Sin, Faith, Duty
17 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves.
“If your brother or sistera] sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”
5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!”
6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.
7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’”
Luke 17:1-10
Jesus tells his disciples woe to the one through whom sin comes and causes another to sin — placing a heavy burden on the disciples. The Pharisees did the same with many rules to keep the Israelites from sinning. Jesus goes further then the Pharisees and teachers of the law saying death is a good substitute for sin. Sin in our own life is for us to battle. But when we allow our sins to over flow to those around us, we are doubling their trouble. Yet in this stark reality, Jesus balances this with forgiving those who sin and repent, not just once but as often as they do this. Jesus always concentrates on the heart attitude.
After mentioning those who cause others to sin, the conversation could have turned to anger to those who do so. But in the next breath, Jesus talks about forgiveness. At this point it would be fitting for the disciples to focus on forgiveness. The disciples instead focus on faith, thinking perhaps that is the key. Yet there is a reason Jesus mentioned forgiveness right after watching out for sin in our lives. If we are focused on others, we are less focused on ourselves and our own greed for more.
When the disciples asked Jesus to increase their faith (which was said with urgency realizing how weak they were to combat temptation in their life) they were focused on legalism. Before Jesus, the disciples only knew of the laws and principles of the teachers and Pharisees, which was based on works. Now their eyes are opened and to see that faith and a changed heart hold more value than following rules. To this they now ask to increase their faith rather than an ability to be a better Pharisee. Yet I think they did not realize here that there is a temptation to put faith under works as a method to increase it in order to set guidelines and rules on how faith works and how big their faith should be.
Despite this, they approved this with good intentions not wanting to fall and cause others to sin. To this Jesus replies that their faith only needs to be as big as a mustard seed. Likely a surprise to the disciples. He then couples this with humbleness, being a good servant who has done what he was told and is unworthy to hold such a position. The action of obedience is closely tied to faith. In fact, James states this clearly by telling us faith without works is dead. Simply believing is of no value. And not just simply doing, but doing what we have been command without the need for a pat on the back.
Wait a second, just a little faith and a humble heart is all we need to combat sin? This is contradictory to how my legalistic mind thinks. But, perhaps if we realize our place in the Kingdom it will transform our attitude towards life and others around us, making us truly focused on what is important. When I focus on sin, my mind goes straight to “self” and my selfish ambitions to make “myself” better. But Jesus actually takes the idea of our selfish sin and applies it to a community aspect rather than an internal problem.
Hebrews 12:1 says “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witness, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” Looking outward rather than inward is the key. Jesus knew his place before the Father, taking shame and scorn. Knowing our place, humbling our heart, and fixing our eyes outward is the key to increasing our faith and being done with sin.
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