Woe to the man through whom the stumbling block comes!

Matthew 18:1-20

Rank in the Kingdom

18 At that time the disciples came to Jesus and said, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” ² And He called a child to Himself and set him before them, ³ and said, “Truly I say to you, unless you are converted and become like children, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. ⁴ Whoever then humbles himself as this child, he is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. ⁵ And whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; ⁶ but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.

Stumbling Blocks

⁷ “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

⁸ “If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. ⁹ If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.

¹⁰ “See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. ¹¹ [For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost.]

Ninety-nine Plus One

¹² “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? ¹³ If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. ¹⁴ So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.

Discipline and Prayer

¹⁵ “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. ¹⁶ But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed. ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. ¹⁸ Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven; and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.

¹⁹ “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. ²⁰ For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”

As we continue in Matthew from today's reading in the One Year Bible(link available on links page), we have in this brief portion of scripture several teachings of Jesus. I want to begin by briefly addressing the last portion of the text. Here Jesus gives instruction on how we are to deal with a brother(fellow believer) who sins. First we need to acknowledge that we all have sinned and it is not our job to be judge of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus included this instruction for us though so there is an importance and an application for it. This pattern of confronting is to be done when a believer is living a sinful lifestyle. This is not a license we have to confront others about the things they do that bother or offend us. Mark 11:25 tells us what we are to do about those things.

"Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.We are to forgive.

So this instruction is about sin and we need to recognize what the desired outcome of this process is supposed to be. Galations 6:1 speaks to this.   Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.  The purpose of confronting the one in sin is for restoration not condemnation. The desired outcome is reconcilliation first to God and then to the body of Christ. The power and authority we have to bind things in agreement is both a great privilege and a tremendous responsibility.   

Let's return then to where the text begins with the dosciples asking Jesus who was greatest in the kingdom. There is a natural human tendency to compare ourselves to others. In many things in life we are judged and rewarded according to our accomplishments or our relative standing in some other measurable way. There seems to have been this struggle within the disciples to establish their rank. In Mark 10 there is another account of this type of struggle within the disciples.

³⁵ James and John, the two sons of Zebedee, *came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, we want You to do for us whatever we ask of You.” ³⁶ And He said to them, “What do you want Me to do for you?” ³⁷ They said to Him, “Grant that we may sit, one on Your right and one on Your left, in Your glory.”³⁸ But Jesus said to them... to sit on My right or on My left, this is not Mine to give; but it is for those for whom it has been prepared.”

⁴¹ Hearing this, the ten began to feel indignant with James and John. ⁴² Calling them to Himself, Jesus *said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them; and their great men exercise authority over them. ⁴³ But it is not this way among you, but whoever wishes to become great among you shall be your servant; ⁴⁴ and whoever wishes to be first among you shall be slave of all. ⁴⁵ For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”

In today's text rather than the servant aspect of our relationship with others Jesus teaches of our need to be " converted and become like children" in order to enter the kingdom of heaven. The kingdom of heaven is more than the eternal life we have when our time here on earth is over. The kingdom of heaven is what Jesus proclaimed. It is the spiritual realm we are to live in even as our physical bodies are here on earth. Jesus says we need to enter it as children. Children possess an innocence and a trust, a faith that believes what they are told. Children desire to be like their parents, they pattern themselves after and learn from them. In the kingdom we become children of God. Romans 8:14-17 says:

¹⁴ For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. ¹⁵ For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” ¹⁶ The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, ¹⁷ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.  

As children of God in the kingdom of heaven, we need to have a childlike faith that trusts and believes what our Father tells us. We need to have a childlike obedience that is born out of love and respect for our Father. Then we will be great in the kingdom of heaven, and as Paul says we will be heirs of our Father, with all the benefits, privileges and promises of His kingdom, by the Spirit of God in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior. 

Jesus then cautions the disciples about stumbling blocks, about hindering a child of God from coming into the kingdom. We can be or create stumbling blocks when we hold people to a higher standard than God holds them to. When we put on extra rules and regulations for people beyond what God requires. It is much more difficult to be a fully recognized and functioning member of many churches today than it is to be  fully recognized and functioning in the kingdom of heaven. The extra rules and regulations, the man made requirements we put on others to become members of our church, group or denomination, those heavy burdens we place on others can actually become the millstone around our own necks to the extent that we hinder people from coming to Christ and into the kingdom. The text says: "For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost." and  "So it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish." 

 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

We are to be like Christ and lay down our lives for others. A life sacrificed to Christ and yielded to the Holy Spirit becomes a stepping stone for others to come to the kingdom rather than a stumbling block.

Heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ, Holy Spirit may my life truly be yielded to You in childlike faith and obedince. Forgive me for any times that I may have been a stumbling block, hindering others from coming into the kingdom. Forgive me for times I may have sought to condemn rather than restore my brother or sister. Forgive me also for any offence that I have held against anyone. I desire to fully forgive so that I may be fully forgiven. May my life, yielded and submitted to You, truly be a stepping stone for others to come into Your kingdom.   Amen