WWUTT 2197 If Anyone Causes One of These to Stumble (Mark 9:38-42)

Jesus Warns Against Causing Believers to Stumble

Jesus said to his disciples, whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.

Let us consider one another when we understand the text.

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Here's your teacher, Pastor Gabe.

Thank you, Becky. In our study of the gospel of Mark, we're finishing up chapter nine today as Jesus gives the disciples instructions on discipleship. I'll begin reading here in verse 38 and we'll go through verse 50 out of the Legacy Standard Bible.

Hear the word of the Lord. John said to Jesus, "'Teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, "'and we tried to hinder him "'because he was not following us.'. "'But Jesus said, "'Do not hinder him, "'for there is no one who will perform a miracle in my name "'and be able soon afterward to speak evil of me.

"'For he who is not against us is for us. "'For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name "'because you are of Christ, "'truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward. "'And whoever causes one of these little ones "'who believe to stumble, "'it would be better for him "'if with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, "'he had been cast into the sea.

"'And if your hand causes you to stumble, cut it off. "'It is better for you to enter life crippled "'than having your two hands to go into hell "'into the unquenchable fire. "'And if your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off.

"'It is better for you to enter life lame "'than having your two feet to be cast into hell. "'And if your eye causes you to stumble, gouge it out. "'It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God "'with one eye than having two eyes to be cast into hell "'where their worm does not die "'and the fire is not quenched.

"'For everyone will be salted with fire. "'Salt is good, but if the salt becomes unsalty, "'with what will you make it salty again? "'Have salt in yourselves "'and be at peace with one another.'". So this whole instruction that Jesus gives to his disciples here is launched because John comes to Jesus and says, hey, we tried to stop somebody who was casting out demons.

And Jesus is going, no, no, no, no, no, don't stop him. If he's able to do that in my name, well, then he's not against us, he's for us. And that's exactly what we should expect, Jesus is saying, that there would be discipleship that's going on all over the world.

It's not just this small group of people that Jesus has called to himself, but as he's going to instruct his disciples to do later, to take the gospel into all the world. So we will see pockets of disciples everywhere.

It's not just going to be the one little group that is following along with Jesus. And that's kind of what the disciples are thinking here at this particular point, that the only faithful ones out there are the ones who are following Christ.

But if there is in other places, people who are casting out demons in Jesus' name, and they are even loving you and showing you charity in Jesus' name, well, great will be their reward in heaven. But then Jesus also gives these warnings to the disciples about what could cost you your reward in heaven.

Not that you lose your salvation, because one cannot lose their salvation, or else they wouldn't be saved. If you're saved, you're saved. If you have eternal life, you can't lose it, or it never would have been eternal.

But a person could show themselves to have never truly been saved, going back to the parable of the soils that we had read earlier in Mark, they might show themselves to have never really been a follower of Christ at all.

So Jesus gives these warnings about what you must be willing to give up, what you must be willing to sacrifice at whatever cost it would be to yourself to follow Jesus and gain eternal life. Because whatever you have to sacrifice on this side of heaven is worth it compared to what you will receive on the other side.

So let's begin here again in verse 38, where John says to Jesus, teacher, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we tried to hinder him because he was not following us. So now Jesus is going to respond with three different kinds of people, really.

The ones that are for us, and then those that will deserve to have a millstone hung around their neck and tossed into the sea, and then those who will go into the unquenchable fire if they're not willing to give up whatever they need to give up in order to follow Jesus and enter the kingdom of God.

So here, Jesus says to John, do not hinder him, for there is no one who will perform a miracle in my name and be able soon afterward to speak evil of me. So what Jesus is saying here is that if somebody has the ability to cast out demons, they are doing it in the name of Christ.

It is by the power of God that they've been able to accomplish this. Because remember before, when Jesus is casting out demons, the Pharisees say of him, well, yeah, the reason he's able to do that is because he's of Beelzebul.

He is of Satan himself. So that's how he can cast out demons. They can't deny that Jesus is performing miraculous signs and wonders. All they can do is attribute it to somebody else. And then that's where Jesus says that he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit is guilty of an unforgivable sin because the Pharisees were saying this very thing.

That could be that Jesus was saying that they are never gonna repent and come to follow Christ. If they're willing to attribute to the work of the Holy Spirit, the work of Satan, then their hearts are so far gone.

They are never going to give up their course and repent and come and follow Christ. If there's anybody who can issue such a judgment about the heart that they will never repent, it's Jesus. So him making this statement about he who blasphemes the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, that's a statement that only the judge himself can make, Jesus Christ.

But Jesus, in responding to the Pharisees, when they said that he's Beelzebul casting out demons, he says, how can Satan cast out Satan? If Satan is divided against himself, his house will not stand. That's absurd.

He would not be bringing power into his satanic kingdom. He would be taking it away if he, as Satan, is casting out Satan. So that's absurd that the Pharisees are even saying that. Therefore, if a person is casting out demons, they can't be doing that by the power of Satan, can they?

It has to be by the power of God. And so Jesus is drawing John's attention, the rest of the disciples' attention to this very thing. If they're casting out demons in my name, then how would they be against us?

They're actually for us. They're doing the same mission that we're doing. And so they're not against us. They're not hindering us. So you don't need to hinder him. Verse 40, for he who is not against us is for us.

And then demonstrating the charity that believers should have with one another in verse 41. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you are of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

So understand something about what Jesus is saying here. I actually had just encountered a situation just a few days ago where somebody had said, they had recalled this exchange between Jesus and his disciples.

And they had said that the disciples said to Jesus, hey, we heard somebody who was teaching falsely. And so we stopped them. And Jesus had said, no, no, no, don't stop them because if they're not against us, they're for us.

And I had to speak up and correct that. I had to go, no, no, no, no. It wasn't that the disciples caught somebody teaching falsely. They were actually casting out demons. If they were teaching falsely, then yeah, the disciples should have corrected them on that.

But in terms of casting out demons, Jesus says, no, you don't need to hinder them. They're actually doing the same work that we're doing. We're on the same team here. And you will see from them an evidence of this.

They do this in my name. And whoever is not against us is for us. For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you are of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward. This is similar to what Jesus said in Matthew 25.

If I could jump back to the previous gospel where he's talking about how those who care for the least of these brothers of mine in my name, they do it also unto me. So visiting the sick, the prisoner, the one who is thirsty, giving him something to drink, one who is hungry, giving him something to eat, one who is naked, clothing him.

Jesus saying that what you have done to the least of these brothers of mine, you've done also to me. So this is that same sort of thing here in Mark 9 41. Whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in my name, because you are of Christ, truly I say to you, he will not lose his reward.

When the apostle Paul was in prison in Rome the first time, he was under house arrest, chained to a Roman guard. There were Christian preachers out there who were trying to disassociate themselves from the apostle Paul.

Because if Paul is in prison, then he must have done something bad. And we don't want to go to prison. So, hey, we're going to make it known that we're not with Paul. And be careful about Paul. You need to be careful about what you're listening to from this guy, because apparently he's saying things that are getting him in trouble.

And if he had been a faithful apostle, would Jesus have allowed him to be thrown into jail and put in chains? Well, the Philippians had heard preachers doing this. The church in Philippi, they had heard that there were some preachers that were trying to make things more difficult on Paul.

And they felt really burdened by this. They were heartbroken over it because they loved Paul. And they did not think that what the preachers were saying about Paul was true. So they gathered up an offering and they had it sent by Epaphras, which was one of the men in their congregation.

He went to Rome where Paul was under house arrest and preaching to deliver this offering to him and hoping that it would encourage Paul in the ministry work that he was doing. So the letter that we have to the Philippians, the book of Philippians is Paul's thank you letter to the Philippians and taking that opportunity to instruct them in some things as well.

But it's his response to the Philippians because they had done such a generous thing for him. Now, when it comes to these guys who are speaking ill of Paul, there might've been an expectation on the Philippians part to hear Paul put those guys in their place.

Speak up Paul and make sure they know that they should not be saying and doing the things that they are doing. But Paul says this in Philippians one, and I think this goes well with what Jesus is saying to the disciples here.

Now, I want you to know brothers that my circumstance has turned out for the greater progress of the gospel. So that my chains in Christ have become well-known throughout the whole Praetorian guard and to everyone else.

And that most of the brothers having become confident in the Lord because of my chains have far more courage to speak the word of God without fear. Some to be sure are preaching Christ even from envy and strife, but some also from goodwill.

The latter do it out of love knowing that I am appointed for the defense of the gospel. The former proclaim Christ out of a selfish ambition rather than from pure motives, thinking to cause me affliction in my chains.

What then? Only that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed. And in this, I rejoice. Yes, and I will rejoice. For I know that this will turn out for my salvation through your prayers and the provision of the spirit of Jesus Christ.

According to my earnest expectation and hope that I will not be put to shame in anything, but that with all boldness, Christ will even now as always be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.

And so here, Paul does not attempt to be combative with some of these guys that are trying to make things hard on him. Yeah, they're going to have to stand before God and answer for that. But in the meantime, Paul rejoices that in every way, whether in pretense or in truth, Christ is proclaimed.

And in this, I rejoice.

Amen.

At least the gospel of Christ is going out. And that's the big thing. If people hear the gospel and put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ and are saved, how beautiful a thing that is. That's exactly what I'm out to do.

And so even if these guys have bad motives, at least they're preaching the gospel. And I'm so glad to hear that the glorious gospel of Christ is continuing to go out into the world. If these guys are false teachers, if they are doing it with wrong motives, if they are not storing up for themselves treasures in heaven, well, that's going to be for Christ to decide.

And he will decide that at the judgment. Very similar to something that Jesus is saying here. They're not against us. If they're not against us, then they're for us. And whoever is going to give you a blessing in my name, well, then his reward in heaven will be great.

So we need to be careful about wanting to contest every little thing that happens. And some people are just way touchier than others. There are certain things that I know that I should not be saying online.

And it's not that my saying them is wrong, but it is confronting a certain section of Christianity that simply just cannot take the criticism. They are so bad at being able to take criticism that they will explode and bring a reproach on the gospel of Christ if I touch their anointed in some way.

So I'm careful. It's not that these guys are false teachers. It's just their motives are really bad. And so I'll be careful with approaching some of those subjects because they're immature. They just can't handle it.

And on occasion, I'll probably have overstepped my bounds and have stepped on their toes. And then boom, the whole thing blows up and I'm sitting here going, well, there you go. I should have known better.

It's not that I said anything wrong. It's just, I know these guys can't take it. They cannot take the criticism. And so even when it comes to handling those kinds of issues with other Christians, I'm careful about not stepping on the toes of those who just can't handle it if said publicly.

So maybe I'll say something to them privately. And if somebody is speaking ill about you, it's probably better for you to just let it go. It's a turn the other cheek sort of a thing. As Jesus talked about in the Sermon on the Mount, if someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

So if somebody says something disparaging about you, it's probably better for the witness of Christ to just let that go. It's bad what they said. They're going to have to answer for it before God, but don't blow up with it and turn it into a big public thing that's going to bring a reproach against the gospel.

That's going to make people look at that and go, these Christians are just always fighting and arguing with one another. What are you willing to sacrifice? And what are you willing to give up for the advancement of the kingdom?

Having the last word, that might need to be something you're willing to sacrifice so that the gospel can progress. Now, in this next section, Jesus confronts his disciples in that way. What are you willing to give up for the sake of the kingdom?

Now, the things that he talks about here are much more severe than just, you know, being just the desire to want to have the last word. He's really confronting sin here. So let's continue on at verse 42.

And whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it would be better for him if with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea. Now, a lot of people take that particular verse to say, if we cause children to sin, then it would be better for a millstone to be hung around his neck and him to be tossed into the sea.

And that may very well be the case. It could be that Jesus is still saying this with the little child among them. Because remember the last thing that we had read yesterday in verse 36, Jesus took a child and he set him before them and taking him in his arms, he said to them, whoever receives one child like this in my name receives me.

And whoever receives me does not receive me, but him who sent me. And that very statement really carries over into exactly what we're saying here. If someone gives you charity in my name, great is his reward.

Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble, it would be better for him if a heavy millstone would be tied around his neck and he would be tossed into the sea. So Jesus is still talking about these things with the child that is among them.

So whoever causes one of these little ones who believe to stumble, it's better for him to be thrown into the sea. That's a pretty harsh word coming from Christ. So yes, it very literally may be pertaining to the way that we treat children.

But like I said yesterday, that there's a spiritual application to this as well. So you're also talking about those who are immature in faith. And there's gonna be occasions where those who are less mature, those who are weak in faith, you have to be willing to be wise and even come down on their level a little bit to help them in their progress so that they may mature and grow up.

In Romans 15 one, it is said, we who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves, but to please our neighbor for his good to build him up. And Ephesians 4 talks about us building one another up in the body of Christ, maturing into the head.

We are as strong as our weakest member. And so when we are helping those who are weak and immature to strengthen and grow up, well, that's beneficial for the whole body. That's even beneficial for you.

But you're not doing it for you. You're doing it for their sake, considering somebody else's needs ahead of your own. Paul said that to the Philippians as well. So this is caring for a little one, caring for somebody who is a child in the faith, who is less mature.

And if you were to do something in their immaturity that causes them to stumble or even fall out of faith, you're insensitively do something or exclude them because I'm better than you. You just see yourself as being higher than them.

Whatever you might do that causes them to stumble, fall into worse sin, or even fall away from the faith. It would be better if a millstone be tied around your neck and be thrown into the sea. There are things that I've done in my past when I was less mature, but people looked up to me as a mature believer because of the name that I had, the reputation that I had.

As I've shared before, I was in radio for over two decades, Christian radio before I became a pastor. So people heard me on the radio and they just automatically assumed that I was a mature Christian.

At least I should have been. I should have been more adult and more grown up than I acted. And I just have to wonder about some of those things that I said and did with that platform and that kind of influence.

Did I cause one of these little ones to stumble? And it's grieved me thinking about some of those things, some of those poor decisions that I made in the past, thinking only about myself and not about another person and causing them to fall into sin or lose their way.

And praise be to God for his mercy and grace for giving me of my sin and my desire to live a more mature Christian life, setting for them an example, not causing anybody to stumble, but building them up in Christ.

Jesus goes on to tell his disciples, what would you be willing to sacrifice in order to enter the kingdom of God? That's the section that we're going to continue with tomorrow. So I'll stop there and then we will pick up in this tomorrow in verse 43.

So, so far, Jesus talking to his disciples has said that whoever is not against us is for us. If someone shows you charity in my name, truly he will have a great reward in heaven. But then talking about the one who is against us, one who causes one of these little ones to stumble, it would be better for him if with a heavy millstone hung around his neck, he had been cast into the sea.

But then from there, Jesus turns it on the disciples like he's addressing them directly. If your hand causes you to stumble, now here's what you have to think about in your own Christian walk, in your discipline, what you're willing to give up in order to enter the kingdom of God.

And we pick up there tomorrow. Heavenly father, we thank you for what we have read here. And I pray that it motivates us to consider the needs of others ahead of our own. We think about our witness, what we are looking like before the world, how we are acting, even before other Christians.

Are we giving them an example? Are we combative and fighting with other Christians? Is that the way that we're acting? Or are we conducting ourselves in such a way that would be a benefit to one another, encouraging each other, giving grace to those who hear, as said in Ephesians four, building one another up in love, growing into Christ who is the head until we all reach maturity.

And may that be our desire for everybody in the body of Christ, not to tear one another down, not to cause a hindrance to somebody else or to cause somebody else to stumble, but we are desiring to mature the body of Christ so that we all stand before Christ glorified on that day.

Looking out for one another that we all get to rejoice in that day in Christ Jesus. It is in his name that we pray, amen.