Luke 17: 1 -2; Matthew 18: 6 - 7; Mark 9: 42 It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.
These are pretty strong words from Jesus. We have to remember that Jesus is God and man, and He is speaking as God when He uttered these words. We tend to forget that God has commanded that we do not cause offense to any of these little ones. In the ancient world children held a position in society lower than women. Jesus was telling people that they could not take advantage of weaker or less experienced just because they could. This teaching is completely different from what the world teaches. Even the Rabbi's and Priests were silent on this issue. We tend to give St. Paul credit for this teaching this because he taught more on stumbling blocks; but Jesus went to the heart of the subject by protecting the weakest in society. Look how Jesus phrases His wording, "it is impossible that no offenses come, but woe to him through whom they do come!" That means everyone who causes an innocent to stumble will be held accountable for their actions. Jesus is holding us to a higher standard than was being used in that day. We very seldom ask if what we are doing, could be causing a weaker to stumble. We need to pay more attention to this in the future.
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