GREAT THINGS ENTERPRISE
CLAUDE BLACK
Mark 9:47
Gouge Out the Evil Eye
I had eyeglasses everywhere—beside my chair for reading; beside the computer for reading the screen; glasses for driving; and bifocals for everyday use. So it was time to go to the ophthalmologist, who confirmed what I suspected: cataracts had formed. I had been told earlier that this condition was developing. The physician said there were two choices: monofocal lenses or varifocal lenses. I chose varifocal lenses. After the first surgery, I wore a patch over my eye for a few days. When I went back to the physician’s office, an assistant removed the bandage. She wore a multicolored uniform. The vividness of the colors startled me. I hadn’t realized the degree of change the cataracts had made to my vision. Later, I had a varifocal lens placed in my other eye. The clarity of vision and distinction of colors were remarkable. The cataracts had gradually formed over several years, so the change had not been noticeable; I had experienced blurred vision for years.
According to Mark, Jesus emphasized to his disciples the importance of avoiding anything that might cause them to sin, even if it meant cutting off a hand or a foot. Then he said, “And if your eye causes you to sin, throw it out. To enter into the Kingdom of God having one eye is better than having two eyes to be cast into Gehenna.” (Mark 9:47)
A man looked at a boat and thought about how wonderful it would be to own one. He wouldn’t miss church too often—maybe one Sunday a month—to enjoy the boat and fish. The boat was expensive, so letting it sit unused three Sundays a month seemed a terrible waste; thus, boating soon occupied every Sunday during the summer. When the weather turned too cold to boat, he found pleasure in maintaining the boat on Sundays—so no more church attendance. It all started with a look.
Looks that see other people as inferior, or generate lust for someone else, or foster greed for someone else’s success, or see opportunities to enrich oneself by cheating—all begin with the eye. Gouge it out, Jesus said, because it is better to enter heaven with one eye than to have two eyes and be cast into hell.
Jesus’ use of hyperbole drew attention to the enduring truth that anything that threatens to prevent one from entering the Kingdom of God should be avoided.
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