Faithful and Saltless Disciples
Faithful disciples will receive great rewards, but those who harm their weaker brethren run the risk of Gehenna.
The next story begins with John complaining
because someone who is not from among Christ’s inner circle is casting out
demons in his name. But his complaint was rich in irony since just a few verses
earlier the disciples found themselves unable to exorcise demons because of
their unbelief.
And if
this man from outside Christ’s inner circle is casting out demons, then it is
God who is doing so through him. One who performs miraculous deeds in his name
cannot easily revile the name of Jesus, and that constitutes evidence that this
man is commissioned by God.
Moreover,
conduct that conforms to the life of Jesus results in great rewards, including
everlasting life.
However,
at the end of the age, a man’s failure to emulate Jesus of Nazareth will result
in horrific punishment, a reality he illustrates with the image of Gehenna.
FIRES OF GEHENNA
- (Mark 9:41-50) - “For whosoever shall give you to drink a cup of water in the name that you are Christ’s; truly, I say to you, in nowise shall he lose his reward. And whosoever shall cause to stumble one of these little ones that believe, it is seemly for him, rather, if there is hung a large millstone about his neck and he is cast into the sea. And if your hand shall cause you to stumble, cut it off. It is seemly for you maimed to enter life, rather than having the two hands to depart into the Gehenna into the fire that is not quenched. And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is seemly for you to enter life lame rather than having the two feet to be cast into the Gehenna. And if your eye causes you to stumble, thrust it out. It is seemly for you one-eyed to enter the kingdom of God rather than having two eyes to be cast into Gehenna, where their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched. For everyone with fire shall be salted. Salt is good: but if salt becomes saltless, wherewith will you prepare it? Have within yourselves salt and be at peace one with another.”
Most
noteworthy here is how Jesus warns his disciples about the possibility of this grim
fate for unfaithful disciples rather than for unbelievers or those who reject him
outright. It is his follower who causes others to “stumble” that is at
the greatest risk of the “fires of Gehenna.”
The image
of a millstone cast into the sea would strike a fearful chord. Jews of the
period feared the sea and viewed drowning as an especially horrific form of death.
Moreover, dead bodies sink to the bottom of the sea, and thus, they can not
be recovered for proper burial, something of prime importance in Judaism.
The name ‘Gehenna’ is derived from the valley of
Hinnom, effectively, a garbage dump located to the south of Jerusalem. It is
the place where refuse is burned outside the city walls, including the dead
bodies of criminals.
Reportedly,
its fires burned continuously in Christ’s time. He uses that image to portray the
horrific fate of anyone who does not deal with his sins, especially sins against
the weak and the powerless.
SACRIFICIAL SALT
“Where
their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched.” This clause echoes a
passage in Isaiah:
- “Then they shall go forth and look on the corpses of the men who have transgressed against me. For their worm shall not die and their fire shall not be quenched” - (Isaiah 66:24).
Here,
Jesus says nothing about “eternal” punishment. In the image, it is the annihilating
fire that is “unquenchable,” not the punishment inflicted on the offender.
The emphasis is on the result of the process – the utter destruction of the
offender.
Fire and salt refine and prove things. Being “salted with fire” also symbolizes purification. If that is the intended meaning, then the process occurs in the life of the disciple as he purges himself of sin and other causes of stumbling through suffering.
However, the
image is an allusion to the sacrificial system described in Leviticus.
All animal sacrifices are to be “salted,” and burnt offerings are
consumed completely by fire. In this way, they become a “pleasing odor”
to Yahweh. Furthermore, “salt” is a sign of the covenant between Yahweh
and Israel - (Leviticus 2:13, Numbers 18:19).
Thus, his disciples
must live their lives as a whole and living sacrifices to God. And
to become such “living sacrifices,” they must live in conscious service
to others, especially to the weakest and most insignificant of their “brethren.”
To cause a
weaker brother to stumble is the exact opposite of what it means to be his
disciple. By abusing others, the disciple will become one whose “salt is
salt-less.”
And it is in
this sacrificial way that the disciple loses his life for his sake, but
ironically, saves it in the end.
