Don't Be A Stumbling Block! Matthew 18:6-9

Causing to Stumble

6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. 

Most commentators think "little ones" not only refers to children young in age, but also "little children"  who have humbled themselves to and come to Jesus as a little child.  Note "causes" seems to be intentional. 

"It is a wicked thing to sin, and it is a far greater evil to lead others into sin. But leading one of Jesus’ little ones into sin is far worse, because you then initiate someone intoan instance or a pattern of sin that corrupts whatever innocence they had." Guzik

"The stone, and anyone attached to it, was sure to sink and never come up again. And, this was a big millstone. “Most millstones were hand tools for domestic use…here it is the heavy stone pulled around by a donkey.” (Carson)

“In the deep part of the sea.” (Bruce) “Moreover, the very picture of drowning had its terror for the Jew. Drowning was sometimes a Roman punishment, but never Jewish.” (Barclay)

7 Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come! 

Obviously Jesus could not be more emphatic on this topic.  It was one thing for someone to reject him on their own volition, but quite another issue for anyone to deliberately tempt someone away from him. 

"If God promises to deal with those who offend His own, it shows that He defends and protects His own. This teaches us that in Jesus Christ, no other person can wreck our life. If they bring offense in our life, God will deal with them, but not forsake us in time or eternity." Guzik

8 If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. 

Jesus has given stern warnings here about leading others into sin, and now he teaches them about the seriousness of their own sin.  Jesus is not being literal here, but imploring the disciples to go to any length to remove their own stumbling blocks. 

We tend to take sin fairly lightly knowing that Jesus died for our sins, and we will not face the consequences we deserve for our sin.  I like how Guzik frames the issue, 

"If I cut off my right hand, I can still sin with my left. If my left eye is gouged out, my right eye can still sin – and if all such members are gone, I can still sin in my heart and mind. God calls us to a far more radical transformation than any sort of bodily mutilation can address."

Bottom line is by rooting out the sinful patterns in our lives, we are much less likely to cause others to stumble.  If you are a mature believer, or in a position of influence in other's lives, dealing with your own sin as soon as possible is critical.   Of course we all sin.  None of us are righteous.  But the question is when we sin, do we repent and turn from it.  When we sin and those who look up to us see our repentance and desire to turn from what we know is wrong, it will teach them a lot about the struggle we have with our sinful nature.  Though we fall, we get up and commit to following Jesus led by his Spirit, not by the flesh.    

9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Jesus uses another metaphor which gives the disciples essentially the same message.  The only differnce we might point out is that your eyes are the window to the soul.  What we focus on will create the trajectory for our actions.   

Why do you think Jesus is so forceful in his teaching about not causing newer or younger believers to stumble?  What kind of damage have you seen in the church, when church leaders fall because of getting caught up in sin and are not willing to repent of it?  Who in your life might be looking to you as an example of a Christ follower?  What are some areas in your life that you need to "cut off" or "gouge out" in order serve Jesus more faithfully?