Mark 9:28-47

²⁸When Jesus came into the house, his disciples asked him privately, “Why could we not cast it out?”

²⁹He said to them, “This kind cannot be cast out except by prayer.”

³⁰They went out from there and passed through Galilee. He did not want anyone to know where they were,

³¹for he was teaching his disciples. He said to them, “The Son of Man will be delivered into the hands of men, and they will put him to death. When he has been put to death, after three days he will rise again.”

³²But they did not understand this statement, and they were afraid to ask him.

³³Then they came to Capernaum. After he entered the house he asked them, “What were you discussing on the way?”

³⁴But they were silent. For they had been arguing with one with another on the way about who was the greatest.

³⁵Sitting down, he called the twelve together and he said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.”

³⁶He took a little child and placed him in their midst. He took him in his arms and said to them,

³⁷“Whoever receives such a child in my name receives me; and whoever receives me, does not receive me but the one who sent me.”

³⁸John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone driving out demons in your name and we stopped him, because he does not follow us.”

³⁹But Jesus said, “Do not stop him, for there is no one who will do a mighty work in my name and can soon afterwards say anything bad about me.

⁴⁰Whoever is not against us is for us.

⁴¹Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink because you belong to Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

⁴²Whoever causes one of these little ones who believes in me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea.

⁴³If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life maimed than to have two hands and to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire.

⁴⁵If your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off. It is better for you to enter into life lame than to have your two feet and be thrown into hell.

⁴⁷If your eye causes you to stumble, tear it out. It is better for you to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and to be thrown into hell,