A common misinterpretation takes this verse literally as a command for physical self-mutilation, such as gouging out eyes or cutting off limbs to avoid sin, ignoring Jesus' use of hyperbole common in Jewish teaching to emphasize moral urgency rather than endorse bodily harm; others wrongly apply it to justify extreme asceticism or legalism, or dismiss it as irrelevant since no one literally follows it, missing the deeper call to internal heart purity and vigilance against sin's influence.
Matthew 18:9
King James Version (1769)
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.
Jesus uses hyperbolic language in this passage to underscore the extreme seriousness of sin and the unparalleled value of entering eternal life, urging believers to take decisive, radical action to remove any source of temptation or stumbling—likened to plucking out an offending eye—because the consequences of persistent sin lead to hell fire, prioritizing spiritual wholeness over physical integrity.