What does Jesus mean by offences in this passage?

In this passage, “offences” are things that make people stumble in their walk with God. They are temptations, pressures, or actions that pull someone away from faith or make them want to give up following Christ. This can include open sin, false teaching, harsh treatment of believers, or mocking and attacking the truth so people are tempted to deny it. Jesus says these things will certainly happen in a fallen world, but they are still very serious. God may use them to test and reveal hearts, but the people who cause them are not excused and will face woe and judgment.

Why does Jesus say it is better to cut off a hand, foot, or eye?

Jesus is not telling anyone to harm their body. He is using strong picture language to show how seriously we should treat sin and anything that leads us toward sin. A hand, foot, or eye is very precious, yet he says it is better to lose something very dear in this life than to keep it and be thrown into everlasting fire. The point is that no relationship, habit, desire, or comfort is worth keeping if it drags us toward sin and judgment. We should be willing to part with whatever causes us to stumble, rather than cling to it and risk eternal loss.

Who are the little ones that Jesus says we must not despise?

In this passage, the “little ones” are believers who seem small or unimportant in the eyes of others. They may be weak in the world’s view, humble, unnoticed, or struggling in their faith. Jesus had just been correcting pride and arguments about who was greatest, so he turns back to those who are easily looked down on. He warns his disciples not to despise or treat lightly even one of these little ones. Even if they seem weak or unimpressive, they belong to him, and heaven takes their care and salvation very seriously.

What does it mean that their angels always behold the face of the Father?

Jesus says that the angels of these little ones always behold the face of his Father in heaven. This shows the high value God places on even the weakest believers. The angels who serve them stand in God’s presence, ready to carry out his will for their good. The main point is not to map out how many angels each person has, but to show that heaven is closely involved in guarding and helping them. If glorious angels stand before God on their behalf, it is no small matter to despise them, harm their faith, or treat their salvation as unimportant.

Why does Jesus pronounce woe on the man by whom the offence comes?

Jesus says woe to the man through whom the offence comes to show how serious it is to lead others toward sin or away from faith. Even though God allows temptations and trials in this world and can overrule them for good, that does not lessen the guilt of the person who causes harm. Those who mock, pressure, mislead, or persecute believers, hoping to make them fall, will not escape. God cares deeply for his people and will defend his cause. The warning is meant to make us careful not to be the reason someone else stumbles, but instead to help and protect their faith.

What does it mean that the Son of man came to save that which was lost?

When Jesus says the Son of man came to save what was lost, he is speaking about his whole mission. People are lost because of sin, cut off from God and unable to rescue themselves. Jesus came down to seek them out and bring them back to life with God, even at the cost of his own suffering and death. In this context, he uses this truth to show how valuable the little ones are. If he came to save them when they were lost and helpless, then no one should look down on them or treat their souls as unimportant. His saving work gives them great worth.

How should believers respond to this warning about offences and little ones?

Believers should take both sin and the faith of others very seriously. This passage calls us to deal firmly with anything in our lives that pulls us toward sin, even if it feels costly to give up. At the same time, we should guard our words, actions, and attitudes so we do not push others toward doubt or disobedience. Instead of despising weak or struggling believers, we are to honor them, remembering that heaven cares for them and Christ came to save them. In practice, that means patience, gentleness, and a humble willingness to bear with their weaknesses.

Why does this passage talk so strongly about everlasting fire and hell fire?

The strong language about everlasting fire and hell fire shows that sin and causing others to stumble are not small matters. Jesus wants his listeners to feel the weight of what is at stake. Eternal judgment is real, and it is far worse than any loss we might face in giving up a sinful desire or a harmful pattern. The contrast is between entering into life, even “halt or maimed,” and being thrown into everlasting fire with all our comforts still in place. By speaking this way, Jesus is urging us to choose eternal life with God over temporary ease, and to avoid anything that leads toward destruction.

Why is this passage difficult for some readers to understand?

This passage can feel hard for a few reasons. The language about cutting off body parts and being cast into fire is very intense and can be frightening. Some people also struggle with the mention of angels and how they relate to individual believers, since the wording has been read in more than one way. On top of that, the strong warnings about woe and judgment can clash with a softer view of Jesus. But the passage holds together when we see its heart: Jesus loves his people, hates what harms them, calls us to treat sin seriously, and deeply values even the weakest believer.

How does this teaching about offences connect with Jesus saving the lost?

The warnings and the comfort belong together. On one hand, Jesus warns about offences, judgment, and hell to wake us up to the danger of sin and of harming others’ faith. On the other hand, he reminds us that he, the Son of man, came to save what was lost. That means no one is too small or too far gone to matter to him. The same Lord who warns us against causing harm is the one who rescues people from their lost state. So his followers are called to share his heart: fight sin seriously, protect others from stumbling, and value every soul he came to save.

Matt.18.7

Matthew 18:7

KJV Jesus

Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

Temptations and Trespasses

But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!

Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire.

And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire.

Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven.

For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost.

How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray?

And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray.

Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Cross References

No cross references available for this verse.