17:1 ¶ Then said he unto
the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto
him, through whom they come! 2 It
were better for him that a millstone were hanged
about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should
offend one of these little ones. 3 Take
heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he
repent,
forgive him. 4 And if he
trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again
to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. 5 And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase
our faith. 6 And the Lord said, If ye
had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be
thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey
you. 7 But which of you, having a
servant plowing or feeding cattle, will say unto him by and by, when he is come
from the field, Go and sit down to meat? 8 And will not rather say unto him, Make ready
wherewith I may sup, and gird thyself, and serve me, till I have eaten and
drunken; and afterward thou shalt eat and drink? 9 Doth he thank that servant because he did the
things that were commanded him? I trow not. 10
So likewise ye, when ye shall have done all those things which are
commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: we have done that which was
our duty to do.
An offence is something
that causes someone to stumble in confusion or their faith, that harms their
faith.
As the Jewish rejection
of Christ caused their confusion;
1Peter 2:8 And a stone of
stumbling, and a rock of offence,
even to them which stumble at the word, being
disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.
Which is an allusion to
the passage in Isaiah;
Isaiah 8:13 Sanctify the
LORD of hosts himself; and let
him be your fear, and let him be your dread. 14 And he
shall be for a sanctuary; but for a stone of stumbling and for a rock of
offence to both the houses of Israel, for a gin and for a snare to the
inhabitants of Jerusalem. 15 And many
among them shall stumble, and fall, and be broken, and be snared, and be taken.
So, see that an offence
can cause one to stumble, to fall, to be broken, and snared, and captured. This
is what happens with unbelief, one falls into the snare set by the king of
terrors himself.
2Timothy 2:26 And that they may recover themselves out
of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.
Someone who belongs to
God, who is mature in His care, and loves His word should never experience such
a thing.
Psalm 119:165 Great peace
have they which love thy law: and nothing shall offend them.
In the Early Modern
English of the era of the King James translators to offend could mean, not just to displease or insult someone, but to
injure one’s conscience, to deceive them, to commit a wrong, to cause damage to,
and an offence was a crime, a sin, or
a trespass, an injury done to someone.
Offences against God
and humans will come, they will happen. It is the nature of things in this
dispensation. But, woe to that man or woman through whom they come, who permits
themselves willingly to be a vehicle for sin against God and their fellow men
and women.
Little ones can be a
reference, of course, to children.
Matthew 18:1 ¶ At the same
time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven? 2 And Jesus called a little
child unto him, and set him in the midst of them, 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be
converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom
of heaven. 4 Whosoever therefore shall
humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of
heaven. 5 And whoso shall receive one
such little child in my name receiveth me. 6
But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it
were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of
the sea.
7 ¶ Woe unto the world because of offences! for
it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence
cometh! 8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy
foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them
from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than
having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. 9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out,
and cast it from thee: it is
better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to
be cast into hell fire. 10 Take heed
that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in
heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.
11 For the Son of man is come to save
that which was lost. 12 How think ye? if
a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave
the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is
gone astray? 13 And if so be
that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine
which went not astray. 14 Even so it is
not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones
should perish.
But, in this context, in
this particular sermon given by Christ, He seems to be saying that offences
must come but it is a sad day for the person through whom they come. Do not
give cause or reason for a new believer, a little one in the faith, to stumble
and fall, and to forgive graciously and abundantly if your brother or sister
repents of their deed against you. Do not feel a sense of self-righteousness by
your getting out of your comfort zone and doing what Christ has commanded in
the realm of forgiveness but accept it as the least you can do considering what
He has endured and what He has done for you.
Luke 11:4 And forgive us
our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.
Peter and Christ had
this interaction;
Matthew 18:21 ¶ Then came
Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I
forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus
saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy
times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom
of heaven likened unto a
certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was
brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord
commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that
he had, and payment to be made. 26
The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have
patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27
Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him,
and forgave him the debt. 28 But the
same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an
hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet,
and besought him, saying, Have patience with me,
and I will pay thee all. 30
And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay
the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants
saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all
that was done. 32 Then his lord, after
that he had called
him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that
debt, because thou desiredst me: 33
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even
as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord
was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was
due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my
heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one
his brother their trespasses.
Next to trusting God in
the painful circumstances of life for which we are given no explanation, like
Job, forgiving is the hardest thing for a Christian to do. Some of the great
causes of mental illness are a refusing to forgive and a refusing to be forgiven.
Refusing to forgive as Christ commanded can be the source of great offence to
the faith of not only another but yourself. Discouragement is a powerful tool
of Satan.
2Corinthians 2:10 To whom
ye forgive any thing, I forgive
also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave
I it in the person of Christ; 11
Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his
devices.
I suspect there are
many out there who cannot find it within themselves to forgive one who has
caused offence to you or to forgive yourself; perhaps even just for failure in
this life to meet the expectations of your youth. But, forgiving is a
fundamental of the Christian faith, of far more importance than your political
or historical beliefs. Keep in mind that it is called for when the other party
is repentant and is not only sorry for their sin against you but has turned
from it, the meaning of repentance. Sometimes it takes time to forgive because
we need to see that repentance is real. These are the facts of living.
Paul gave a warning
about offending weak brothers and sisters. Read Romans 14. With regard to
forgiveness, there may be a person in your life; a parent, a spouse, a friend,
who regrets what they did to you and, if that is so, it is incumbent upon you
to forgive them. You, too, have regrets for what you’ve done. You are sorry for
your sin against God. Receive His forgiveness. Do not remember what God has
forgotten.
Another take on this
passage is that it represents a few of the sayings of Christ for which we would
have to cross-reference to uncover the more complete doctrine the sayings are
referring to. For instance, there is verse 2 opened up by the passage in
Matthew 18:1-14. There is verse 4 further explained by Matthew 18:21-35. Verses
5 and 6 are further illuminated by Matthew 17:14-21 if you take this tack on
the passage. But, I don’t think it is
correct to do that particularly. I believe that this passage represents a
coherent message given by Christ in its entirety to be understood by the
context in which it is written, cross-referencing for contrast and
understanding.
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