Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.” And the apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith.” (Luke 10:1-5).
It is inevitable that we will sin; we are, by nature, children of wrath.[1] It is just as inevitable that we will offend our neighbor. Jesus says something that sounds harsh. Would it really be better for the one who causes offense to one of these little ones, to have a millstone tied around his neck and be drowned? If the comparison is between physical death, and eternal spiritual death, then yes. What Jesus describes here is what the Pharisees are doing. They are unrepentant sinners; they blaspheme the Holy Spirit and teach the commandments of men as doctrines of God.[2] They travel land and sea to make one convert and, when they win him, make him twice as fit for hell as they are themselves, by teaching him to believe their false teachings. They will have to stand before Christ on the Last Day and give an account for their actions, just as all others who have done similarly will be required to do. Their unregenerate hearts will not have been washed by the washing of regeneration.[3] They will be required to justify themselves, apart from Christ, as they tried to do during their earthly life. They will be cast into outer darkness where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.[4] Yes, physical death, in comparison to eternal separation from God, would be much preferable.
Christ teaches His disciples to forgive those who repent of their sins against them, in the same way God forgives us penitent sinners: Finally, freely, and continually. He has taught us to pray, “Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us.” Do we really believe God has graciously forgiven us for all our sins for the sake of Christ? That forgiveness and love will overflow out of our heart and onto our neighbor, even if he sins against us seven times a day, and repents. There is no talk here of “forgiving, but not forgetting.” God said, “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and lawless deeds I will remember no more.”[5] This is how we are called to forgive our neighbor who sins against us.
The disciples are stunned, as their response indicates: Increase our faith. Amen! They know that, by their own effort, such an attitude is impossible. But with Christ, the author and finisher of our faith, all things are possible, even our eternal salvation. Our entire life is one spent uttering the prayers: Lord, have mercy! Lord, I believe; help my unbelief! Increase my faith![6] We cannot do it; Christ must do it.[7] He has promised to hear us, and grant our requests.[8]
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