Mark 9:41 (LSB)

Passage

For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name because you are of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

Nearby Context

Mark 9:39 But Jesus said, “Do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in My name, and be able soon afterward to speak evil of Me.

Mark 9:40 For he who is not against us is for us.

Mark 9:41 For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My name because you are of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

Mark 9:42 “And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if, with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.

Mark 9:43 And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life crippled, than, having your two hands, to go into hell, into the unquenchable fire,

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "whoever", "gives", "water", "drink", "name", "christ", "truly", and "lose". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "whoever" and "gives", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 40's "For he who is not against us..." into verse 42's "And whoever causes one of these little...", so "whoever" and "gives" belong inside that flow. In Mark context, the local focus is Christ, faith, and discipleship.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "whoever" and "gives" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.