse 40, Jesus divides everyone into two groups: people who are for Him and people who are against Him. What example does Jesus give of how someone might show they were on Jesus’ side (v. 41)?
Jesus says that anyone who helps one of His disciples will be rewarded (Mark 9:41). What does He say about anyone who causes one of the little ones who believe in Him to stumble (v. 42)?
We don’t know if Jesus just means children when He says “these little ones” or if He is talking about all His followers. But either way, He cares so much about His followers that if someone trips them up on their way into God’s kingdom, Jesus says it would be better for that person to drown.
In verse 43, Jesus says something even more shocking. What does he say you should do if your hand causes you to stumble?
Why does Jesus say it is better to lose one of your hands than to trip up and stop following Him (v. 44)?
What other body parts does Jesus say you’d be better to lose than to stop following Him (vv. 45–47)?
Jesus’ point here is not that we should literally cut off our body parts, because it’s not our feet or hands or eyes that cause us to sin. As He explained in Mark 7:21–23, our problem is our heart, and we can’t cut that out! Only Jesus’ death on the cross can deal with our sin. But Jesus is showing how important it is that we keep following Him—more important than being able to walk or see.
What two pictures does Jesus use to describe hell in verse 48?
Throughout Mark’s gospel, we’ve seen Jesus’ kindness and compassion. We’ve seen Him healing people and forgiving them. But here we see Jesus talking very seriously about God’s judgment. People who don’t put their trust in Jesus and believe He died and rose again for them will one day face that judgment.
What would you do if someone who you knew was really kind warned you that a terrible fire was coming and you had to come with them to get to safety now?
In verse 50, Jesus uses a metaphor, or word picture, of salt. In Matthew’s gospel, Jesus uses the same metaphor to talk about the distinctive way in which His followers should live (Matthew 5:13). What characteristic of His followers does Jesus highlight at the end of verse 50?
Thank Jesus that He died on the cross so that you and I could enter God’s kingdom instead of facing God’s judgment. Pray for a friend or family member, who is not yet trusting in Jesus, that he or she would recognize who Jesus is and come to Him for forgiveness and eternal life.