The Samarian Ministry at Various Cities (9.51-18.34), 17.1-10

Yesterday we learned of a teaching that dumbfounded the people of Jesus’ day, and today we come to one that will astonish modern readers. Just as Jesus challenged the assumed notions of the people of his day, so he continues to challenge the misconceptions of his modern children. Just like the disciples, there is always something we need to learn. While still in Samaria and on the way to Jerusalem, Jesus takes the disciples aside to teach them about their commitments toward others and God.

“Stumbling blocks are sure to come”, Jesus said, “but woe to the one through whom they come.” At a dinner party I hear a man relate a story about a trip he and his friends took to Las Vegas. It was meant as a humorous anecdote but serves as an example of the kind of thing Jesus warns the disciples about. They were in a casino after a long day of golfing, and on a lark the man and a couple of his friends decided to pay a “woman of the night” to hit on the fourth member of their group. Everyone is tempted into a variety of sins every day, no one needs their “friends” setting them up for failure.

It needn’t be anything as drastic as buying someone a prostitute, it could be encouraging someone to tell a lie or to engage in gossip. Regardless of the perceived severity of the sin, this behavior is something a follower of Jesus should never be a part of. Jesus stresses this point beyond most any other, saying it would be better to take your own life than to lead a child of God into sin. That’s some harsh language, and deservedly so. The devil himself tempts men to sin, and doing likewise is to follow in his hell bound footsteps. This is the first of four lessons Jesus has for the disciples: do not lead anyone into sin.

The second lesson follows quickly on the heels of the first: watch out for each other. If you see a brother or sister in Christ about to sin, or learn of a sin they have committed, rebuke them so that they may be restored. It’s easier to ignore the faults of others than it is to have a difficult or awkward conversation. We have an obligation to confront them and attempt to restore them.

If their sin is against you and they repent, you are obligated (lesson three) to forgive them. What better way to show that the people of God are done with sin than to forgive? What better way to reflect the God we serve that to pardon the wrongdoer? Forgiveness does not require forgetting, however, as many believe. Forgiveness means we will never hold their actions against them again. If the sin points to a weakness of character, it is responsible to watch out for them and try to keep them from repeating the same behavior.

The disciples understood where Jesus was going with this. Overcoming sin, whether it is our own or forgiving another’s, requires faith. So they asked Jesus to increase their faith. Jesus’ reply is fascinating. He tells them that if they had faith the size of a mustard seed, which is a very tiny seed indeed, that they could do great things. In other words, it is not the amount of faith that is required to overcome sin, but the presence of it. We don’t need more faith, we need some faith. Any amount will do.

When we sin we are not acting out of faith, but faithlessness. Being unfaithful to God is the absence of faith entirely. The faithful will avoid sin. Take lying for example. We tell a lie because we fear a relationship with a friend or significant other will be harmed if we don’t; instead we should tell the truth out of fear that our relationship with God will be harmed if we don’t. See the difference? In the first example God is nowhere to be found; in the second, God matters most. Essentially, when we sin we are operating out of an atheistic view.

All of these teachings are difficult to hear, but the hardest of all is yet to come and relates specifically to our obligations toward God. In this illustration Jesus compares his followers to indentured servants. As such, a servant performs his duties without question, and without need for praise or thanks. After all, a man doesn’t thank his servant for doing his duty, does he? Likewise, we ought to perform our duty to God without needing to be commended, thanked or otherwise encouraged. This flies in the face of “health and wealth” preaching, or even the philosophy that God should reward us in this life for our obedience. This is a difficult teaching for modern Christians.

All this is not to say that God does not delight in our obedience, he does. It also does not mean that we are not rewarded for our service, we will be (just not necessarily in this life). Jesus has already taught us that we should do good works as in doing so we earn heavenly rewards. This is a good and proper motivation. What it means is that our obedience will not make our lives any easier, or earn us a reprieve from our worldly struggles, or even that God owes us anything. Our obedience is not supposed to be motivated by the possibility of an easier life, but out of our love for God and a sense of duty. With this right understanding we can stay strong in our faith to the end.