At our Bible study this week, we studied the first ten verses of Luke 17. As it seems I have said very often through our study of Luke, “Tonight we will once again hear some very hard teachings of Jesus.” As I reflect back on those “hard teachings,” I find them teachings filled with love. Jesus loves us, desires us to be His disciples, desires for us to glorify Him, and at the same time is very clear on what it takes to follow Him.
Verse two in the seventeenth chapter of Luke is a verse that while it may seem horrible is filled with Christ’s love and His expectations from His followers. “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble” (NASB). First, let us grasp the fact of what a millstone actually is. It is a huge round stone with a hole in the middle, sort of a donut shape, that was used to grind wheat. It was pulled usually oxen. The exact opposite of a life buoy that is thrown out to somebody when they fall out of a boat, although the same shape. Jesus in essence is saying drowning with a millstone around your neck is better then the alternative. The alternative we see here in chapter 17 is hell. Jesus tells the disciples that allowing another to fall into sin, because of their own temptations and sins will result in eternity in hell. That seems harsh, does it not?
If we look at this, we can see that Christ wants nobody to fall to their sin. If we are living in the power of Christ, we look to avoid sin and consequently look to see others avoid sin. That is not a hard teaching. If we, as Paul says, are working out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12), may we be also looking at our brothers and sisters. Looking at them to help, love, lead, and of course forgive them. I am going to end this blog here for today and pick it up again to further develop what I started. I think there is so much more in Luke 17 that we can look at as we look to love God and love our neighbor. God bless each one of you and if you have questions or comments please email me at PastorTom@GraceBaptistCT.com