Matthew 18:9

Mat_18:6; Mat_18:9

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee.

Renouncing things that hinder

The every-sided development of all our faculties, the inferior, as well as the more elevated, is certainly to be regarded as the highest attainment, yet he who finds by experience that he cannot cultivate certain faculties-the artistic for example-without injury to his holiest feelings, must renounce their cultivation, and make it his first business, with painstaking fidelity, to preserve entire the innermost life of his soul, that higher life imparted to him by Christ, and which, by the dividing and distracting of his thoughts, might easily be lost, nor must it give him any disturbance, if some subordinate faculty be thus wholly sacrificed by him. Assuredly, however, we must add, that this loss is only in appearance, for, in the development of mans higher life, everything of a subordinate kind which he had sacrificed is again restored with increase of power. (Olshausen.)

Better suffer than sin

It is not merely that we should abstain from actual wrong-doing. That of course. It is not even that we should shun the avenues of sin; but, whatever the pain or loss involved, we are utterly to renounce that which we find to be the occasion of sin. The merely literal and outward is not the thing to dwell open. A man might cut off both hands, or pluck out both eyes, and yet leave the root of sin untouched. What Christ summons to is the surrender of everything, however pleasant, or dear, or seemingly necessary for the present life, and whatever suffering there may be in the surrender, rather than sin against God. The boldly figurative language well expresses the intensity of the change. (Dr. Culross.)

Moral surgery

I. That the sinners sin is his own-a part of himself. Thy right hand. Few people admit the ownership of their sins.

II. That deliverance from sin can be effected only through the sinners own act. Cut it off.

1. Painful. Cut it off.

2. Promptness. Cut with a determined stroke.

3. Persistent. Cut it off.

III. That heroically, in order to make reformation a permanent blessing, must the sinner abandon his sin. Cast it from thee.

1. This figure is suggestive of danger. The last resort.

2. The great Physician Himself urges the operation.

3. Every consideration, past, present, and future calls upon the sinner to decide. It is profitable for thee.

4. The fearful consequences of neglect. Cast into hell. (J. Kelly.)

Self-discipline

The Rev. R. Cecil possessed remarkable decision of character. When he went to Cambridge he made a resolution of restricting himself to a quarter of an hour daily in playing the violin-on which instrument he greatly excelled, and of which he was extravagantly fond; but, on finding it impracticable to adhere to his determination he cut the strings, and never afterwards replaced them. He had studied for a painter; and retained through a life a fondness and taste for the art. He was once called to visit a sick lady, in whose room there was a painting which so strongly attracted his notice, that he found his attention diverted from the sick person and absorbed by the painting; from that moment he formed the resolution of mortifying a taste which he found so intrusive, and so obstructive to him in his nobler pursuits and determined never again to frequent the exhibition.

Self-mortification

This is the circumcision of the heart, the mortifications of earthly members, which is no less hard to be done than for a man with one hand to cut off the other, or to pull out his own eyes, and then rake in the holes where they grew. And yet, hard or not hard, it must be done; for otherwise we are utterly undone for ever. Hypocrites, as artificial jugglers, seem to wound themselves, but do not: as stage-players, they seem to thrust themselves through their bodies, whereas the sword passeth only through their clothes. But the truly religious lets out the life-blood of his beloved lusts, lays them all dead at his feet, and burns their bones to lime, as the king of Moab did the king of Edom (Amo_2:1). As Joshua put down all the Canaanites, so doth grace all corruptions. As Asa deposed his own mother, so doth this, the mother of sin. It destroys them not by halves, as Saul; but hews them in pieces before the Lord, as Samuel. (John Trapp.)

The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 18:9. Ὀφθαλμὸς, eye) The eye offends by pride, as in this place; by envy, as in Mar 7:22; by wantonness [as in Mat 5:28-29.] There is a gradation here; for the eye is dearer than the hand or foot. Frequently, when the offence of one member has been conquered, offence ensues from another.—μονόφθαλμον, with one eye) μονόφθαλμος, has the same force in Matthew and Mark as ἑτερόφθαλμος has in Ammonius.—τὴν Γέενναν, hell) eternal fire: see the preceding verses.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Mat 18:9 . ὀφθαλμός , the eye, referred to as the means of expressing contempt ; in chap. Mat 5:29 as inciting to lust . μονόφθαλμον , properly should mean having only one eye by nature, but here = wanting an eye, for which the more exact term is ἑτερόφθαλμος , vide Lobeck, Phryn., p. 136.

The Expositor's Greek Testament, edited by W. Robertson Nicoll (1897–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 9. See Clarke on Mt 18:8.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Ver. 9. Pluck it out] This is the circumcision of the heart, the mortification of earthly members, which is no less hard to be done than for a man with one hand to cut off the other, or to pull out his own eyes, and then rake in the holes where they grew. And yet, hard or not hard, it must be done; for otherwise we are utterly undone for ever. Hypocrites, as artificial magicians, seem to wound themselves, but do not: as stage players, they seem to thrust themselves through their bodies, whereas the sword passeth only through their clothes. But the truly religious lets out the life blood of his beloved lusts, lays them all dead at his feet, and burns their bones to lime, as the king of Moab did the king of Edom, Amo 2:1. As Joshua put down all the Canaanites, so doth grace all corruptions. As Asa deposed his own mother, so doth this, the mother of sin. It destroys them not by halves, as Saul, but hews them in pieces before the Lord, as Samuel.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Hell fire. A synonym for the "everlasting fire" of the previous verse, and the "unquenchable fire" of the Baptist"s warning, (Mat_3:12) and to be understood in the same sense. It is good to be saved even with the loss of all that makes earthly life happy and precious.

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

hell

gehenna. (See Scofield "Mat 5:22").

The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it away from you

The command to destroy the eye, perhaps the most important part of the body, is probably an exaggeration for his hearers to do anything necessary to remove from their lives anything that causes them to sin. (See: Hyperbole and Generalization)

causes you to stumble

Here "stumble" is a metaphor for sin. AT: "causes you to sin" (See: Metaphor)

your ... you

All occurrences of these words are singular. Jesus is speaking to all people in general. It may be more natural for your language to translate with a plural "you." (See: Forms of You)

into life

"into eternal life"

than to be thrown into the eternal fire having both eyes

This can be stated in active form. AT: "than to have both eyes when God throws you into the eternal fire" (See: Active or Passive)

translationWords

stumble

eternity

hell

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

9. μονόφθαλμον. In classical Greek a distinction is made: the Cyclops or the Arimaspi (Hdt. III. 116) are μονόφθαλμοι. A man who has lost an eye is ἑτερόφθαλμος. Cp. Hdt. loc. cit. πείθομαι δὲ οὐδὲ τοῦτο, ὅκως μουνόφθαλμοι ἄνδρες φύονται.

τὴν γέενναν τοῦ πυρός. ‘The fiery Gehenna.’ This adjectival genitive may be paralleled from the classics: χόρτων εὐδένδρων Εὐρώπαν, Iph. in Taur. 134. See note ch. Mat 5:22, and Donaldson, Greek Grammar, p. 481, for other instances. But the frequency of the usage in Hellenistic Greek is again attributable to the Hebrew idiom.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9.] μονόφθαλμος, in classical Greek, is ‘born blind of one eye;’ here it is used for ἑτερόφθαλμος. See Herod. iii. 116.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

9. And if thy eye is causing thee to stumble, pluck it out, and cast (it) from thee. It is good for thee with one eye to enter into life, than having two eyes to be cast into the Gehenna of fire.] Mk. has: “And if thy eye should be causing thee to stumble, cast it out. It is good for thee with one eye to enter into the kingdom of God, than having two eyes to be cast into Gehenna, where ‘their worm dies not, and the fire is not quenched.’” Mt. assimilates to 5:29 by substituting εἰ—σκανδαλύζει for ἐὰν—σκανδαλίζῃ, σοί for σέ, ἔξελε for ἔκβαλε, and by adding καὶ βάλε ἀπὸ σοῦ̀. The addition of τοῦ πυρός after γέενναν is an assimilation to 5:22 and a substitute for Mk v. 48.

(L)

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.