After preaching about the Law given through Moses and the writings of the prophets (16:31), Jesus flows through four related teachings (1-3a, 3b-4, 5-6, 7-10). The first is today’s BDBD, where Jesus warns his disciples to be sure that they are not to be the cause of someone else’s sin. He was not teaching this to those who were not his disciples (1), though some may have been present.
Sin is acting out the evil impulses already in our hearts and minds (Proverbs 6:25-26; Obadiah 1:3). Many evil impulses reside in the human soul that are not acted upon (Matthew 5:27-28). For example, a person may hate someone but never do anything to harm them. And for example, someone who could not control their alcohol or drug use suddenly finds the will and ability to resist it for many weeks and even the rest of their life. The impulse is always there, but they never take the poison again.
Jesus warns his disciples to watch themselves so that they do not cause their brother in Christ to lose control and act out the sin in their heart (3a). Jesus says, “who to that person through whom sin comes.” (1) “It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.” (2)
A millstone is a heavy carved stone used for grinding grain. No faster way to drown than Jesus’ illustration. The illustration Jesus gave was an ancient mode of punishment. A little one is someone either young in age or in faith in Jesus (10:21; Matthew 18:6; Mark 10:24).
