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PER201
Offenses and occasions for stumbling
Pericope PER201 presents Jesus' private teaching in Capernaum on offenses and occasions for stumbling. He distinguishes two cases: those who cause new converts to stumble, and Christians confronted with their own weaknesses. Through radical bodily metaphors, Jesus calls us to eliminate everything that leads to sin, stressing that life in the kingdom of God is worth any sacrifice. Matthew, Mark and Luke report this teaching with complementary nuances.
Mark 9.42-48 (King James Version) :And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he were cast into the sea.And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire:Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.King James Version (1769), domaine public — texte : eBible.org