Introduction
Nowadays, we encounter many individuals who misinterpret the Bible and lead others astray. While the Lord Jesus was on earth, His disciples frequently asked Him about the kingdom of heaven and how one can enter it. In Matthew 18, the Lord Jesus answers their question and warns against the world for setting stumbling blocks in the path of people’s salvation. The Lord God Almighty created humans and endowed them with the ability to learn. However, as humans acquire knowledge, they often use it to challenge the Lord God Almighty’s knowledge. But how can created beings fully comprehend the Creator? In today’s rapidly advancing world of science and technology, followers of the Lord Jesus may wonder whether God opposes technology and if science and technology could hinder people’s salvation. The answer is that the Lord is not against technology, even the most advanced forms, as long as technology is not used against the Lord. However, a great temptation present in the world today is greed. The greed of all things, not just the things of this world, but the greed of the unseen things as well. Because the Lord calls some to do something, and those people already think about the reward they will receive, that is greed. Humans need to feel important in this world and in the world to come. The sin of greed for the things of this world is a sin against God’s work. This greed makes humans wish for things that are not made by the hand of the Lord (i.e., biological cloning, DNA engineering, stem-cell engineering, in-vitro fertilization, transgenderism, transhumanism, tattooing and body transformation, and many others) and tempts them to think that they can be equal to God. However, to fight against greed, we must be content and thankful for what we have received; be content in all things. It doesn’t matter how small our blessings may be; just be content and thankful with a true heart. In this blog, we provide deeper insights into the topic of temptation to sin and the accompanying woe to the world by discussing the Scripture passage in Matthew 18:1-11.
The Temptations to Sin
In Matthew 18:1, the disciples of the Lord Jesus approach Him with a question about the kingdom of heaven. In response, the Lord Jesus provides us with spiritually profound answers. Below, we present the Lord’s response along with our commentary on Matthew 18:1-11.
Matthew 18:1 In that hour came the disciples to Jesus, saying, Who then is greatest in the kingdom of the heavens?
Comments Matthew 18:1. “In that hour came the disciples ...” Here, we should think that the Lord came on earth to teach people how to come to the Father, and for this purpose, the Lord always traveled. For this reason, we believe that this event with the disciples did not occur in Capernaum (as a continuation of Chapter 17), but in a different location.
“Who then is greatest in the kingdom …” This question is general among humans; everybody wants to be important. However, the question opens the way into jealousy, so all believers should watch out; think hard about this question.
2 And having called to Him a young child, He set him in the midst of them,
3 and said, Truly I say to you, Except you change, and become as young children, you will not enter into the kingdom of the heavens.
Comments Matthew 18:2-3. Here, in these verses, the Lord Jesus does not teach that we need to be childish; rather, these verses teach us to trust the Lord like children. Be innocent in faith and trusting in the Lord like children.
4 Therefore, whoever will humble himself as this young child this is the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens.
Comments Matthew 18:4. This word here refers to the world to come, when we will have the heavenly body that has been prepared for us; note that flesh and blood cannot enter the kingdom of the heavens. The greatest in this verse refers to those who have a chance to be face-to-face with the Father. When you are in the heavenly body, you will not only be in the presence of the throne but face-to-face with the Father, and you will receive orders straight from the Father; those are the greatest in the kingdom of the heavens. In human terms, they will be called the closest servants of the Father.
5 And whoever may receive one such young child in My name receives Me.
Comments Matthew 18:5. “Young child” here refers to a person with a clean heart who follows and believes the teaching of the Bible as the Word of God.
“Whoever may receive” refers to someone who accepts the one who comes in the name of the Lord, whom the Lord sent.
6 But whoever may cause one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it is better for him that a great millstone may be hung around his neck, and he may be sunk in the depth of the sea.
Comments Matthew 18:6. “Little ones” here refers to persons with clean hearts who follow and believe the teachings of the Bible as the Word of God.
“Whoever may cause one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble” refers to someone who comes and misinterprets the Bible using the name of the Lord, making these “little ones” misunderstand the Bible and creating doubt in them. Those people have no worth in being born, as this verse says. They betray the Lord for various reasons. They misinterpret the Bible to bring glory to themselves, but the glory belongs to the Lord, not to those who use the Word of the Lord.
7 Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks! It is necessary for the stumbling blocks to come, but woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!
Comments Matthew 18:7. “Woe to the world because of stumbling blocks” or “woe to the world for temptations to sin.” These temptations to sin spoken of in this verse are related directly to sin against the Lord. Because of believing in themselves, humans disregard the Creator who created all things. This sin is against God: the world did not think that all things come from God. Knowledge and technology can also lead to temptations to sin. Technology relates to making life easier, but humans also use some technology to put themselves up. For example, people try to create rain and then put themselves at the same level as God; the smart ones lift their fists and think that they themselves are gods. Humans can play with nature, but can they create one seed without the Lord’s hand? They gather and transform seeds, but forget to think about the One who created the seeds. Also, they develop computers and many other smart devices, but many forget about the One who created all the materials used in all these things.
“It is necessary for the stumbling blocks to come.” It is necessary for temptations to come because of the will of the Father to save humans. Temptations will help humans turn to the Lord. When they see that they alone cannot fight temptations, they will seek help from the Lord. The purpose of temptations to come is to save the obedient ones. This way works for those who listen and obey, but for those who do not, the Lord also works with them; however, they choose not to come (see 1 Corinthians 10:13). It is not that the latter do not feel guilty, but rather that they choose to enjoy the world.
“But woe to the one by whom the stumbling block comes!” Temptation cannot come upon everyone; temptation doesn’t run by its own will. For those who do not stay in the Word of God, temptation has power over them. But, for those covered by the blood of the Lamb, it is their own fault that temptation comes upon them; they have the Lord as their shield to protect them, but they do not rely on Him. This woe is for those who are covered by the blood and yet ignore the Word of God. Many of them sin and blame the Lord for causing them to sin, but God does not cause anyone to sin (see James 1:13-18). There is no sin in God, so He cannot cause someone to sin.
8 And if your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off, and throw it from you, it is better for you to enter into life crippled or lame than having two hands or two feet to be cast into the eternal fire.
Comments Matthew 18:8. This verse has been a stumbling block for many believers throughout the ages. It is important to understand that the Lord will never ask us to harm our bodies. This body, the Lord created in His image. Why would the Lord ask us to destroy His creation? The nature of God is mercy. His love and mercy are beyond our understanding. The proof God has shown is in His Own Son: the Lord Jesus has proved the love of God for the whole human race. Therefore, the verse refers to some of our activities that are not needed in our lives because these activities are useless for this earth and for the earth to come. Think about your daily life, how many useless things we do; some can be considered as hands and feet; cut them off; use your heart to pray to be able to discern them. Therefore, hands and feet refer to activities we do throughout our life on earth; we use our feet to go here and there, and we use our hands to do this and that. Pray with the heart for all daily activities, and if they are useless, cut them off.
9 And if your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out, and throw it from you, it is better for you to enter into life having one eye than having two eyes to be cast into the hell of fire.
Comments Matthew 18:9. Here, the Lord does not mean that it is better to be born blind. The eyes are not easy to control, and the eyes feed the heart. Sometimes, we see things that we should not even look at, but it happens. When you see something, that thing will feed straight into your heart, so watch what you are looking at. There are many, many things the Lord created; use your eyes to see the blessings of the Lord. The world uses the word entertainment. Entertaining the flesh through your eyes weakens the soul because we cannot clearly feel our soul, as our attention is diverted to entertaining the eyes and the flesh. But let’s entertain our souls; the Bible should be the entertainment of all Christians. Use the Bible to entertain your eyes with the Word, and that will strengthen your soul and spirit.
10 See that you do not despise one of these little ones; for I say to you, that in the heavens their angels always behold the face of My Father who is in the heavens.
Comments Matthew 18:10. “These little ones.” The Lord always calls us His children. When we accept the Lord in our hearts, and we are baptized in water, we become children of God; we are the little ones of the Lord.
“See that you do not despise one ...” This addresses everyone who reads the Bible and comes to know and accept the Lord. We are not supposed to despise anybody in this world because we do not know who is or who will be “the little one.” We have examples in the Bible where people have not been baptized in water but have accepted the Lord with a true heart. We cannot despise anybody since we do not know the hearts of people; only God knows them.
“For I say to you, ... their angels ...” This tells us that there is an angel assigned to each person who accepts in their souls God who created them; they become children of God when they accept God into their souls. The angels have their duty; they serve as messengers and ministering spirits for God (see Hebrews 1:14), but the Holy Spirit, by His presence, is a witness for both the Father and the Lord Jesus. Wherever the Holy Spirit is, He is a witness to the Father and the Lord Jesus; and the Holy Spirit is everywhere at the same time.
11 For the Son of Man came to save that which was lost.
Conclusions
In conclusion, many people in the world do not believe that everything comes from God, and the woe that the Lord Jesus has put regarding the world relates to humanity’s sins against God. Although humans use the intelligence given to them by the Lord to gain knowledge, many unfortunately wield that knowledge to oppose God’s truths. Nevertheless, it is God’s will to save those who are obedient, often guiding them through the stumbling blocks they encounter. God works in the hearts of all people, but some choose to indulge in worldly pleasures and refuse to repent. The Lord created humans in His image, which means He does not want anyone to harm or experiment with their bodies in damaging or sinful ways. But, when the souls of humans ignore the voice of the Lord God Almighty, the darkness will use those bodies to destroy themselves, and at the same time will blaspheme against the Lord God Almighty, which will bring a curse upon themselves. We must learn to glorify the Lord God Almighty, find contentment in the world as God designed it, and refrain from engaging in practices that could harm His creation, particularly the human body. This includes avoiding biological cloning, DNA engineering, stem cell research, in vitro fertilization, transgenderism, transhumanism, tattoos, and body modifications—choices that may lead people to believe they are equal to God.
Furthermore, the pursuit of space exploration and the desire to conquer and explore new worlds can foster a sense of self-sufficiency that disregards the Creator of all things.
As followers of the Lord Jesus, we must understand that the temptation to sin does not come to everyone; the temptation doesn’t run on its own will. We live in this world, often engaging with its ways and involving ourselves in research and technology. However, as we move along in this world, we may need to make sacrifices, appreciate the things as they were created by the Lord, and distance ourselves from actions that oppose God and challenge His authority as Creator. If we remain in the Word of God—reading, meditating, and giving our hearts to the beloved Son of God, the Lord Jesus—we are covered by the precious blood of the Lamb of God. Additionally, the Lord Jesus promised to send the Holy Spirit to all believers to be a guide in our Christian walk in this world (Acts 2:1-4). The Holy Spirit, by His presence, is a witness for both the Father and the Lord Jesus. Wherever the Holy Spirit is, He is a witness to the Father and the Lord Jesus; and the Holy Spirit is everywhere at the same time. We encourage all readers of this blog to begin a life that glorifies the Lord God Almighty. This involves repenting of all sins, being baptized in water in the name of God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit, and seeking the baptism in the Holy Spirit.
Meditation Tasks
- We invite all readers to reflect on the impact of science and technology on their lives, faith, and understanding of God. Take time to meditate on the Word of God and seek the Lord’s guidance in discerning what is right and wrong, so you can identify whether the things of the world are tempting you in any way.
- Additionally, we invite all reader to consult our blog titled, “Following the Lord Jesus.”