Teachings on divorce, children, and the kingdom

17:1 Jesus said to his disciples, "Stumbling blocks are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 17:2 It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 17:3 Watch yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him. 17:4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to you saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him." 17:5 The apostles said to the Lord, "Increase our faith!" 17:6 So the Lord replied, "If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this black mulberry tree, 'Be pulled out by the roots and planted in the sea,' and it would obey you. 17:7 "Would any one of you say to your slave who comes in from the field after plowing or shepherding sheep, 'Come at once and sit down for a meal'? 17:8 Won't the master instead say to him, 'Get my dinner ready, and make yourself ready to serve me while I eat and drink. Then you may eat and drink'? 17:9 He won't thank the slave because he did what he was told, will he? 17:10 So you too, when you have done everything you were commanded to do, should say, 'We are slaves undeserving of special praise; we have only done what was our duty.'"

Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NET) are from the NET Bible®, copyright ©1996, 2019 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. All rights reserved.

Jesus teaches His disciples how life together should work. They must not lead others into sin, they must confront sin honestly, they must forgive the repentant again and again, they must rely on God for obedience that seems impossible, and they must serve without pride.

Website-Ready Commentary Main Point: Jesus gives His disciples clear instruction for life together. They must take great care not to become the reason another believer falls into sin. They must rebuke sin, forgive the repentant repeatedly, trust God for hard obedience, and remember that even faithful service never places the Lord in their debt. Commentary: This passage is addressed to Jesus’ disciples, so it speaks mainly to how His followers are to live with one another. The sayings are brief, but they belong together. Jesus is shaping the moral life of the disciple community. First, Jesus warns that stumbling blocks will certainly come. In a fallen world, temptations and occasions for sin are unavoidable. But that does not remove personal responsibility. Even though such things will come, severe judgment falls on the one through whom they come. Jesus says it would be better for such a person to die a terrible death than to cause one of these “little ones” to stumble. In this context, “little ones” most naturally refers to vulnerable believers or dependent followers, though the principle may extend more broadly. The point is clear: Jesus takes very seriously any conduct that spiritually harms weak or susceptible disciples. This is not merely about hurting someone’s feelings. It is about becoming the cause of another person’s moral or spiritual fall. Then Jesus says, “Watch yourselves!” That command connects the warning directly to the disciples’ own conduct. They must stay alert not only to personal sin, but also to how they handle sin within the community. If a brother sins, Jesus says, rebuke him. Love does not ignore wrongdoing or pretend it never happened. Sin must be named truthfully. But rebuke is not the final goal. If the brother repents, the disciple must forgive him. In this way, Jesus holds moral clarity and mercy together. This is not permissiveness, because sin is confronted. But neither is it bitterness, because repentance must be met with forgiveness. Jesus then presses the point further. Even if the same brother sins seven times in one day, and seven times returns saying, “I repent,” the disciple must forgive him. The number is meant to show repeated offense and repeated repentance in an extreme case. Jesus is not setting a maximum. He is removing any excuse for keeping count and refusing restoration when repentance is present. Repeated failure does not cancel the duty to forgive a repentant person. At this point the apostles ask, “Increase our faith!” Their request makes sense. What Jesus commands, especially repeated forgiveness, feels beyond ordinary human ability. But Jesus answers in a surprising way. He does not focus on building up a larger supply of faith, as though obedience must wait until they become spiritually stronger. Instead, He says that faith as small as a mustard seed is enough to say to a mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey. The image is deliberately vivid and exaggerated. Jesus is not giving a technique for working miracles whenever one wishes. He is teaching that the power does not lie in the size of faith itself, but in God, who acts for those who truly rely on Him. Even very small, genuine faith is sufficient for obedience that seems impossible. The final illustration about the servant explains the attitude disciples must have after they obey. A servant who comes in from hard work in the field is not treated as though he has done something extraordinary simply because he completed his assigned tasks. He still serves his master, and he does not expect special thanks for doing his duty. Jesus applies the analogy to His disciples: when they have done all they were commanded, they should say that they are servants undeserving of special praise, because they have only done their duty. This does not mean disciples are worthless in any absolute sense, nor does it mean God never delights in obedience or rewards His people. The point is narrower, and very important: obedience does not put God under obligation. No amount of faithful service gives a disciple leverage over the Lord. Even after costly and faithful obedience, the proper posture is humility, not entitlement. Taken together, the passage gives a sober pattern for life among Jesus’ followers. Protect the vulnerable. Do not become the cause of another believer’s fall. Confront sin honestly. Forgive the repentant repeatedly. Do not delay obedience until you think you have enough faith. Rely on God now. And after obeying, do not congratulate yourself as though the Master now owes you something. You are still His servant, and faithful obedience is simply what He rightly commands.

• Jesus holds people severely accountable for leading vulnerable believers into sin. - In the church, rebuke and forgiveness belong together. - Forgiveness in this passage is tied to repentance and restoration, not to pretending sin did not happen. - Jesus teaches that even small genuine faith is enough because true effectiveness comes from God. - Obedience never puts the Lord in our debt
• the right response to faithful service is humility.

• Do not reduce 'stumbling' to merely offending someone's feelings
• it means leading someone into sin or spiritual ruin. - Do not separate rebuke from forgiveness or forgiveness from rebuke
• Jesus requires both truth and restoration. - Do not treat the mustard-seed saying as a blank check for miracle claims detached from this context. - Do not read the servant analogy as denying that God approves obedience
• it denies entitlement, not divine pleasure or reward.

This unit is best read as instruction for the moral life of the disciple community. The opening warning concerns becoming the cause of another believer's fall, especially among the vulnerable. Verses 3-4 then bind rebuke, repentance, and forgiveness together, so that neither permissiveness nor bitterness can claim Jesus' approval. The apostles' request for more faith reflects how demanding such obedience is; Jesus replies with hyperbolic imagery that shifts attention from faith-quantity to dependence on God. The closing servant analogy then cuts off the pride that could arise even from faithful obedience.

- Examine your conduct and influence so that you do not help weaker believers drift into sin or confusion. - When a fellow believer sins, address it honestly rather than hiding it for the sake of false peace. - When repentance is expressed, forgive concretely, even when the same failure has happened many times. - Do not wait until you feel spiritually impressive before obeying hard commands; depend on God now. - After long or costly service, reject self-congratulation and remember that obedience is your duty before the Lord.

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