Things That Scandalize.  ¹ He said to his disciples, “Things that cause sin will inevitably occur, but woe to the person through whom they occur. ² It would be better for him if a millstone were put around his neck and he be thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin.

These two sayings are connected by the words skandala (v. 1) and skandalizo (v. 2). The original meaning of this word group skandal- was “trap;” or, more specifically a trap’s tripping mechanism. The word group is sued to translate the Hebrew próskomma, meaning both “trap” and “stumbling block” or, “cause of ruin.”  In the latter sense, this transferred to the religious setting to mean “cause of sin.” But is “cause of sin” the best translation here?  Paul says that “Christ crucified is a stumbling block (skándalon) to the Jews (1 Cor 1:23) and describes the cross as a stumbling block (skándalon) (Galatians 5:11).  

Consider three other modern gospel translations, all noted for faithful adherence to translation.

¹“Occasions for stumbling are bound to come, but woe to anyone by whom they come! ² It would be better for you if a millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea than for you to cause one of these little ones to stumble.” (NRSV)

¹“It is inevitable that stumbling blocks come, but woe to him through whom they come! ² “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.” (NASB)

“Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! ² It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were cast into the sea than that he should cause one of these little ones to sin.” (ESV)

Either “stumble” or “cause to sin” are valid translations. I would suggest “stumble” given the context of these verses following Jesus’ warnings (direct and via parable) against injustice, indifference, and a lack of hospitality towards those in need – “the little ones,” e.g., Lazarus (16:19-31), the prodigal son (15:11-32), and the poor, crippled, blind and lame (14:12-14). All of these demonstrated behaviors are hostile and in opposition to the Reign of God where the invitation is for all. To set up barriers that keep some outside the kingdom is to become a stumbling block of witness for all – especially those who would be found and restored to the community (cf. Luke 15:1-10, the parables of the lost and found).

With the graphic image of the millstone (see note below), Jesus says it would be better to drown than to become the barrier to another’s repentance and restoration. The watery death is a echo of the fate that befell the rich man (16:24-28) who suffered eternal, fiery torment.

When to Rebuke, When to Forgive?  ³ Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. ⁴ And if he wrongs you seven times in one day and returns to you seven times saying, ‘I am sorry,’ you should forgive him.”

The disciples are warned to be on guard lest they become like the Pharisees. Several translations take the term adelphos as “disciple” but our translation does well to let it be literal as “brothers” [and sisters], retaining the communal kinship brought about by their common faith and service. Jesus is stressing that even individual sin has a communal element in that the sin of one may lead others astray. This sense of community is made clear in the Matthean parallel:

¹⁵ “If your brother sins (against you), go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have won over your brother. ¹⁶ If he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, so that ‘every fact may be established on the testimony of two or three witnesses.’ ¹⁷ If he refuses to listen to them, tell the church.  If he refuses to listen even to the church, then treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector” (Mt 18:15–17).

Sin poses a serious obstacle to the sinner and the community, but so too is the necessity of forgiveness – even in the event of multiple occurrences. The responsibility in this verse falls not upon the penitent person to demonstrate that repentance as genuine, but upon the disciple to demonstrate the he or she is capable of following Jesus’ command to forgive.  Matthew 18:21-22 extends the teaching into the realm of hyperbole with “Not seven times, but I tell you seventy times seven.”  Such are the high standards of the reign of God.

Brian Stoffregen writes:

“Who benefits most from forgiving? I think that it is the forgiver who benefits most. Holding grudges, living with resentments, can eat away at one’s life. The desire to get even can consume all of one’s energy. Forgiveness means “letting go” of all of that from one’s life. Forgiving others doesn’t undo the damage they might have done. Forgiving others doesn’t proclaim that what they did was all right. Sin is wrong. Forgiving it doesn’t turn it into a right. Forgiving others means that one will no longer let the past damage continue to control one’s own life in the present. It means giving up all hope of trying to change the past. It means living a new life in the present.

“The “sinner” may not ask for forgiveness. The “sinner” may not repent or admit his/her wrongs. The “sinner” may not accept the forgiveness. But, often for one’s own mental and spiritual health, forgiving the “sinner” is necessary. As Jesus was dying on the cross, he forgave those who were killing him. Did they ask for it? Did they repent of their wrongs? Did they accept it? We don’t know. We know that Jesus forgave them. Forgiving isn’t always easy. There are people we may not want to forgive. So we pray, “Give us more faith,” so that we might be more forgiving.”

Luke 17:1 Things that cause sin: skandala, a cause of offense or stumbling. The word group is sued to translate the Hebrew próskomma, meaning both “trap” and “stumbling block” or, “cause of ruin” either with idols in view or offenses against the law. As a ground of divine punishment skándalon can then denote an occasion of sinning or a temptation to sin.

will inevitably occur: Matthew asserts that it is necessary that sin occurs. Luke notes only that sin is impossible to avoid.

woe to the person: this is the 11^th woe spoken by Jesus in Luke’s gospel, but the first directed towards the disciples.

Luke 17:2 were put around his neck:  The Greek phrase, perikeitai peri ton trachêlon, does not refer to tying one end of a rope a person’s neck and the other end of the rope to a large mill grinding stone. Rather it literally means to insert the person’s head into the hole at the center of the stone – some of which were three to four feet in diameter.

to cause … to sin: skandalízō. See note on 17:1. Skandalízō is from the same word group

Luke 17:3 Be on your guard: the translation takes Luke 17:3a as the conclusion to the saying on scandal in Luke 17:1–2. It is not impossible that it should be taken as the beginning of the saying on forgiveness in Luke 17:3b–4.

rebuke: epitimáō In the OT it is applied especially to God’s rebuke (cf. Job 26:11; 2 Sam. 22:16; Pss. 106:9; 119:21). In a limited way it is also used for human rebuke (Gen. 37:10; Ruth 2:16), but human reproof is often held to be presumptuous, and only judicial, pastoral, or fraternal rebuke is commended.  In Luke epitimáō has an interesting pattern. Prior to this text, it is always Jesus who rebukes: demons or evil spirits (4:35, 41; 9:42); a fever (4:39); the wind and waters (8:24); and his disciples (9:21, 55). After this text, it is always people rebuking others — and usually being wrong about it: the disciples rebuke those bringing children to Jesus (18:15); the disciples rebuke the blind man yelling after Jesus (18:39); the Pharisees want Jesus to rebuke his yelling disciples (19:39); and the criminal on the cross rebukes the other one (23:40)

if he repents: metanoēsē to change one’s way of life as the result of a complete change of thought and attitude with regard to sin and righteousness.