We're in Matthew chapter 17, verse 24, going all the way to chapter 18, verse 9.
The saints of God, to worship you together.
And now to sit under your word as you address us from it.
And we ask God that you would renew our minds and captivate our vision
with this unique vision that Jesus set out for his church,
for the community of his people,
characterized by those who are childlike in their humility, their dependence,
who treat each other with much love and respect because of whom we represent.
Father, won't you even in this time, this morning,
work powerfully within us by your spirit and make us a little bit more like that.
And a little bit more like Christ.
In Jesus' name we ask. Amen.
Please stand if you are able to honor God as we read from his word, Matthew 17, 24.
When they came to Capernaum, the collectors of the two drachma tax went up to Peter and said,
Does your teacher not pay the tax?
He said, Yes.
And when he came into the house, Jesus spoke to him first, saying,
What do you think, Simon?
From whom do kings of the earth take toll or tax?
From their sons or from others?
And when he said, From others, Jesus said to him,
Then the sons are free.
However, not to give offense to them,
go to the sea and cast a hook and take the first fish that comes up.
And when you open its mouth, you will find a shekel.
Take that and give it to them for me and for yourself.
At that time, the disciples came to Jesus, saying,
Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said,
Truly I say to you, unless you turn and become like children,
you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
Whoever receives one such child in my name receives me.
But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck
and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
Woe to the world for temptations to sin,
for it is necessary that temptations come,
but woe to the one by whom the temptation comes.
And if your hand or your foot causes you to sin,
cut it off and throw it away.
It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame
than with two hands or two feet to be thrown into the eternal fire.
And if your eye causes you to sin,
tear it out and throw it away.
It is better for you to enter life with one eye
than with two eyes to be thrown into the hell of fire.
This is God's holy and authoritative word.
Please be seated.
Politics is inevitable
because politics is about how people relate to each other
and live together in society.
Wherever there is a community of people dwelling together,
you're going to encounter politics.
What makes politics distasteful to so many people, however,
is the sin that taints all earthly politics.
Selfish ambition, authoritarianism, rivalry, envy,
factions, rebellion, insubordination.
Because humans are sinful,
you see these sins and temptations at every level of society,
in city governments, state governments,
in federal governments.
You see it in corporations and schools
and even, unfortunately,
in local churches and denominations,
though if they are healthy churches to far less degrees.
In our passage, Jesus casts a new vision
for Christian community that is founded on humility,
on humble self-regard for others
rather than on prideful self-seeking.
But the realization of this grand vision
depends on a radical reorientation of our perspectives.
It requires a heavenly, eternal perspective
rather than an earthly and temporal one.
And according to this perspective,
children are the greatest.
According to this perspective,
the nobodies are the somebodies.
And according to this perspective,
the crippled and the lame
might be better off than the whole and able-bodied.
As I've been saying throughout my sermon series
in the Gospel of Matthew,
this book is organized around
five major discourses of Jesus,
the teaching discourses of Jesus.
We are now on the fourth one
where Jesus talks about Christian relations.
We know where the discourse kind of ends
because at the end of each discourse,
it has something along the lines
of when Jesus had finished these sayings,
and we find that here in chapter 19, verse 1.
And so this is the beginning of Jesus' fourth discourse,
which focuses on Christian relations,
but more specifically on how sin
affects those relationships
and how we ought to deal with that.
Usually people mark chapter 18
as beginning the mark of this new section in discourse,
but I'm treating 17, 24 to 27
as being a part of this passage
for two main reasons.
One, in chapter 18, verse 1,
the phrase, at that time,
specifically marks what follows in chapter 18
and links it back to what happened just before.
It's happening at the same time
as the conversation that took place in 17, 24 to 27.
Two, this whole section has a common thread
that runs through it all,
and that's the Greek word skandalon,
where we get the English word scandal from.
It's a word that means a stumbling block,
causing offense or causing someone else to stumble,
causing them to sin,
to make them trip and fall.
In 1727, the word translated giving offense
is that same word.
We see the same word again in 18.6
when it's translated as causing someone to sin.
And the same word appears repeatedly
in chapter 18, verses 7 to 9,
whether it's translated as temptation to sin
or things that cause you to sin.
Jesus is teaching us about the gravity of sin
and why we should take utmost care
to ensure that we don't put stumbling blocks
in front of people as we relate to each other.
So my main point of this morning is this,
remove every stumbling block
that prevents people, including you,
from entering the kingdom of heaven.
My outline's a little bit abstract,
but first I'm gonna start talking
about the subjective stumbling blocks,
secondly about the objective stumbling blocks,
and lastly about personal stumbling blocks,
which I'll explain what they mean.
I'm gonna focus the majority of my time
on the first section
because the latter two sections have,
those themes have already been touched on
in this series
and will be touched on again and again
in the coming passages.
In 17, 24 to 27,
Jesus first talks about subjective stumbling blocks,
and we are told in verse 24
that Jesus and his disciples
are passing through the Jewish region
of Capernaum once again,
and when in Capernaum,
usually Jesus and his disciples
made Peter's house their home base.
We saw that early in chapter 8, verse 14.
So they're presumably at Peter's house again,
which may explain why when these people
come to collect the two drachma tacks,
they address Peter in particular.
Does your teacher not pay the tax?
They don't address the other disciples,
just Peter,
and later Jesus only pays for himself and Peter.
This is Peter's house,
and I think that's why that's happening.
While they're at it
and asking Peter about that question,
they want to know what Jesus' opinion is,
what his view is on the temple tax.
Jesus is already at this point
quite a well-known, famous teacher
and miracle worker,
and so they wonder,
does your teacher not think
that we should pay this temple tax?
The collectors of the two drachma tax
approached Peter and asked this question,
and the two drachma tax
is the half-shekel temple tax
that was levied on adults,
all adult Jewish males.
If you've been following along
in the Bible reading plan
that we've recommended to the whole church,
you may have read this past week,
Exodus 30, verses 11 to 16.
And if you read that,
that's where it talks about the census tax,
and the census tax of Exodus 30
is what's called the atonement money.
This was meant to be a ransom to the Lord
for your life.
So by collecting this census tax
for everyone in Israel,
for every adult male representative,
they were supposed to signify
that all of our life belongs to God.
He's the one who has ransomed us,
and the money that was collected in that way
was used for the administration
and the upkeep of the Tent of Meeting,
their tabernacle,
before the construction of the physical temple.
So even though the census tax
when it was first levied
was meant to be a one-time tax,
once-a-life tax,
the Jews used that rationale
to justify the annual temple tax
for the upkeep of the temple building.
And unlike the Roman tax,
which the Jews universally resented
because it was being imposed by these occupiers,
many Jews saw this temple tax
as a patriotic and religious duty.
So the collector's question
is phrased in a way
that expects a positive answer,
an affirmative answer.
Does your teacher not pay the tax?
Surely he does, right?
If he really is a Jewish prophet,
what's his view of the matter?
Their suspicion that Jesus
might not pay this tax,
I think is well warranted
based on the body of Jesus' teaching
up to this point.
In Matthew 12, 6,
Jesus said to his disciples,
I tell you,
something greater than the temple is here,
referring to himself.
And later on in chapter 21,
when he is in the Jerusalem temple,
he will overthrow and overturn
the tables of the money changers
who are changing money
so that people can pay,
among other things,
this two drachma tax.
And Jesus says,
it is written,
my house shall be called
the house of prayer,
but you make it a den of robbers.
Matthew 21, 13.
And then still later in chapter 24,
Jesus will prophesy of the downfall
and the destruction
of the Jerusalem temple.
And he says in John 2, 19,
destroy this temple,
referring to his body,
himself as the new
spiritual temple of God.
Destroy this body,
and in three days,
I will raise it up.
So if you examine the full body
of Jesus' teaching,
the Jerusalem temple
is going to one day soon
become obsolete.
So perhaps these tax collectors
are catching the drift
of what Jesus is saying,
and they ask,
does your teacher not pay the tax?
And Peter,
as he has the habit of doing,
blurts out the answer
before he has even had a chance
to get Jesus' mind on the issue.
Yes.
Yes, of course.
That's what he means.
Yes, of course he pays
the temple tax.
I mean, come on,
what kind of question is that?
And then he goes into the house
thinking, okay,
I better check with Jesus
about this.
But before he checks with Jesus,
Jesus knows what's on his mind.
He says,
when he came into the house,
Jesus spoke to him first.
He already knows
what's on Peter's mind.
What do you think, Simon?
From whom do kings of the earth
take toll or tax?
From their sons
or from others?
And when Peter responds,
from others,
Jesus says to him,
then the sons are free.
Every earthly ruler
levies tax,
you know,
because in order to rule
and govern,
you need revenue.
However,
some powerful empires
like the Roman Empire
primarily taxed
outsiders and foreigners
because they had conquered
so much territory
they could sustain
the running of their empire
without taxing
their own citizens.
They could just tax
their subjects.
So that might be what
Jesus is referring to here.
But even more specifically,
even kingdoms that can't afford
to sustain themselves
by simply taxing outsiders
and must tax
their own citizens,
when they tax
their own citizens,
they don't tax
the king's children.
The king's kids,
their family,
are exempt
from the tax.
And that's the point
Jesus is making.
From whom do kings
of the earth
take toll or tax?
From their sons
or from others?
Of course it's from others.
And this raises
the natural question
in the case of the temple tax,
who is the ruler
levying the temple tax?
No human being
could rightly claim
to be the ruler
of the temple of God
because that's
the house of God.
If God is the ruler
of the temple,
who then are his sons?
Twice already
at Jesus' baptism
and at his transfiguration,
God the Father
has declared authoritatively
that Jesus
is his beloved son
with whom he is
well pleased.
And repeatedly
throughout the Gospel
of Matthew,
Jesus has referred
to God as my father.
So Jesus has confirmed
his divine sonship
and he's referring
to that.
If God is the ruler
of this temple
and he is my father
and I am his son,
the temple tax
does not apply to me.
And that's not all.
Jesus says in verse 26,
then the sons are free.
He uses the plural word,
sons.
Who else can claim
to be the sons of God?
By virtue of their relation
to Jesus,
his disciples
were also given
the privilege
of calling God
as their father,
praying to him
as our father,
as Jesus taught them.
And so Jesus said
in Matthew 5,
44 to 45,
love your enemies
and pray for those
who persecute you
so you may be sons
of your father
who is in heaven.
So sometimes Jesus refers
to when he is addressing
the disciples,
he refers to God the father
as your father.
And all of us,
all of us who are
in Christ Jesus
through faith
are sons of God.
He says in Galatians 3, 26
and uses the language
of sons to indicate
that we are all
heirs of God.
We all have an inheritance
in God's kingdom.
Those who are members
of God's family
through faith in Jesus
therefore should be
exempt,
free from this temple tax.
So neither Jesus
nor Peter
has to pay this tax.
It's a foolproof argument.
Imagine a lowly servant,
a tax collector
who is going around towns
and collecting
the king's taxes
unknowingly going up
to the crown prince
of the kingdom
and telling him,
hey lad,
pay your tax.
And then the son says,
excuse me,
do you know who I am?
However,
Jesus continues
in verse 27,
not to give offense
to them.
Go to the sea
and cast a hook
and take the first fish
that comes up
and when you open
its mouth
you will find a shekel.
Take that
and give it to them
for me and for yourself.
Jesus knows
that there's a fish
that has swallowed
a Jewish shekel
and that will be
the first fish
that Peter catches
and one shekel
is equivalent
to two Roman denarii
which is two days
worth of wages
for a common Roman worker
which is the equivalent
of the four Greek drachmas
necessary to pay
for two people's temple tax,
both Jesus and Peter.
It's fascinating
and instructive
that Jesus gives Peter
instructions
to pay the temple tax
despite the fact
that he just demonstrated
that he doesn't need
to pay the temple tax.
There is no theological
or biblical obligation
to pay the temple tax.
Their payment
of this temple tax
is a humble accommodation.
They are accommodating
the tax collectors
and other Jews
who believe
that it is not only lawful
but pious
and pleasing to God
to pay this tax
for the maintenance
of the temple.
So they are doing this
not to give offense
to or to not
to cause them
to stumble.
For Jesus
and his disciples
who are the sons of God
it is no sin
not to pay the temple tax.
However,
for these other Jews
who are collecting the tax
and who are watching
what Jesus will do
regarding his temple tax
for them
it would be sinful
to not pay this
because it would be
in their mind
neglecting the house of God
failing to honor God
consigning the house of God
to disrepair
and not prioritizing
the worship
and the sacrifices
that are offered
at the temple of God.
This is where
it's important for us
to distinguish
between objective sins
and subjective sins.
In Romans 14
Paul contrasts
a Christian
who has a weak conscience
who believes
because of his weak conscience
that it is wrong
to eat meat
or to drink wine.
And the Christian
with a strong conscience
on the other hand
believes that it's totally fine
to eat meat
and to drink wine.
The former eats only vegetables
and abstains from meat
the latter eats meat
to his heart's content.
However,
in this situation
Paul instructs the Christian
with the stronger conscience
never to put
a stumbling block
or hindrance
in the way of a brother.
For if your brother
is grieved
by what you eat
you are no longer
walking in love
and so by what you eat
do not destroy
the one for whom
Christ died.
This is Romans 14
13 and 15.
Paul says
he is himself convinced
that no food
is unclean
and that it is perfectly fine
to eat meat
and drink wine.
Nevertheless,
for the Christian
who is not convinced
of that
and has doubts
about that
the Christian
who thinks
that it might be sinful
for him to eat meat
if he eats it
that's sin for him.
Why?
Romans 14 23
whoever has doubts
is condemned
if he eats
because the eating
is not from faith
for whatever
does not proceed
from faith
is sin.
What does
Paul mean by that?
Eating meat
is not objectively sinful.
However,
it is subjectively sinful
for those who believe
that it is sinful
and do it anyway.
If he eats it
he is eating
against his own conscience.
He is doing
what he believes
is sinful
what he believes
offends
and displeases God.
Therefore,
he is no longer
acting out of faith
and obedience
but out of unbelief
and disobedience.
I think it's wrong
to eat meat
but who cares
I'm going to do it anyway.
what's God
going to do about it?
A whole bunch
of people
do it anyway.
For that person
it is sin
to eat meat
for whatever
does not proceed
from faith
is sin.
It follows
from this then
that if the person
with the stronger
conscience
flaunts his freedom
and eats meat
in front of this
other person
with the weaker
conscience
he is actually
inadvertently
tempting this person
to sin.
he is putting
a stumbling block
in the way
of a brother
and putting
a stumbling block
in front of a Christian
brother or sister
is itself sinful
because that
Paul says
is unloving.
Romans 14, 15
for if your brother
is grieved by what you eat
you are no longer
walking in love.
So the Christian
with a weaker conscience
who eats meat
sins
because his action
does not proceed
from faith.
The Christian
with the stronger conscience
who eats meat
in front of that
weaker brother
sins
because his action
does not proceed
from love.
You guys following?
Paul addresses
a similar situation
in 1 Corinthians 8 and 10.
Should Christians
eat food
sold at marketplaces
that had previously
been offered
to idols?
Paul says
an idol has no
real existence
whatsoever there is
since there is
no God but one.
And for people
who understand
that it is no sin
to eat food
that had previously
been offered
to idols
as long as
you are not
actively participating
in idolatrous
worship
which is demonic.
However,
Paul continues
not all
possess this knowledge.
There are some
people in Paul's day
who came out
of that kind
of idolatry
who still think
that there is
something real
happening
in that meat
that has been
offered to an idol
that is associated
with idols
that it belongs
to an idol
and so they feel
this pang
of their conscience
to not eat it.
And for such people
to eat that food
that had been
sacrificed to an idol
Paul says
is that it defiles
their conscience.
So Paul warns
the people
with stronger conscience
take care
that this right
of yours
does not somehow
become a stumbling
block to the weak.
If they see you
eating food
offered to idols
and then they
follow your example
they themselves
lack the faith
and the knowledge
that this food
is fine to eat
that the idols
are nothing
but they follow
your example in it.
their conscience
is defiled
and they've become
entangled in sin.
You have
in effect
made them stumble
and fall
into sin.
So Paul
himself says
this is his own
avowal
he says
if food makes
my brother stumble
I will never
eat meat
lest I make
my brother stumble.
Imagine making
that kind of declaration.
it's quite a sacrifice
for all you meat lovers
out there.
But this raises
a question
why should
my liberty
be restricted
by someone
else's conscience?
Paul anticipates
that exact question
in 1 Corinthians 10
verse 29
and this is his answer.
Whether you eat
or drink
or whatever you do
do all
to the glory
of God.
Give no offense
to Jews
or to Greeks
or to the church
of God
just as I try
to please
everyone
in everything
I do
not seeking
my own advantage
but that of many
that they may be
saved.
Wait a minute
Paul just admitted
that he tries
to please
everyone
in everything
he does.
Isn't that
the definition
of a people
pleaser?
Isn't that
a bad thing?
Why should
I change
how I live
based on
other people's
concerns?
Why should I
give up
my freedoms
for them?
This idea
of foregoing
our rights
for the love
of others
and accommodating
other people's
weaker consciences
goes against
the grain
of our culture.
Think about
how many times
you have
uncritically
adopted
these
mantras
of
popular
therapy speak.
Don't live
for other people.
Be your
authentic
true self.
You don't
owe anyone
anything.
Protect
your peace.
Set
boundaries.
Set
boundaries.
Our culture
has gone
well beyond
simply trying
to avoid
being controlled
by others.
Now we don't
even want
to be
concerned
by others.
Doing
concerns,
doing things
out of concern
for others
because we
feel that
that is
what we
should do
is not
viewed as
a threat
to authenticity
because we
should really
only do
what we
ourselves
want to
do.
And
telling people
to bear
that kind
of emotional
burden
for the
sake of
other
people
is seen
as a
form of
manipulation.
Externally
imposed
expectations
and obligations
are automatically
suspect in
our culture.
This
kind of
thinking
has in
fact
become
so
pervasive
that it
almost
feels
intuitive.
But
this kind
of thinking
is rooted
in
18th
century
romantic
philosophy
of
Jean-Jacques
Rousseau
who
taught
that we
must
be
true
to
our
internal
feelings
and
resist
conforming
to
external
expectations.
This
kind of
thinking
is rooted
in
19th
century
Sigmund
!
Freud
who
taught
that
psychological
unhealth
comes
from
among
other
things
letting
your
reality
be
defined
by
and
restricted
by
your
super
ego
which
is
your
moral
conscience
representing
the
internalized
societal
and
parental
expectations.
This
kind
of
thinking
is
rooted
in
20th
century
Abraham
Maslow
who
taught
that
self
actualization
involves
becoming
one's
own
true
self
rather
than
living
to meet
the
expectations
and demands
of others.
It's
this
kind
of
thinking
that
has
given
rise
to
the
radical
expressive
individualism
of our
age.
This
kind
of
thinking
does
not
come
from
the
Bible.
Now
please
don't hear
what I'm
not saying.
I'm
not
saying
that
you
should
live
enslaved
to
other
people's
opinions
and
expectations.
Far
from it.
Having
concern
for other
people
is not
the same
thing
as being
controlled
by other
people.
Living
out of
the fear
of man,
being
controlled
by what
they perceive
of you,
what they
think of
you,
and wanting
to do
everything
you can
to please
them,
living
out of
the fear
of man
is
night and
day
different
from
living
out of
the fear
of God
and the
love
of man.
The
secular
culture's
antidote
to the
fear of
man
is love
of self.
But the
Bible's
antidote to
the fear
of man
is the
fear of
God
and the
love
of neighbor.
Do you
see the
difference?
God
is the
God.
That's
what
Christianity
is all
about.
Faith
working
through
love.
The
aim of
our
charge
is love
that
issues
from a
pure
heart
and a
good
conscience
and a
sincere
faith.
When
we are
transformed
from the
inside out
by the
love of
Christ,
we have
the power
to
selflessly
serve
others
and to
accommodate
even our
weaker
brothers and
sisters with
weaker
consciences.
This is
what Paul is
talking about
in 1 Corinthians
9 verse
19.
For
although I
am free
from all,
I'm free
from all,
he says,
I have
made myself
a servant
to all
that I
might win
more of
them.
Martin
Luther
captures this
paradox in
his book,
The Freedom
of a
Christian.
A
Christian
is a
perfectly
free
lord of
all,
subject
to none.
A
Christian
is a
perfectly
dutiful
servant
of all,
subject
to all.
earlier
on in
chapter 15
when Jesus
taught that
it is not
what goes
into the
mouth but
what comes
out of
the mouth
that defiles
a person,
the disciples
kindly informed
Jesus that
the Pharisees
were offended
when they
heard this
saying.
And that
word offended
is actually
the same
word that's
used in our
passage to
cause someone
to stumble.
Jesus
made the
Pharisees
stumble.
So Jesus
at times
had no
qualms
whatsoever
about
making
certain
people
stumble.
So why
does he
take a
different
approach
here with
these
two
drachma
tax
collectors?
Because
there
previously
Jesus
was
teaching
on the
fundamental
inside
out
principle
of the
gospel
and in
order to
confront
the
Pharisees
self
righteousness
and
outside
in
legalism
there
was
no
way
to
avoid
scandal.
There's
no
way
to
avoid
putting
a
stumbling
block
in
front
of
these
Pharisees.
However
here
this
morning
in our
passage
what's
at stake
is not
a
fundamental
gospel
principle.
Some
sincere
Jews
who
believe
that
faithful
God
honoring
Jews
should
pay
the
temple
tax
are
asking
whether
or not
Jesus
pays
the
temple
tax
because
they
just
don't
know
better
yet
and
Jesus
does
not
want
to
cause
them
to
stumble.
Jesus
don't
value
the
temple
or
don't
value
the
worship
or
the
sacrifice
of
God
the
very
things
that
point
to
Jesus
ultimate
sacrifice
on the
cross.
So it
requires
wisdom and
discernment
to know
when
you take
what
approach.
You see
the same
adaptation
in Apostle
Paul and
I think
the reason
why Apostle
Paul has
these kinds
of
teachings
!
in
Romans
14
and
1
Corinthians
10
and
other
places
is
because
Jesus
taught
this.
In
Acts
chapter
16
verse 3
when
he
is
traveling
and
ministering
in
Jewish
cities
he
circumcises
his
apprentice
Timothy.
Why
does
he
do
it?
Because
he
doesn't
want
to
cause
the
Jews
to
stumble
because
the
Jews
were
aware
that
Timothy
had
a
Jewish
mother
but
he
had
a
Greek
father
a
Gentile
father.
So
they
didn't
want
people
to
think
that
Timothy
was
this
lawless
faithless
Jew
who
just
flaunts
just
openly
disobeys
the law
of God.
So
he
circumcised
Timothy.
However
later on
in
Galatians
2
3
to
5
when
the
Judaizers
who
insist
that
Gentile
converts
to
Christianity
must
become
a Jew
by
getting
circumcised
and
they
start
to
pressure
Paul
and
people
who
are
with
him
to
therefore
circumcise
Titus
who
is a
Gentile
convert
to
Christianity
Paul
says
here
in
Galatians
2
we
did
not
yield
in
submission
even
for
a
moment
so
that
the
truth
of
the
gospel
might
be
preserved
for
you.
Completely
to
completely
different
responses.
Why?
Because
in one
situation
the
gospel
is
at
stake
in
the
other
situation
it
is
not.
So
you
can
accommodate
others
and give
up your
own
preferences
and
freedoms.
Jesus
and the
apostles
followed
they
operated
on
higher
principles
of
fear
of
God
love
of
neighbor
and
the
stewardship
of
the
gospel.
Love
is a
higher
value
than
individual
freedom
and
autonomy.
Christian
love
demands
that
we
sometimes
forego
our
rights
for
the
sake
of
others
rather
than
insisting
on
our
rights
at
the
expense
of
others.
So
you
might
understand
for
example
that
it's
no
sin
to
drink
alcohol
but
if
your
Christian
brother
or
sister
formerly
struggled
with
alcoholism
and
they
are
finally
sober
after
years
of
hard
fought
battle
and
you're
drinking
in front
of
him
and
inviting
him
out
to
a
bar
in
doing
so
you
might
cause
him
to
stumble.
Maybe
you're
convinced
that
behaving
in a
certain
way
with
members
of
the
opposite
sex
or
the
way
you
spend
alone
time
with
or
show
physical
affection
to
your
boyfriend
or
girlfriend
is
perfectly
proper
and
fine.
But
a
Christian
friend
of
yours
disagrees
and
your
behavior
in
front
of
them
might
set
a
bad
example
for
him
or
her
cause
her
to
stumble
into
sin
with
her
boyfriend.
Maybe
your
practice
of
yoga
is
causing
Hindu
converts
to
Christianity
to
stumble
because
they
associate
it
with
their
former
practices
within
Hinduism.
Don't
destroy
your
Christian
sister
for
the
sake
of
your
freedom.
Why?
Because
their
eternal
souls
matter
more
than
your
temporal
preferences
and
desires.
Undoubtedly
we need
to apply
this
carefully
and
wisely
and I
don't
want
you
to
ever
compromise
gospel
principles
or
biblical
commands
but if
it's a
matter
of
giving
up
your
preferences
and
desires
why
not
gladly
give
up
your
preferences
and
desires
for
the
eternal
good
of
your
neighbors
Jesus
drives
this
point
home
even
more
pointedly
in
chapter
18
verses
1
to
6
he
says
in
verse
1
at
that
time
the
disciples
came
to
Jesus
saying
who
is
the
greatest
in
the
kingdom
of
heaven
I
keep
saying
to
you
guys
that
the
unpopular
!
topic
that
Jesus
likes
to
return
over
and
over
again
too
is
that
he
is
going
to
die
right
he
is
going
to
suffer
and
be
killed
and
on
the
third
day
be
raised
again
now
the
most
popular
topic
among
Jesus
disciples
is
the
never
ending
goat
debate
who
is
the
greatest
in
the
kingdom
of
heaven
Jesus
mentioned
of
who
the
sons
of
the
kingdom
are
in
the
previous
passage
appears
to
have
sparked
this
lively
debate
or
questions
wow
we're
really
something
aren't
we
not
only
that
Jesus
had
taken
Peter
James
and
John
on
their
exclusive
field
trip
to
Mount
of
Transfiguration
and
they
just
came
down
from
there
and
a couple
chapters
earlier
Jesus
had
declared
to
Peter
blessed
are
you
Simon
bar
Jonah
for
flesh
and
blood
has
not
revealed
this
to
you
but
my
father
who
is
in
heaven
and
I
tell
you
are
Peter
and
on
this
rock
I
will
build
my
church
and
the
gates
of
Haiti
shall
not
prevail
against
it
all
of
these
events
probably
created
murmurings
whisperings
and
debates
who's
the
top
dog
who's
the
greatest
in the
kingdom
of
heaven
what
does
it
mean
to
be
the
greatest
the
concept
of
greatness
is
inherently
competitive
and
comparative
isn't
it
who
are
the
people
that
we
call
great
in
our
society
!
to
be
perceived
to
be
superior
to
others
in
some
kind
of
significant
way
in
order
to
be
called
great
in
society
there
is
no
objective
level
of
achievement
that
qualifies
you
as
being
great
otherwise
if there
is
who
defines
that
you're
only
considered
great
if you
achieve
something
that
others
have
not
achieved
and
as
soon
as
everybody
else
around
you
reaches
the
same
level
of
success
and
wealth
and fame
and beauty
and power
you
cease
to
be
great
you're
now
normal
you're
only
great
if you're
better
than
someone
else
this
pursuit
of
so
called
greatness
then
is
really
an
unbridled
expression
of
human
pride
because
it
brings
so
much
focus
on
the
self
and
the
public
perception
of
the
self
it
produces
because
of
that
reason
deep
insecurity
and
anxiety
and
because
it
thrives
on
comparison
and
self
promotion
it
erodes
community
it
destroys
community
how
often
have
we
seen
this
even
in
churches
!
I'm an
elder
I'm
a
deacon
I'm
a
community
group
leader
I'm
a
ministry
leader
I've
been
in
church
longer
than
you
I've
read
the
Bible
more
times
than
you
I'm
closer
to
the
pastor's
family
than
you
I
have
more
friends
than
you
I'm
more
spiritually
disciplined
!
than
Jesus
turns
this
natural
sinful
!
human
preoccupation
with
greatness
completely
on
his
head
in
verse
2
Jesus
calls
to
him
a
child
and
puts
him
in
the
midst
of
the
disciples
as
an
object
lesson
you
guys
have
it
right
here
right
in
front
of
you
in
the
front
row
as
illustration
and
then
he
says
truly
I
say
to
you
unless
you
turn
and
become
like
children
you
will
never
enter
the
kingdom
of
heaven
what
does
it
mean
to
become
like
children
it
doesn't
mean
to
become
innocent
like
children
are
not
innocent
only
if
you
knew
that
children
are
ignorant
of
some
of
the
cynical
ways
of
adults
for
sure
they're
not
exposed
to
as
many
things
but
they
are
far
from
innocent
they
sin
like
the
rest
of
us
wait
till
you
have
kids
if
you
don't
have
kids
in
sin
did
my
mother
conceive
me
that's
not
what
Jesus
is
talking
about
he
tells
us
exactly
what
he's
talking
about
in
verse
four
whoever
humbles
himself
like
this
child
is
the
greatest
in
the
kingdom
of
heaven
what
Jesus
is
after
is
humility
in
what
ways
are
children
humble
children
have
no
status
in
society
especially
in
Bible
times
later
in
chapter
19
verse
13
to
15
when
eager
parents
I
think
we
have
I
did
one
of
those
parents
I
think
if
I
saw
Jesus
walking
by
eager
parents
bring
their
children
to
Jesus
maybe
you
could
spend
a little
bit of
time
with
them
talk
to
them
lay
your
hands
on
them
pray
for
them
give
them
some
amazing
blessings
!
That would
be
great!
And
then
the
disciples
who
see
that
they
rebuke
these
parents
and
they
try
to
shoo
the
children
away
why?
Because
children
in their
view
are not
important
Jesus
is far
too
important
and far
too
busy
to have
children
taking
up
his
time
how
inconsiderate
of you
take
them
away
children
are the
nobodies
of society
they
don't
have a
seat
at the
table
have
you guys
heard that
before?
And
that
kind
of
expectation
is
pretty
universal
across
cultures
but
Jesus
turns
that
upside
down
he
welcomes
children
into his
presence
then he
says
unless
you
adults
turn
and become
like
children
you will
never
enter
the
kingdom
of
heaven
I
pointed
this
out to
you
last
week
that
more
than
any
other
New
Testament
writer
and
more
than
four
times
more
than
any
other
synoptic
gospel
writers
Matthew
speaks of
Christians
as little
ones
he does
it in our
passage here
too
that's his
favorite way
of referring
to the
followers of
Jesus
whoever gives
one of these
little ones
his disciples
his followers
even a cup
of cold
water because
he's a disciple
truly I say
to you he will
by no means
lose his
reward
and then
what he says
later in
this passage
verse 6
whoever causes
one of these
little ones
who believe
in me
to sin
it will
be better
for him
to have
a great
millstone
fastened
around his
neck
and to be
drowned
in the
depths
of the
sea
these
little
ones
these
small
people
he's
referring
to
Christians
his
followers
and using
the object
lesson
of
literal
children
to teach
them
this is
what you
must be
like
before
God
becoming
a Christian
in fact
I would
say
requires
turning
and becoming
like
children
that's
literally
what
Jesus
says
how so
to become
a Christian
is to
become
a child
of God
to
declare
our
dependence
on
God
to
become
his
dependent
to
become
a
Christian
is to
depend
on the
provision
of
God
rather
than
providing
for
yourself
and
trusting
in
yourself
and
being
self
sufficient
to
become
a
Christian
is to
receive
the
sacrificial
death
of
Jesus
Christ
on the
cross
on our
behalf
for our
sins
through
faith
to
believe
that we
are saved
not by
our own
righteousness
but by
the
toning
sacrifice
of Christ
and his
righteousness
imputed
to us
counted
on our
behalf
to
become
a
Christian
means to
come to
God
as
empty
handed
helpless
sinners
like we
were
talking
about
last
week
God
apart
from
you
I
have
no
good
thing
I
am
a
ruined
sinner
with
no
hope
of
saving
myself
I
have
no
merit
to
commend
myself
to
you
so I
come
to
you
empty
handed
to
receive
freely
from
your
bounty
and
grace
only
those
who
humble
themselves
in
that
way
before
God
are
called
children
of
God
and
when
you
see
yourself
as
children
when
you
see
yourself
in
that
lowly
humble
station
in
your
relationship
to
God
you
stop
trying
to
measure
yourself
against
other
people
you
don't
mind
being
overlooked
or
being
occupied
with
lowly
tasks
it
transforms
community
out
there
in the
world
you
need
to
have
degrees
out
there
in
the
world
you
need
to
stand
upright
and
keep
your
head
keep
your
chin
up
out
there
in
the
world
you
to
be
articulate
out
smart
out
there
in
the
world
need
to
have
power
out
there
in
the
world
need
be
tall
and
good
looking
out
there
in
the
world
you
need
to
have
all
these
things
to
be
recognized
by
somebody
as sons and daughters of God.
So let's not import that stuff
into the church.
Christian pastor and author C.J. Mahaney
says this in his book,
Humility, True Greatness.
As sinfully and culturally defined,
pursuing greatness looks like this.
Individuals motivated by self-interest,
self-indulgence,
and a false sense of self-sufficiency
to pursue a selfish ambition
for the purpose of self-glorification.
Contrast that with the pursuit of true greatness
as biblically defined,
serving others for the glory of God.
This is a genuine expression of humility,
and this is true greatness
as the Savior defined it.
But wait a minute.
I can hear the objection in my head.
Have you ever tried this?
If I live like that,
people are going to step all over me.
Sean, have you ever tried this?
If you live like that,
you're going to be overlooked.
You're going to be mistreated.
You're going to be hurt.
You're going to be taken advantage of.
And here's Jesus' answer to that
in verses 5 to 6.
Whoever receives one such child in my name
receives me,
but whoever causes one of these little ones
who believe in me to sin,
it would be better for him
to have a great millstone
fastened around his neck
and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
It's very similar to what Jesus said
earlier in chapter 10, verse 40.
Whoever receives you receives me,
and whoever receives me
receives him who sent me.
Jesus is saying,
the way you treat my children,
you treat,
well, God the Father is saying,
the way you treat my children,
you're treating me.
Jesus is saying,
the way you treat the members of my body,
that's the way you treat me.
And so this is why
in the context of the church,
the community of God,
this can work.
Because here,
you don't need to pretend,
you don't need to live in pretense
and put up faces,
and like you have everything put together.
Why don't you have to do that?
Because all you need to be recognized
is to be a child of God
if that's enough to respect someone
in the church of Christ.
When you come to church,
you are not surrounded by nobody.
You're surrounded by royalties,
crown princes,
and crown princesses
of the kingdom of heaven.
Doesn't matter what they look like.
Doesn't matter how little
they have accomplished
out in the world.
So we treat each other
as if we're dealing
with Christ himself
because we are members of his body.
We treat each other
as if we're dealing
with the children of God,
the Father himself,
because we are his children.
God is in essence saying,
I know,
I know what I'm asking you to do.
I know sometimes
you'll get hurt.
I know sometimes
sinful people
will step all over you.
I know sometimes
you're going to humble yourself
before others,
and you're going to confess
your sins to them,
and then they're not going to,
instead of giving you
grace and mercy,
they're going to stomp you.
Say,
yeah,
you are that bad.
But this is what
God the Father is saying.
Don't you worry
about how other people
will treat you.
I'll take care of that.
I remember
when I was in grade school,
there was a girl
that was bullied
every single day.
And
one time,
her mom
stormed into the classroom.
It's like a sliding door.
Slam,
slam,
just stormed into the classroom,
started naming all the boys
that were bullying her.
who is this guy?
Who do you think you are?
And started calling them
and yelling at them.
And then the teacher
is just panicking,
doesn't know what to do.
You know,
like,
and
I mean,
she didn't,
she didn't try to hurt
the boys or anything.
She's just trying
to make a statement.
After she left,
those boys never behaved
like that ever again.
God the Father
is saying,
I'll take care of you.
In this life
or the next,
there will be justice.
I'm watching over you.
Think about
having a millstone
tied around your neck
and being drowned
in the sea.
The millstone here
is not the small ones
that people do by hand.
It's literally
the donkey millstone.
The huge ones,
the heavy circular,
three,
six feet in diameter,
weighing around
1,000 pounds
that only animals
like horses
and donkeys
can pull
or oxen
can pull.
Jesus says,
it's better
for that person
who hurts
one of his little ones
to have that
tied around his neck
and drowned
in the depths of the sea.
That person
is never getting back up.
So this radically changes
the way we interact
with each other
in the Church of Christ.
This doesn't mean,
of course,
that Jesus eschewed
all forms of hierarchies
and leadership structures.
That'd be a wrong
application of this text.
Jesus does not endorse
a radically flat,
egalitarian vision
for the Church
that some Christian movements
throughout history
have espoused.
The original Quakers
were of this ilk.
They supremely valued
immediate experiential
revelation of Christ
to the individual,
aka prophecy.
So they correctly believed
that every single Christian
has a Spirit of God,
but they wrongly applied
that truth
into disregarding
the Bible's teaching
about elders and deacons,
and they flattened out
the structure of the Church.
They accorded everybody
attending their meetings,
their gatherings,
equal status,
and everybody would sit
in a circle.
There would be no pulpits
and no altars,
no set liturgies
in the worship.
Anyone,
regardless of their
membership status,
gender,
or age,
was permitted to speak
as long as they claimed
to have felt
the leading
of the Holy Spirit.
In the absence of elders
whose responsibility
it is to give instruction
in sound doctrine
and also to rebuke
those who contradict it,
as it says in Titus 1.9,
it should not come
as a surprise
that the Quakers
soon slid into heresy.
Followers of Elias Hick
emphasized what they called
the inward light
over biblical authority
and became the modern
liberal Quakerism,
most of whom became
universalists,
Buddhists,
or even atheists
by the 20th century.
The only Quakers
who remain biblically
and theologically sound
and faithful today
are those called
the Orthodox Quakers
who reinstated
biblical leadership structures
and appointed elders
in the early 1800s.
So the point
of that cautionary tale
is this,
the radical,
selfless,
childlike humility
that Jesus enjoins
for all Christians
does not undermine
biblical leadership structures.
However,
it does transform
those very leadership structures
so they don't work
like it does
out in the world.
Now,
finally,
to personal stumbling blocks,
I'll be brief here
since I've covered
Matthew 5, 29-30 already,
which is very similar.
Woe to the world
for temptations to sin
for it is necessary
that temptations come,
but woe to the one
by whom the temptation comes.
And if your hand
or your foot
causes you to sin,
cut it off
and throw it away.
It is better for you
to enter life crippled
or lame
than with two hands
or two feet
to be thrown
into the eternal fire.
And if your eye
causes you to sin,
tear it out
and throw it away.
It is better for you
to enter life
with one eye
than with two eyes
to be thrown
into the hell of fire.
Jesus,
I've said this before,
he's not being literal here,
but he is being
utterly serious.
He's not saying
literally,
gouge out your eye,
right?
I mean,
you could gouge your,
you could have,
you could be blind
and still be
a very, very lustful person,
right?
And you could be,
I mean,
you could be missing
your legs
and you could still
take yourself
on your wheelchairs
to sinful areas
to wherever you want to go.
Like,
it's not those things
themselves
that cause people to sin,
but he's,
Jesus is using them
as metaphors,
as an analogy
to say that we should
get rid of the things
that cause us
to stumble.
So what is it
in your life
that causes you
to stumble?
Are you making
decisive choices
to get rid of these things?
I've been watching
in shock
as the list
of rich,
famous,
and powerful people
who are implicated
in the Jeffrey Epstein
scandal
continues to grow,
leading to embarrassing
mea culpas
and resignations
from powerful people.
This man
was a financier
who used his wealth
and connections
for sex trafficking
of children,
and it seems
that his sordid influence
was far-reaching,
reaching even
to a crown princess,
a prince,
a duchess,
CEOs,
multiple presidents
and prime ministers,
diplomats,
film directors,
university presidents
and professors,
a Nobel laureate,
and a chairman
of a top law firm.
The full story
remains to be seen,
but it seems
that many powerful people
were in his orbit,
one,
because they liked
the financial services
that he offered,
which saved them
tens of millions
of dollars
in tax loopholes,
and or because they liked
the moral sexual services
that he procured
on their behalf,
and or because they liked
access to his money
and connections
and social clout,
and or because they had
secrets now
that Jeffrey Epstein knew
and that he needed
to keep his mouth shut.
In this sinful world,
it is necessary
that temptations come,
Jesus says,
and you will confront
many stumbling blocks
that the world
throws at you
in your social life
and in your career paths.
Maybe your refusal
to get drunk
and be sexually promiscuous,
your refusal to cuss
or to agree
with unbiblical ideas
at your school
or in college
or at your work
will make you unpopular
and isolated.
Maybe your refusal
to engage
in unlawful,
shady business dealings
or your prioritization
of your family
and your church
in an extremely demanding
line of work
will put you
on the hot seat
with your boss
and it will hamstring
your upward mobility.
Maybe your refusal
to be chummy
and flirty
with the sleazy
but powerful old man
means forfeiting
a golden opportunity.
Maybe fleeing temptations
means being cut off
from the corridors
of worldly power.
Maybe it will make you
cripple or lame
in the eyes of the world.
Jesus says,
embrace being crippled
or lame.
It is better
to enter eternal life
as a cripple
than to be thrown
into the eternal fire
whole and able-bodied.
It's better
to enter eternal life
as a failure
in the eyes of the world
than to be thrown
into eternal hellfire
as a success story.
So often,
isn't this true?
That the very
stepping stones
that make you
get ahead in life
are the stumbling blocks
on the pathway
to the kingdom of heaven.
Do you know that,
brothers and sisters?
It's better
to enter life
poor
than to be thrown
into the hellfire
rich.
Better to enter heaven
as a nobody
than to be thrown
into hellfire
as a somebody
on the who's who
magazines.
It's better.
Jesus is not saying,
well,
this is really hard
to do
and it's a tough
pill to swallow,
but it's the right
thing to do,
so just do it.
That's not what he says.
He says,
this is better.
So set your side
on something
that is better.
In 2018,
a man named
Wayne Moorhead
developed sepsis
following an infection
and as his body
diverted blood
to his vital organs,
his extremities,
his limbs
became vulnerable
and suffered tissue death,
gangrene,
which began to spread
to his arms and legs.
Eventually,
in order to save his life,
he had to get
both his legs
and both his arms
amputated.
But this
was not
a sacrifice.
That was the only
sensible
and reasonable
thing to do
in that situation.
That was the better
thing to do
in that situation.
Yes,
he is crippled
and lame now.
Yes,
but he is
alive.
What if
when your eternal
life is at stake?
Are you willing
to sacrifice less?
Don't ever think
that, you know,
sin is a
harmless thing.
Oh,
that one time
will not do much harm.
Remember,
it's the one sin
of Adam
that led
to the fall
of humanity
and the groaning
of all creation.
sin.
That's how
seriously God
takes one sin.
Moreover,
sin never stays
confined to where
you want it to be.
It always grows.
It's like cancer.
All it takes is
one cancerous cell
and then it starts
to hijack your system.
Sin does the same thing.
It hijacks your
thinking,
your reasoning,
your moral reasoning,
your spiritual discernment.
It impairs your thinking.
It dulls your
spiritual appetite.
It grows and grows
and grows and not only
within your own life,
it spreads to other
people in your life
that you affect.
So if
that's what's at stake,
if eternal life
is at stake,
is it a sacrifice
to get rid of
a limb?
And the greatest
way we see
the heinousness
of sin
and the
graciousness of God
is at the cross
of Jesus Christ.
Our sins
were so bad
that Jesus
had to die.
The only
Son of God,
the sinless,
blameless
Son of God
and the Son of Man
had to die
on the cross
as the atonement
for our sins.
And Jesus
did it gladly
because He knew
it was the only way
He can redeem us
for Himself
so we can have
eternal life
with Him.
And if that's
the love
that the Son
of God
has shown us
and if the Son
of God,
the divine,
eternal Son
of God
laid down
His life
for us,
is it a sacrifice
for us
to lay down
our preferences,
our conveniences,
our desires
so that we can
run after,
run hard
and pursue
that eternal union
and fellowship
with Christ?
I think not.
Let's pray.
Father,
please grant us
humility,
childlike dependence
on You.
Oh, Lord,
give us
this eternal
perspective
without which
we cannot have
a heavenly
community.
Help us
to love
one another,
honor one another
as children
of the King,
and humble
ourselves
before one another
as children
who have
nothing to show
for ourselves
but the provision
and the protection
of our heavenly Father.
In Jesus' name
we pray.
Amen.
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