One of the most unique and distinctly Christian qualities is forgiveness. All of Christianity is built on the truth that God forgave our sins in Christ and calls us to forgive one another, just as He forgave us.
In Luke 17 there is a passage that, although well-known, gives no rest when you read it afresh. These are the words of Christ addressed simultaneously to those who cause others to stumble and to those who have been sinned against. This message is needed by every one of us. If the Holy Spirit touches your heart and you feel that the Word of God is speaking directly to you — do not leave without repenting and putting things right.
Woe to the One Who Causes Stumbling
“And he said to his disciples, ‘Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin’” (Luke 17:1–2).
It is striking that Christ says plainly: “Temptations to sin are sure to come.” This is expected — we live in a world full of temptation. Christ knows this and warns about it openly. But the question here is more serious than temptation in general. The focus is on the person through whom the temptation comes.
We recently considered Romans 14:13: “Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother.” What you do, even if it is not technically sinful, if it causes a brother or sister to stumble, then according to our passage it would be better for you to perish than to cause another person to fall.
Someone might object: doesn’t the passage speak of “these little ones,” meaning only children? Let us read the parallel passage:
“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’” (Matt. 18:1–6).
What child? Does He mean a literal child? Of course not. The entire conversation is about believers who must become like children. And whoever causes one of these little ones — and then He adds “who believe in me” — the question concerns believers in general, not only children.
MacArthur writes in his commentary: “One of these little ones” refers not to literal children, but to children in the sense described in verses 3 and 4 (those who have humbled themselves like children) — that is, true believers.
This is profoundly serious. We must do everything in our power not to cause others to stumble.
Let us examine our own behaviour. Are we causing anyone close to us — in our family or in our church — to stumble? Here is one way to check: if because of our behaviour, people who know us say, “I will not go to church,” because we do not conduct ourselves as Christians, then we have already become a stumbling block to someone. It may be in the family, in the church, or at work.
If that is the case, then it is necessary to go to that person immediately, repent and ask for forgiveness, and change your behaviour. The words of Christ ring clear: “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.”
Our sinful heart is probably thinking: “I hope he or she is hearing this. I hope he will come to me and repent for everything he did, and how he behaved, and how I didn’t even want to go to church because of him. If only he would hear this.”
God willing, it will happen, and if there is a person who needs to do this, may God speak to that person’s heart so that they come and sincerely repent and ask for forgiveness.
But it is striking that Christ has not yet finished His speech. He has something to say not only to the one who causes others to stumble, but also to the other side — to the one who has been sinned against, the one who is the injured party.
Pay Attention to Yourselves
“Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him” (Luke 17:3–4).
As we can see, Christ’s call is directed not only to the offending party, but equally to the one who has been wronged.
What does Christ say? “Pay attention to yourselves.” What kind of attention is He talking about? Attention to how we forgive others. What is our theology of forgiveness? How do we relate to forgiveness?
Verse 4 gives us a distinctly Christian answer: “If someone repents seven times in a day and says ‘I repent,’ we must forgive that person.”
People sometimes say: “How many times can I forgive? How long can this go on — he never changes!” But Christ’s call here is directed at us, not at the person who sinned. “Pay attention to yourselves,” He says to the injured party. If our forgiveness is not what Christ describes here, and we refuse to forgive because we say, “I’ve already forgiven him, but he keeps doing the same thing” — then we are not acting according to God’s Word. If there is repentance and a request for forgiveness, we must forgive one another. According to God’s Word, we have no other choice.
Increase Our Faith
“The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!’ And the Lord said, ‘If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, “Be uprooted and planted in the sea,” and it would obey you’” (Luke 17:5–6).
In other words, Christ is saying that you do not need “great faith” to do great things; even the smallest faith, like a mustard seed, is enough to accomplish the impossible.
The same applies here: when you see the whole enormous problem — the offences, the grief, the deception, the words, the betrayal — it seems that you will never be able to forgive. You feel you need very great faith to forgive, and perhaps you are praying that God would give you that faith, that He would increase it, just as the disciples asked Christ. But Christ’s answer to you is the same as His answer to the disciples.
He tells you that you do not need very great faith to forgive; your small faith, like a mustard seed, is also sufficient to move these mountains.
And what is this small faith? It is the initial faith by which you came to Christ and yourself received forgiveness. It is the faith that Christ forgave you. It is not small in the sense that it barely exists. It is small in the sense that without it you are not even a Christian. This most basic faith — that Christ forgave you and reconciled you with God — is that small seed which, when it falls into your heart, grows and becomes ever greater.
Everything we need to forgive someone is a look at the cross of Christ, where He died for you and forgave your sins and transgressions. It is a look at your own life, where you come to Him again and again and ask forgiveness for the very same mistakes and sins.
When we understand how Christ forgives us, we should be ashamed when we find it difficult to forgive — when we drag our feet and demand this or that.
Just consider this: imagine that Christ would forgive you in the same way that you forgive the person who sinned against you. Think about that…
It is fitting here to also read the parallel passage: Matthew 18:21–35, the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant.
This conversation in the Gospel of Luke concludes with Christ telling the disciples: do not think that you are doing something extraordinary — it is your duty to hear and do what our Lord tells us, namely, to forgive one another. This is what we are called to, and we are doing what we ought to do as Christians, if we call ourselves Christians.
“So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty’” (Luke 17:10).
A Call to Action
If you have not forgiven someone and are holding on to it, the Bible clearly calls you to forgive. We must repent of this and come to Jesus. For His words are clear: “If you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive you.” This means we are in danger if we remain in that state.
Amen.