“doesn’t seem symbolic....”
Of course it is...the point is that our soul is worth much more than our physical being...and that temptation of any kind is evil at work and we should strive to push temptation away. None of us are perfect...God knows this.
Absolutely right. The bible teaches throughout that sin comes from the heart. Thus, cutting off physical members won't stop sin. In fact Jesus said it was a sin even to have sinful thoughts. Should people also cut out their brains? One thing the passage does establish without question: The horrible reality that hell does exist.