Matthew 18:7-10: Don't Be a Stumbling Block

"Woe to the man through whom stumbling blocks come!" Jesus in Matthew 18:7

“I think organized religion is a crutch. Cause it's controlling. Organized religion tells you what to believe, tells you who to be...It's an abuse to tell a child that God sees everything and knows what you think about and that you are going to be burn in hell. It's a huge abuse to teach children that God is not within themselves...That God is bigger than them. That God is outside them. That is a lie. That's what causes the emptiness of children."
Sinead O’Connor, Spin Magazine, November 1991

After being asked by His disciples, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (18:1), Jesus gives a passionate message stretching over all of chapter 18 about how His sheep should take care of one another. In fact, John MacArthur says in his commentary on this passage, “It is no exaggeration to say that this is the single greatest discourse our Lord ever gave on life among the redeemed people in His church. Sadly, because it has been largely misinterpreted, its profound riches often have been lost.”

In verse 7 Jesus says, “it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come. But woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” Most moms can relate to carrying a load of laundry and tripping over a toy at her feet. Such an event at times can even be humorous. Yet transfer that scenario to a spiritual reality and it is no longer funny. In fact Jesus uses drowning and eternal fire as a way to emphasize just how serious stumbling blocks are.

Romans 14 teaches how to avoid being a stumbling block. We are free to eat and drink whatever we want but if that freedom causes one of His little ones to stumble, then we are no longer walking according to love (Romans 14:15). James also warns us against causing others to stumble because of the words we say (James 3:1-12). May we not destroy with our food (or drink or words) him for whom Christ died (Romans 14:15).

Simon the Tanner

If your hand or your foot [or eye] causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you (v. 8). It is better to remove the offending appendage than to be cast into fiery hell. During a recent trip to Egypt we visited a monastery that was the home of Simon the Tanner who lived a little over one thousand years ago. There is a painting of his likeness with his right eye missing. He plucked it out, according to the tour guide, as a way of being obedient to this very passage. It is said that he was a pious man who took the Bible very seriously. Fortunately, neither his hand nor his foot ever caused him to stumble since in the painting he had all four still attached.

But why don’t we take this passage literally? Are we guilty of cherry-picking which verses we obey? Was Simon the Tanner and others like him in church history (i.e., Origen) more obedient Christians than us modern, more enlightened believers? I think there are several ways to answer that. First, if we did pluck out our eye when it caused us to sin, then the church would be, according to Bryant Wright our pastor in Atlanta, full of one-eyed sinners. The issue of sin is not a physical issue but a heart issue.

Second, Jesus taught often in hyperbole. In the previous chapter Jesus had used both a mustard seed and a mountain as figures of speech when teaching on faith (Matthew 17:20). We believe the words of Jesus are true but we also believe Jesus used hyperbole and other literary elements in His teaching. For example, no one believes that Jesus is a door (John 10:7) or a piece of bread (John 6:48).

But these verses about cutting off hands and feet are a part of Holy Scripture and therefore we must pursue their meaning. Jesus wants us to put supreme value on our relationship with Him as His children, His little ones. Our relationship with Jesus is so precious, so vital, so all-encompassing that we should remove ANY obstacle that keeps us from enjoying our identity as His adopted children. What are the idols in our lives that keep us from experiencing the all-satisfying relationship with the Lord? Let’s identify them, sever them and throw them out.

Those idols can take many forms for us who are 21st century Christ-followers. They may be materialistic pursuits where the American dream becomes a greater passion than Christ and His kingdom. It may be the belief that an elected official or a political party will meet needs that only God can meet. It may be earthly relationships that are more important to us than our relationship with our Heavenly Father. I have heard recently about a pastor who has told his congregation to delete their facebook accounts because the rekindling of old flames via facebook is destroying marriages within his church. “If facebook causes you to stumble…”

What about TV? What about the internet? What about food, sports or sex? Do we create boundaries in our lives to protect us from the sin which so easily entangles us? I have accountability software on our family computers because I know the lure of dark places all too well. For the same reason we have no incoming TV signal in our home. I don’t want to be responsible for stumbling blocks for either my family or myself.

Stephen Arteburn in his excellent book, Every Man’s Battle, says there are three “gates” that each man must guard in his attempts to not stumble sexually. We must guard our eye gate (what we see), our mind gate (what we think about), and our heart gate (where we place our affections).

Another teaching from this hyperbolic passage would be directed at those who cause His little ones to stumble. I fear for those atheists who smugly use quasi-intellectual reason to say God does not exist. Surely there are some who are weak in faith who have stumbled because of these hardened naturalists. It is one thing to deny God yourself, it is another to drag others down with you into fiery hell.

Jesus commands that we do not despise one of these little ones (v. 10). For He Himself makes intercession for us (Hebrews 7:25; Romans 8:34). And He has given us guardian angels that continually see the face of His Father who is in heaven (v. 10). The Lord is committed to protecting His little ones.

Christian, the greatest treasure we have is in Jesus Christ. Are you willing to forsake all treasures in order to obtain and enjoy your relationship with our Heavenly Father as His child? Whatever is between you and the Lord, cut it away and cast it for from you. Do this daily, hourly and even each minute; do it as often as you need to. Our forgiveness is complete in the cross; we are free to be His children. Nothing else lasts, nothing else compares, and nothing else can satisfy like our Lord Jesus.