Worms, Fire, and Eye-Gouging: What Does Jesus Mean by the Violent Language in Mark 9

Jesus uses a lot of violent language at the end of Mark 9. Millstones hung around people’s necks who are cast into the sea. Eyes gouged out and hands chopped off. People salted with fire. What’s up with all this? What does it mean? Using Proverbs, Leviticus, Isaiah, and some intertestamental literature, Chad Bird leads us into the Jewish thought world from which Jesus drew these graphic images. Along the way, we learn about Jewish exorcists, the meaning of Gehenna (or hell), and how we are “salty” disciples. Join us in this week’s edition of “Reading the Gospels through Hebrew Eyes” as we focus on Mark 9:38-50.

[@abeth]

You do a lot of hard work for us to make it contextual understanding. Thank you, Rabbi.

[@user-il7us3rr9m]

You truly explain the word of God well for understanding 🙏

[@pdyt2009]

If you mix "Himalayan Salt" with hot water to make a fine slurry, and then either boil it gently in a pan or spread it out on a lipped baking sheet in the sun to dry, you will end up with salt that contains "unsalt" - usually minerals, but also some impurities. Or you can mimic it by adding some white compound like gypsum or white clay powder, or even corn starch, so the 'salt' looks fine/white, but when added to hot water and slurried, then dried, you can blow away the impurities to reveal the real salt. It makes for an interesting Bible illustration of how "salting by fire" might look.

[@brunet42]

Thank you Chad. God blesses me through you!

[@JonAdamsMinistries]

Hey Chad, just finished your book Your God Is Too Glorious. What an incredible read! I create content here on KZbin as well so it was great to see in the back of your book that you have a channel. Just subscribed! Praying for your ministry :)

[@chadbird1517]

Thanks, Jon! I appreciate the encouraging word. I pray my channel here is as much a blessing as the book was.

[@ronronaldp2633]

The ultimate Violence was the torture and death of Jesus (in our place).