City Life Starter

Written Scott Fiddler

The Word

Now He said to His disciples, “It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to one through whom they come! ² It is better for him if a millstone is hung around his neck and he is thrown into the sea, than that he may cause one of these little ones to sin. ³ Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

⁵ The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” ⁶ But the Lord said, “If you had faith the size of a mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and be planted in the sea’; and it would obey you.

⁷ “Now which of you, having a slave plowing or tending sheep, will say to him after he comes in from the field, ‘Come immediately and recline at the table to eat’? ⁸ On the contrary, will he not say to him, ‘Prepare something for me to eat, and properly clothe yourself and serve me while I eat and drink; and afterward you may eat and drink’? ⁹ He does not thank the slave because he did the things which were commanded, does he? ¹⁰ So you too, when you do all the things which were commanded you, say, ‘We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done.’”

Luke 17:1-10 (NASB)

Commentary

Here, Jesus, warns the disciples to not to cause others to reject God (become a “stumbling block”), and to forgive those who sin against them, even if done repeatedly (vv. 1-4). The disciples, challenged by such a seemingly lofty standard, ask Jesus for more faith (v. 5). Jesus tells them it should only take a little faith to do what He is calling them to do (v. 6). Jesus then tells them a story about a slave who does what he is supposed to do, and Jesus asks whether the master should thank the slave for merely doing what he was supposed to do (vv. 7-9). Conversely, Jesus says, when you do these baseline, standard things like not being a hypocrite and forgiving those who sin against you, don’t pretend you have done anything extraordinary because this is what is expected of you as a redeemed human (v. 10). No one applauds a fish for swimming or a bird for flying. This is what they were created to do.

Why such a standard seemed so lofty to the disciples and to us only shows how far we have fallen from who we were created to be. Take not becoming a stumbling block. Was it really too much to ask Carl Lentz not to have sex with a woman he met in the park who was not his wife? The Biebs had every reason to expect more of his mentor. And those around us have every reason to expect we will live what we preach.

And then there is unforgiveness. We consider our unforgiveness rational and just. We think, “I was done wrong, and I have a right to be angry.” But unforgiveness is not rational. Think about it: Who does your unforgiveness upset more, the person who wronged you or you? As it has been said, “Unforgiveness is the poison we drink hoping the other person will die.” That’s how irrational it is. Also, unless you are perfect, you have likely hurt someone once (as we all have). Would you deny another the same forgiveness you covet when you’re the perpetrator? Unforgiveness is not rational, and it’s not just. It’s just emotional. Forgiveness, on the other hand, is rational and just, which is not to say it’s always easy, only that it’s always right.

Application

This, Jesus said, is what we ought to do. So, when we do it—when we walk the walk and forgive others who wrong us—we should not tear our rotator cuff trying to pat ourselves on the back. We should not assume we have attained superstar status in the kingdom of God. We should recognize that we are only being who God created us to be in the first place. 

Prayer

Lord, help me help not to be a hypocrite and help me to be forgiving. In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.