Mark, in closing the personal teaching of the disciples in this latest section by the lessons being taught by Jesus, quotes Jesus in some difficult, yet challenging realities and effects of the things that cause one to stumble and the sin we allow to linger within our lives, which we forbid ourselves to deny or cut off and as a result, are inevitably destroyed by them. Jesus, trying to teach and prepare His disciples for the Great Commission continues to teach what it is to be a disciple and pick up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow after Jesus.
After teaching the disciples about doing all things for His namesake in verses 38-41 in not forbidding others to use Jesus’ name due to jealousies and envy, uniformity rather than unity, and false alliances that elevate above the name of Jesus for the sake of alliances. Jesus begins to warn against the destructiveness of stumbling and sin within the life of the believer and the need to deny such things or be destroyed by such things. We learn three lessons from Jesus in denying sin or being destroyed by sin…