Protecting Little Ones from Stumbling
Matthew 18:5-9
Last time we began to study Matthew 18 which contains the fourth great section of Jesus’ teachings in the Gospel of Matthew. Here, Jesus is teaching us as believing children how to relate to God and one another in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus’ disciples prompted this teaching when they asked, “Who then is greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (Matt. 18:1). The disciples were jockeying for position in Jesus’ kingdom, each desiring to be the greatest, the most honored disciple.
In response, Jesus called a small child, set him right in the middle of them all, and told them, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 18:3). In their pride and self-seeking, the disciples thought they merited greatness in the kingdom. But Jesus made it clear that the kingdom of heaven is not about our merit at all. That minor child had the least accomplishments, wisdom, and abilities of anyone in the room. In the eyes of the disciples, he was insignificant. Yet, he is the epitome of greatness in the kingdom. In fact, no one can even enter the kingdom unless they turn away from self-merit and humbly come to Jesus as a little child.
No one gets into the kingdom of heaven on their own merit. We don’t deserve the kingdom and we could never earn a place in the kingdom. Like a child, We must enter by faith in the merits of Jesus Christ. The only people who are in the kingdom of heaven are those who have come humbly, without merit, trusting in Jesus Christ alone to save them from sin and give them eternal life. It is only by God’s mercy and grace shown to us in Christ that we get in.
Since everyone enters the kingdom the same way, then how could we ever think that we are greater than anyone else in the kingdom? How could we ever think that someone else is lower than us? Do you see how incompatible that attitude is with Christ’s kingdom? A true Christian attitude is “I am the least important person here, and I come, not to see how good I can be treated, but I come to serve you because you are so important to Christ.” This attitude of humility forms the foundation of all kingdom relationships that Jesus teaches about in the rest of Matthew 18.
The disciples needed to learn the attitude of humility because they were stumbling and tripping over each other to be named the greatest. They were being an offense to each other.
That leads us to today’s passage because the key word in Matthew 18:5-9 is “offenses”. You see it three times in Matthew 18:7, “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” The Greek word is σκάνδαλον (skandalon), meaning a trap, snare, or stumbling block. It pictures something that trips up and causes someone to stumble and fall—thus something that offends or causes sin. Jesus used this noun in Matthew 13 in the parable of the wheat and tares concluding, “The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.” (Matt. 13:41-42). Jesus also used it when Peter took Jesus aside and rebuked Him for saying that the Son of Man must suffer and be killed (Matt. 16:21-22). Jesus said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are an offense to Me, for you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men” (Matt. 16:23). Peter was being used by Satan as a stumbling block to hinder Christ from going to the cross to die for our sins.
The verb form of this word, σκανδαλίζω (skandalizō), is also used three times in our passage. You see it in Matthew 18:6 translated, “cause … to sin”. Literally, the verse reads “But whoever shall offend (or cause to stumble) one of these little ones who believe in Me…” The same verb is in Matthew 18:8,9 where Jesus says that if your hand, foot, or eye “causes you to sin” cut it off or pluck it out. Again, the idea is that it offends or causes you to stumble and fall.
So, an offense is a stumbling block that trips up or hinders people from coming to Christ and believing in Him. How do we keep from stumbling and help keep others from stumbling?
First, Jesus teaches us a…
1. Condition: Receive believers in Christ (Matt. 18:5)
In Matthew 18:5 Jesus says, “Whoever receives one little child like this in My name receives Me.” Remember—Jesus has a little child with Him. The child pictured the lowliness and humility of those who come to Jesus without any merit, accomplishments, or ability of their own. Jesus is talking not just about receiving and welcoming children—that is certainly important to Jesus as we see in Matthew 19—but He is really talking about receiving believers. In Matthew 18:6, He calls them “these little ones who believe in Me.” So this applies to anyone who by grace believes in Jesus with humble childlike faith—no matter their age.
To “receive” means to accept with open arms, minds, and hearts, welcoming someone with gracious hospitality. The term was often used of receiving honored guests and meeting their needs with special attention and kindness. We are to receive other believers in Christ like they are honored guests. Why? Because we receive them “in His name”. That is, we receive them not based on their merits, not based on what they can do for us in the church, not based on their ability or accomplishments, but simply because they belong to Christ. We receive one another the same way we entered the kingdom, on the merits of Christ.
It is such a temptation for us to assign value to people based on how they look, what they do, how much money they have, and what they can do for us. Jesus says that none of that matters in the kingdom. None of us is more important than anyone else in the kingdom. Therefore, we receive each other based on the merits of Christ alone. We accept each other and treat each other with loving kindness for one reason only—because we all belong to Christ by grace.
Jesus identifies with each lowly and insignificant believer. When we receive each other, we are receiving Christ Himself because Christ Jesus is in every true believer. Jesus values each and every one of those who trust in Him with humble faith, and He watches carefully to see that they are treated rightly by others. Remember what Jesus said in Matthew 10?
He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives Him who sent Me. He who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward. And he who receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man shall receive a righteous man’s reward. And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward. (Matt. 10:40-42).
To keep from causing others to stumble, we must receive other believers the same way that Christ received us. We welcome others on the basis of the merits of Christ alone. He has loved them, accepted them, saved them, and qualified them just as He did us.
This brings us to our second point where Jesus gives a stern …
2. Caution: Refuse to cause others to stumble (Matt. 18:6-7)
Matthew 18:6 says, “But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Literally, Jesus speaks here of an upper-millstone—a stone that was used in the grinding of grain on a mill. It was so large and heavy that it had to be harnessed to a donkey by a large beam, so that the stone could be turned by brute force. It was so big that, if it were tied to a man’s neck and he were thrown into the sea, he’d sink directly to the bottom and not come up. What’s more, Jesus speaks of throwing such a man into the depth of the sea—a punishment that is severe and permanent.
The warning is even stronger than the picture Jesus gives. Notice that Jesus isn’t simply saying that someone who harms one of His little ones should have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea. He is saying that such a person would be better off if that were done for them than what will happen to them. Jesus is warning that an unspeakably worse destiny awaits such a person than anything that could be done with a millstone and the sea! He speaks in Matthew 18:8,9 of being ‘cast into the everlasting fire‘ (v. 8), or of being ‘cast into hell-fire‘ (v. 9). It is better to drown in the waters of the ocean than to burn in the fires of hell.
The Judge of all the earth is putting the people of this world on notice never to mess with any of His little believing ones. No one had better ever interfere with their faith, or hinder them from coming to Him. And once they come, no one had better ever cause them to stumble in their faith or tempt them into falling away! Obviously our Lord is serious about not causing our brothers to stumble. You would be better off to tie yourself to the ocean floor than to have Jesus catch you offending His little ones.
Now, Jesus understands the fallen world in which we live. He says, “Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” (Matt. 18:7). A “woe” here is an expression of sorrow as well as a pronouncement of judgment. Jesus pronounces “Woe!” on the world because of its offenses. We live in a world that is full of snares, traps, stumbling blocks, and offenses. John writes in his first epistle,
15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world–the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life–is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever. (1 John 2:15-17).
John said watch out for the world, don’t love it, it’s a trap, it causes people to stumble. It will drag you into things that will lead you into judgment. Our world advertises sin in almost every commercial. The world takes pride in immorality, greed, and deception. There is no way to live in this world and not be confronted by its stumbling blocks. The devil has devised them to keep people from believing in Jesus and finding life in His name. Jesus said, “offenses must come,” stumbling blocks are inevitable. But listen—they may be inevitable, but He did not say they are acceptable. The second “woe” that Jesus pronounces is on those who put them there, “but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!” (Matt. 18:7). We are responsible before God not only for our own sins, but for our part in causing others to stumble as well.
There are a number of examples of causing others to sin in the scriptures. For example, Jeroboam was the first king of the northern ten tribes of Israel that broke away from Judah after the reign of Solomon. King Jeroboam set up high places of idolatrous worship to rival the temple in Jerusalem. His name became a byword for idolatry. The prophet Ahijah says about Jerobaom that God “will give Israel up because of the sins of Jeroboam, who sinned and who made Israel sin” (1 Kings 14:16). The evil kings who came after Jeroboam “walked in the way of Jeroboam, and in his sin by which he had made Israel sin” (1 Kings 15:26,30,34; 16:19,26; 21:22; 22:52).
Greg Allen applies what Jesus warns this way:
Woe to that man or woman who keeps ‘little ones’ from coming to Jesus. Woe to them when they undercut a growing faith in Him; or when they deliberately keep those little ones from church; or when they deliberately mix the pure gospel message up with the philosophies and religions of this world in order to confuse them or hide its truth from them. Woe to the teacher or college professor who mocks and belittles the faith of Jesus’ little ones; or who makes it their aim to destroy the faith of those unfortunate believers who end up in their classroom. Woe to those who recruit Jesus’ little ones to cults and false religions though the pretense of professing the truths of the Christian faith; thus embittering their poor victims from the pure claims of His word. Woe to anyone who would dare to lead one of Jesus’ little ones into sin in order to justify their own sinful inclinations. And especially, woe to those who ever dare to lay a hand on any of Jesus’ precious little ones as an object of their own vile lusts![1]
Jesus doesn’t pronounce the woe on the sinner who stumbles, but on the one who caused them to stumble. You don’t want to be the one to hinder others from coming to Christ or walking with Christ. The point is: Refuse to be the cause of others’ stumbling.
Warren Wiersbe says about these verses: “The truly humble person helps to build up others, not to tear them down. He is a stepping-stone, not a stumbling block.”[2]
To keep from offending others in Christ, we must receive them on the merits of Christ and refuse to be the cause of other believers stumbling.
Third, Jesus gives a …
3. Correction: Reject enticements to stumble (Matt. 18:8-9)
Jesus says in Matthew 18:8-9,
8 “If your hand or foot causes you to sin, cut it off and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life lame or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into the everlasting fire. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, pluck it out and cast it from you. It is better for you to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes, to be cast into hell fire. (Matt. 18:8-9)
If you want to avoid causing other people in stumble, you must first take care of the stumbling blocks in your own life. And so, Jesus tells you to get rid of anything in your life that causes you to sin. If there is anything in your life that would lead you to cause one of His little ones to stumble and fall into sin, it would be better for you to take whatever drastic measures are necessary to sever yourself from it.
Jesus uses very graphic imagery – cutting off your hand or foot, gouging out your eye. Jesus gave similar instructions back in Matthew 5 in the Sermon on the Mount. There he was talking about the sin of adultery and how we should avoid even looking lustfully at another person with our eyes. Jesus is using hyperbole. I don’t believe that Jesus is saying that you should actually physically cut off your hand or foot, and dig out your eye—because, as Jesus taught, sin comes from the heart, not the hands or eyes. Mutilating yourself on the outside will not cure the disease of sin on the inside. Only Jesus can do that.
Sin takes people to hell (Rev. 21:8), and that makes sin something to avoid at all costs. Jesus says that whatever is causing you to sin, take drastic measures to get that thing out of your life. The point Jesus is making is that sin is so horrible that we should go to any extreme to reject it. He is saying that if there is anything in your life that would cause you to harm the faith of even a single one of His little ones who believe in Him—even if it were your hand, or your foot, or your eye—you’re much better off going through life without it.
In other words, you need to get rid of everything in your life that pulls you and other people away from Jesus. Just as it’s better to lose a leg than to lose your life, it’s better to lose things that cause sin than to lose your eternal life. Extreme circumstances call for extreme measures, and nothing is more urgent or extreme than our need to avoid sin and causing others to sin. Nothing is more urgent than believing in Jesus and helping others believe in Him. Anything that hinders that is expendable.
If you tolerate adultery in your own life, it will cause others to stumble. If you tolerate drunkenness in your own life, it will cause others to stumble. If you tolerate crudeness, or gossip, or jealousy, or strife, or lust, or any other sin in your own life it will cause others to stumble. The point is to reject anything that causes us or others to sin.
Charles Spurgeon commented on these verses: “Two hands, two feet, and two eyes will be of small advantage if cast into everlasting fire.” (Charles Spurgeon. The Gospel of the Kingdom: An Exposition of the Gospel of Matthew.) Or as someone else put it: “It is better to go limping into heaven than leaping into hell.” (Frederick Bruner, Matthew Volume 2, p. 640) No sacrifice is too great. No matter what you must do to get rid of sin in this life, it is worth it.[3]
God is holy. We are sinful. Life is short. Eternity is long. We are responsible to God not only for our own sins but for all the ways we cause others to stumble and fall. God is fiercely protective of His children—so should we be. Therefore, receive others in Christ. When you receive them, you receive Him. Refuse to be the cause of others’ stumbling. And reject all enticements to sin in your own life.
Listen—the gospel message is this: Jesus took the millstone from your neck and put it on His own. He died for your sin. He paid the debt you owed. When you believe in Jesus who died for you and was raised again, God accounts all your sin to Christ and accounts His righteousness to you. You get in on the merits of Christ. Let us give Him all the glory and honor. Jude writes, “Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, And to present you faultless Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy, To God our Savior, Who alone is wise, Be glory and majesty, Dominion and power, Both now and forever. Amen.” (Jude 24-25).
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[1] Greg Allen, Jesus and the Little Ones, https://www.bethanybible.org/archive/2007/093007.htm
[2] Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 65.
[3] Quoted by Ray Fowler, Causing Sin, https://www.rayfowler.org/sermons/matthew/causing-sin/
