Why does Matthew 18:7 emphasize personal responsibility for causing others to sin? Text of Matthew 18:7 “Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!” Immediate Setting in Matthew 18 Matthew 18 opens with the disciples asking, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” (v. 1). Jesus answers by placing a child in their midst (vv. 2–5) and immediately speaks of “causing one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble” (v. 6). Verse 7 stands at the center of a unit (vv. 6-9) that escalates from warning against harming “little ones” to urging radical self-discipline (cutting off hand, foot, eye) to avoid hell. Personal responsibility thus bridges communal care (vv. 6-7) and personal holiness (vv. 8-9). Old Testament Background of Moral Agency Genesis 3 locates the origin of human stumbling in a personal tempter; yet God still addresses Adam, Eve, and the serpent separately, establishing individual accountability (Genesis 3:11-19). Ezekiel 3:18-21 and 33:7-9 stress the watchman’s liability if he fails to warn. Thus Jesus echoes a covenant principle already embedded in Torah and prophets: sin’s contagion never absolves the carrier. Why “Must” Temptations Come? Theodicy and Providence 1. Fallen creation (Romans 8:20-22) makes moral testing unavoidable. 2. God employs such tests to refine faith (Deuteronomy 8:2; 1 Peter 1:6-7). 3. Necessity is conditional, not coercive; God permits, yet never authorizes, evil (James 1:13). Hence divine sovereignty coexists with human responsibility: “woe to the man.” Personal Responsibility Highlighted • Individual moral agency: Each person is a potential vector of skándalon; judgment targets the agent, not merely the act (Matthew 12:36-37). • Severity of harm: Leading another into sin compounds guilt because it damages a soul Christ values (Matthew 18:14). • Witness to the watching world: Believers are “light” (Matthew 5:14). Causing darkness contradicts their created purpose. Parallel New Testament Teaching • Romans 14:13: “make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in your brother’s way.” • 1 Corinthians 8:12: “When you sin against your brothers … you sin against Christ.” • Luke 17:1-2: almost verbatim, reinforcing the principle across synoptic tradition. Christological Foundation Jesus never induced sin (1 Peter 2:22), yet bore its penalty (Isaiah 53:6). His warning exposes an antithesis: the Savior removes stumbling (Romans 9:33) while the offender introduces it. To follow Christ is to emulate the former, not the latter (1 John 2:6). Ethical and Pastoral Implications 1. Parenting & discipleship: guardians must safeguard impressionable “little ones.” 2. Leadership integrity: Titus 2:7 calls elders to be “above reproach,” for their fall misleads many. 3. Church discipline (Matthew 18:15-17) immediately follows, providing a remedy when stumbling occurs. Early-Church Testimony An ante-Nicene homily cites this text: “He who makes the simple to fall shall find the pit he dug.” Such citations, found in multiple patristic collections, demonstrate the verse’s formative role in Christian ethics from the 2nd century onward. Eschatological Warning The “woe” formula (ouaí) typically signals impending judgment (cf. Matthew 23). By placing it in the present tense Jesus stresses certainty: God’s tribunal stands outside time; only repentance alters the sentence (Acts 3:19). Conclusion Matthew 18:7 emphasizes personal responsibility because: • moral agency is God-given and cannot be outsourced; • corrupting another soul multiplies evil; • divine justice differentiates unavoidable occasions of sin from culpable agents; • the kingdom community must reflect its King’s holiness. Believers therefore guard both their steps and their influence, lest the trap they set for others ensnare themselves. |
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