"If your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off": questions over the figurative nature of Mark 9:43-47 and its synoptic parallels

A number of Jesus' sayings have been taken to be instances of hyperbole. Mark 9:43-47 is so construed by many. The present article uses Relevance Theory and other work on hyperbole to define its scalar nature and expressive function. The encoded meanings of language and the roles of co-text (discursive factors) and context (non-discursive factors) in inferring meaning are investigated in relation to Mark 9:43-47 and its synoptic parallels. It is concluded that considerations of language and co-text provide no evidence that Mark 9:43-47 is hyperbolic; if it was construed as hyperbolic by the Markan audience, the reason for this lies in its now unknown context of utterance. The opposite is the case with Matthew's treatments of the saying. He provides a co-text that prompts for a spiritualised and thus metaphorical interpretation of it.