Henry begins the session by going back to Mark 9:35, to help the class understand a Jewish custom that would not be easily understood today: the act of Jesus sitting down to talk to His disciples. When a teacher in Jewish culture sat down to say something, those of the Jewish culture would have understood that their teacher had something very important to say, and that they should listen even more closely.
Next is a further examination of Mark 9:37 (when Jesus takes a child in His arms) and the use and meanings in the Scriptures of Truth of the Greek New Testament word “dechetai” which is often translated in English, “welcome”. In this discussion, Henry also mentions that children were largely invisible in Jewish culture, and Jesus’ act of taking the child in His arms would have been most unusual for a teacher to extend that kind of recognition of, and fondness to, a child.
The discussion then moves on to considering Mark 9:42-49. In that discussion are discussed whether Jesus’ had a literal or hyperbolic view of our responsibility when we struggle with sin, and our responsibility of how we should deal with sin in each of our lives when we discover it. The session finishes with an examination of the Biblical concept of Hell, and how the Holy Scriptures both in Mark 9:47-49 (and a few other related verses in other parts of the Scriptures of Truth) help give us more understanding about the Biblical teaching of Hell.
Host's notes:
Dechetai: receive, take, welcome, accept, bear with
Eis: child, slave
Pisteuō v. – trust, put one’s trust in, have confidence in, have trust in; believe, have faith
Pistis – trust, confidence; belief, faith
Scandalon: an obstacle; that which causes stumbling, trouble or sin
Scandalezo: cause someone to sin, to anger or to shock
Gehenna: “The Valley of Gehennom”. Originally where babies had been sacrificed. Later, in and around New Testament times, it was a dump with a smoldering fire.
Hades: the abode of the dead.
Zoe: life
Zoe ionias: eternal life
Basileia tou theo: kingdom of God
Kingdom of Heaven literally: Kingdom of the Heavens (Greek: “Basileia tou Uranus”
Mikros adj. – little
Pur – fire
The words to our music are from George Fox’s 19th Epistle in 1652 (page 14 in The Epistles of George Fox ) . The music was composed and sung by Paulette Meier.
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