Matthew 18:9
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.
doesn’t seem symbolic....
Christ routinely used hyperboly to make His point. He simply meant to not hold on to anything that is causing you to not live the full Christian life.
Whether it be your job or home or relationships, if it’s causing you to compromise your Christian experience, get rid of it.
Seems symbolic to me. If your seeing something (your eye) cause you to sin (lust is what I think of as that fits me) - I would need to pluck out BOTH my eyes. I imagine Jesus would have understood that I can gaze on a good-looking gal with one eye just as well as two eyes.
It's completely symbolic if one takes it in the context it was said
Mark 9:14 When they got back to the talmidim, they saw a large crowd around them and some Torah-teachers arguing with them... 19 “People without any trust!” he responded. “How long will I be with you? How long must I put up with you?... 42 “Whoever ensnares one of these little ones who trust me — it would be better for him to have a millstone hung around his neck and be thrown in the sea. 43 If your hand makes you sin, cut it off! Better that you should be maimed but obtain eternal life, rather than keep both hands and go to Gei-Hinnom, to unquenchable fire!... 47 And if your eye makes you sin, pluck it out! Better that you should be one-eyed but enter the Kingdom of God, rather than keep both eyes and be thrown into Gei-Hinnom... 50 Salt is excellent, but if it loses its saltiness, how will you season it? So have salt in yourselves”
In context the people were arguing over religious doctrine as well as who is more righteous, higher on the totem pole so to speak. Yah'shua reminded them that there is only one doctrine, so have prudence and work to preserve what He is teaching, which is his Father's Torah, rather than bickering amongst themselves. If we keep HIS Torah pure and full of flavor, then we ourselves are full of flavor in HIS eyes.
doesn’t seem symbolic.... ... “
That is to you.
Let me ask you a question. If you are going to Heaven, what are you planing to take with you? Meaning do you think people with these physical bodies go up there? Or down there in hell?
Did you assume you will be going to Heaven with your physical body? .......... These physical bodies have purpose only on Earth. So you need for your needs while on earth every part of your body. But you don't need
those desires (like more and more money ... etc.) that will lead you to hell.
Just reason a bit.
“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.
I glued my eyes to the wall, laughed my head off, flew out the door, cried my eyes out and cut off my nose to spite my face. Literal or symbolic?
Seems completely symbolic, actually.