Matthew 18:7

Matthew 18:7, in plain English

Jesus says woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble. They're inevitable, but that doesn't let anyone off the hook for being the cause.

Why it's here

We live in a world where temptation and spiritual harm are real. You can't prevent all of it, but you can make sure you're not the source of it.

Who's speaking

Jesus pronounces judgment on those who cause spiritual harm.

Where it sits in the story

The warning broadens. It's not just about children now. Anyone who causes spiritual harm to others stands under serious judgment.

The scholarly reading

The double ouai ('woe') addresses both the kosmos generally and the individual agent of skandalon (stumbling block) specifically. The phrase anagkē gar elthein ta skandala ('for stumbling blocks must come') acknowledges inevitable evil while maintaining personal moral responsibility.

Language and setting

The tension between divine foreknowledge of evil and individual culpability reflects a consistent biblical position: the certainty that sin will occur does not excuse the one who commits it.

Voice

Jesus pronounces woe on the world and on individuals who cause stumbling.

Significance

Jesus acknowledges that stumbling blocks are inevitable in a fallen world, but that doesn't excuse anyone. The person who causes others to fall bears full responsibility.

5And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.

6But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

7Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

8If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.

9And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

Read all of Matthew 18 — Who is the greatest? A child. What matters most? The one who wandered off. Forgiveness isn't optional — it's the air the kingdom breathes.