Sermon Tone Analysis

Scripture Reading

Introduction

We’ve just come out of an extended section in Luke’s Gospel where Jesus was particularly engaging with or confronting the teachings and attitudes of the Pharisees and other religious leaders.

Jesus’ teachings included various warnings, both to the Pharisees and the disciples.

It included exhortations to live with one’s heart set upon Christ, rather than on the things of this world.

This morning, we come to a section in which Christ turns to his disciples and begins to teach them a number of important lessons on being disciples of Christ.

He’s addressing the important matter of what it means to be a disciple.

There are certain attitudes that are befitting a disciple, and it’s important that they hear these truths and live accordingly.

What we will find is that the attitudes are very strikingly different from the attitudes of the Pharisees.

There are four key lessons that are brought through in this section, and we will briefly consider each leasson.

The first lesson is…

1.

The Careful Life of a Disciple (vv.1-3a)

In verse 1 of chapter 17 we read…

Now, immediately we see that there is a highly plausible link between the preceding section and what we find Jesus teaching here.

The religious leaders were those who were supposed to be teaching and leading the people to serve and worship God, but they themselves had proved to be stumbling blocks to the people.

In fact they had severely hindered the people from worshiping God as they ought.

And so, Jesus addresses this.

And this is a very serious issue.

Jesus begins by acknowledging the fact that things that cause people to sin are bound to come.

When Christ speaks here of “stumbling blocks,” or “things that cause people to sin,” he’s including a broad range of possible ways that a person may lead another person, particularly another disciple of Jesus, to loosen or lessen their allegiance to Christ.

The reality is that the world in which we live is sin-cursed.

The reality of life is that Satan is a roaring lion, prowling around, looking whom he may devour.

This is a critical point for every Christian to understand.

We live in the context of a spiritual battle that is unfolding around us.

God’s curse upon the world from Genesis 3 is an ever-present reality, and we forget this to our own detriment.

But Christ’s real concern here is the fact that

Christ is not unaware.

Stumbling blocks will arise for people, even for devout Christians.

We need to learn from this that as Christians, we need to be on our guard.

We need to circumspectly in the world.

We need to live with wisdom, an awareness.

However, the emphasis of Jesus here is not so much on the general reality of sin in the world, and temptations that are to be found in the world, but the fact that there are times when people lead disciples of Christ to sin against him, or to fall away from Him.

Christ’s warning is strong.

He says here that the person through whom those stumbling blocks come; the one that causes another little one to stumble, is essentially accursed.

“Woe to that person through whom they come.”

This is a strong pronouncement of condemnatory judgment upon the person through whom these stumbling blocks come.

I don’t want us to miss the weight of what Jesus is saying here.

The words that are used here are the same words that are used in the context of Jesus being betrayed by Judas.

The teaching by Jesus here is striking, and it ought to cause us to pause and carefully reflect.

Why is this such an important and weighty matter in the eyes of Jesus?

The reason is quite simply that any sin is to be seen as a rebellion against God.

For someone to sin, it is for them to turn away from the ways of God that have been given through His revelation in Scripture, and to walk or act in a manner contrary to God’s ways.

It was Satan in the Garden of Eden that caused Adam and Eve to turn away from God.

And the consequences of that one act have had repurcussions through the course of history (an under-statement!!)

Friends, to lead people to stumble and to sin is extremely serious.

Christ is very clear on this.

Now what are some ways that this happens?

We do need to recognise that there was a particular kind of stumbling block that is very serious in the immediate context.

In the context of Jesus teaching his disciples, one of the key areas in which a person may have been leading others to stumble was in the area of religion itself.

The religious leaders were certainly doing that.

They were teaching and proclaiming things contrary to what Christ was teaching.

They were in opposition to him.

They were teaching a reliance upon good works for salvation.

What the religious leaders were teaching the people to observe was leading them into even greater condemnation, and away from the true ways of God.

The emphasis on the importance of this particular area of leading astray / causing to stumble is found in Paul letter to the Galatians, even in the context of proclaiming a slightly perverted Gospel.

Paul taught the Galatians that to add any good work to the reliance upon Christ for salvation was to proclaim a Gospel message that was no Gospel at all.

And Paul was clear that these Christians were in great danger because of this false proclamation.

For any person to say that you need Christ plus observance of particular laws and commands in order to be saved is a perversion of the Gospel and will lead people to self-destruction.

And so Paul says, let such a person be accursed.

This is precisely what Jesus was warning about.

But I don’t believe that we should leave it there.

I don’t believe that this is the only kind of stumbling block that Jesus was talking about.

Rather, he was referring to anything that could cause another Christian, particularly young Christians, to stumble.

What are some examples of this?

Philip Ryken is helpful in providing some thoughts on how we may do this…

What are some ways we lead people astray?

We do it any time our actions or attitudes set a bad spiritual example.

We do it when our complaining spirit causes other people to be discontent.

We do it by speaking evil words that unfairly influence someone else’s opinion.

We do it by carrying on an argument to the point where we provoke an angry response.

We do it by enticing someone to commit sexual sin or join us for some juicy gossip.

We do it by boasting of our accomplishments or acquisitions in a way that makes other people envious or boastful

I do believe that we need to see the weightiness of Jesus’ words here.

Christ is deeply concerned that no child of His be led into sin, or led away from Him, through the actions or conduct of another.

In fact, Jesus goes on in verse 2 to outline just how serious such causes of stumbling are by making use of a very vivid picture…

Jesus uses a very graphic picture here in order to convey the seriousness of leading people astray.

He says, rather they have a huge stone tied around their necks and thrown into the depths of the ocean.

The millstone that is mentioned here is not a small stone that is carried by man… it speaks of a huge rock that was drawn by a donkey that was drawn over the grain in order to crush it.

This was a heavy stone, that when tied around a neck of a person thrown into the sea, drowning would be inevitable.

In other words, it is safer to be put to death than to cause someone to stumble.

Notice the “someone” that Jesus refers to here.

“One of these little ones...”

Jesus is referring to those who spiritual children.

They are those who are the children of God through faith in Jesus Christ, and Jesus loves them.

He has an affection for them.

He has a care over their lives.

Christ is concerned that those who are his be protected from being led astray, or being caused to stumble.

The warning then comes to His disciples…

Luke 17:3 (NIV84)

3 So watch yourselves....

As Disciples of Jesus Christ, we are called to live carefully in the world among others, being sure to not lead anyone else to sin.

In the New Testament letters, some examles of this are given.

We are cautioned to not pass judgment on another Christian in terms of matters of freedom of conscience (obviously not referring to confronting sin…)

We are to be careful to not allow our freedom of conscience to let another be led astray.

A similar truth is outlined in 1 Cor 8:9-13.

Now, let me add that we will not lose our salvation if we do something that causes another to stumble.

God’s grace is sufficient to cover all our own.

However, we must not allow the seriousness of this to pass us by.

The life of the disciple is to be a careful and considered life.

2. The Forgiving Spirit of a Disciple (vv.3b-4)