“The point here is that you and I – even apostles – could be led astray into sin with disastrous consequences. Jesus is not saying that it would be good for us to mutilate ourselves, but that we should radically avoid sin. Jesus used hyperbole at times. This is one of those times. The Lord wasn’t telling us to be like Ammonius. I can say that with confidence for several reasons.
First, self-mutilation was prohibited in the Law. Though we are not under the Law, Jesus fulfilled it. And Paul told Timothy to watch out for people who tell you you have to abstain from certain foods or forbid marriage. He said God provides us richly with all things to enjoy.
Second, when people came to Jesus with blind eyes, crippled feet, shriveled hands, He didn’t say, “Actually, that’s better for you so you won’t sin.” He healed them.
Third, let’s be honest: Your hand doesn’t cause you to sin. Neither does your foot. Neither does your eye. Those are members of your body controlled and directed by your heart and mind. A quadriplegic is still capable of sin despite their bodily limitations. A blind man can still lust.
Christ’s point is the serious danger that sin poses in a life. We should not think of it as just bugs on the windshield. He wants us to think of sin like gangrene. If we find our lives infected with sin in some area, we should do what any surgeon would do if we brought to him a necrotic hand, whose infection was spreading up the arm. He would amputate.”
