Woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!

Matthew 18:1-20 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

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.

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.

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.

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.”

In Matthew 5:23-24 Jesus says:   “If you are presenting your offering at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your offering there before the altar and go; first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and present your offering.”   In today’s text He says:   “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.”   I think that sometimes we tend to mix and interchange these two principles.  Often, we tend to think that it is our right or even our responsibility to let others know when we have something against them; when they have offended us. When He was on the cross, in Luke 23:34 Jesus said:  “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”   There is a difference between our being offended by something or someone and that person actually being in sin. Even if someone has sinned against us, it is not necessary that we point out their sin against us in order to forgive them. In Psalm 51:4, David says:  Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight. It is only their sin against God that we should show them.    1 Peter 4:8 says:  Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.  On the other hand, if someone else has something against us, even if it is not sin, we should do our best to be reconciled to that person and not hold onto offense.

In today’s text, Jesus says: “Whoever receives one such child in My name receives Me; 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. 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 should not though consider compromising righteousness because it offends many people. In fact quite to the contrary, in Matthew 5:17-19 Jesus says:  “Think not that I have come to abolish the law and the prophets; I have come not to abolish them but to fulfil them. For truly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, not an iota, not a dot, will pass from the law until all is accomplished. Whoever then relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but he who does them and teaches them shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.”  We actually become a stumbling block to others, hindering their access to the kingdom of heaven, if we relax God’s standards. Again, “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.” 

Jesus says:  “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!” In Matthew 7:13-14 Jesus says:   “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”  In John 14:6 He says:  "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.”  We should never put stumbling blocks in people’s path, hindering their access to heaven by our judgment. Neither though should we cause them to stumble by allowing them to believe there is any way to heaven a part form Jesus.

Jesus says:  “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. 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. For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.”  God is infinite and eternal. He is not limited or restricted by time or space. So, right now, as you are reading this, I will agree with you. If there is anyone whom you desire to know that Jesus is the way, the only way to heaven. May every stumbling block that has been put in their way be removed. May they hear, believe and receive the words of Jesus, who says:  “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”   Amen.