Jesus Gives Us Hell

9.26.21 Mark 9:38–50

38 John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name. We tried to stop him, because he was not following us.” 39 But Jesus said, “Do not try to stop him, because no one who does a miracle in my name will be able soon afterward to speak evil about me. 40 Whoever is not against us is for us. 41 Amen I tell you: Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you belong to Christ, will certainly not lose his reward. 42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall into sin, it would be better for him if he were thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around his neck. 43 If your hand causes you to fall into sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life maimed, than to have two hands and go into hell, into the unquenchable fire, 44 ‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 45 If your foot causes you to fall into sin, cut it off. It is better for you to enter life lame, than to have two feet and be thrown into hell, 46 ‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 47 If your eye causes you to fall into sin, 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 hell, 48 ‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’ 49 For everyone will be salted with fire. 50 Salt is good. But if the salt loses its flavor, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”

Three times Jesus talks about hell in graphic terms as He calls it -

the unquenchable fire, 44 ‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.’

‘where their worm does not die, and the fire is not quenched.

He is referencing the last verses of Isaiah, where the prophet takes the saints on a tour of hell, through the valley of Hinnom on the outskirts of Jerusalem. It was a place where the Baal worshipers used to burn their babies after they sacrificed them. Jesus refers back to this place and plainly states that this place still exists, but it is a place of everlasting decay and fire. He talks about sinners being THROWN into hell. They don’t volunteer to be there. But on Judgment Day they will have no choice.

Did you know that according to one statistic, only 56% of people believe in hell. Another statistic states that almost half of all Americans (44%) have no idea where they’ll go when they die, but only 2% believe they’ll go to Hell. Maybe that’s why so many people are no longer coming to church, since nobody thinks anyone is going there. H. Richard Niebuhr described American Christianity pretty well today when he said, “A God without wrath brought men without sin into a Kingdom without judgment through the ministrations of a Christ without a Cross.”

Yes, most people would say that a God who sends people to hell doesn’t sound very loving and very kind. They would rather think of God in terms of acceptance and tolerance. But Jesus keeps on talking about hell again and again, three times in today’s text. He wants us to take the threat of hell very seriously. Actually, Jesus said that the pathway to Hell is wide, and MANY enter into it, while in comparison the pathway to Heaven is NARROW and only a FEW find it, at least in comparison with those who go to hell.

So we need to educate ourselves and our children on WHO GOD IS and how we can be saved from this place called Hell. We need to take the threats seriously, and not act as if Jesus were just throwing out empty threats here. We also need to beware of Satan and the demonic forces of this world who would like nothing more than to lead everyone into Hell with them. That’s how this text started out, with a battle. People were casting out demons in the NAME of JESUS. Jesus is the only One who has the power to free us from Hell and Satan. So when we talk about Christian Education, CHRIST needs to be at the center of this whole battle.

Jesus is very protective of His CHILDREN, first and foremost. “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to fall into sin, it would be better for him if he were thrown into the sea with a large millstone hung around his neck. I had the chance to teach the Sunday School children this past Sunday, and it was a lot of fun actually. One young boy asked question after question after question, he was so hungry to learn! How many of you were like that at one time? And then I think, what happened to those children over the years?