Family Business
If you are a guest with us today, I want to welcome you. My name is Mike, and I am the campus pastor here in the morning gatherings. Also, if you are visiting from the evening gatherings because of a certain football game happening later today—welcome! There is a lot of red out there this morning; I couldn’t tell at first if it was Chiefs red or 49ers red, but it looks like 49ers red. I am so glad you are here and that we get to walk through God’s Word together.
Today, we are entering into a new mini-series. Over the last several weeks, we have been walking through the Gospel of Matthew in a series called Made Ready, exploring how Jesus prepares His disciples for what life and ministry will look like after He leaves this world. Matthew flows very naturally, so there is not always a hard dividing line between one section and the next. Jesus is still making His disciples ready, but over the next couple of weeks, He is going to drill down into what it looks like for followers of Christ to live life in authentic community. We are going to look at what it means for us, as one body, to live out our faith together the way God designed.
Last week, Brad wrapped up our previous section by showing how Jesus pulled a child into the middle of the conversation. Jesus often taught using tangible illustrations. He looked at that little child and told the crowd that it would be better for someone to tie a heavy millstone around their neck and drown in the depths of the sea than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. This week, Jesus continues that thought, shifting His primary focus toward the disciples.
Family Business
During our teaching team meeting this week, Melissa DeNisi—who leads our Women’s Bible study alongside Heidi and is a fantastic expositor of the Word—made an insightful observation. She looked at this passage and said, “To me, this is family business.”
I immediately said, “That’s it. That is exactly what this is: family business.”
In a family, we share a deep responsibility toward one another. We often treat sin as something purely internal and private—something that only affects our individual lives. But as we walk through this text, you will see the reality: your sin affects me, and my sin affects you. We are a family, a community doing life, serving, reaching out, and walking together. What you do impacts me, just like what happens within an earthly family.
In my home, what I do affects my kids, and what my wife, Kristen, does affects me. For instance, because I played baseball, my daughters play softball—partly by choice, partly because I pushed them into it. Families also share language and mannerisms. Have you ever noticed that? You say something, and before long, your kids repeat it word for word. That is wonderful as long as you are using godly speech. If you ever want to find out who isn’t using godly language at home, just go serve in Kids Ministry for a couple of weeks. You will identify it almost immediately! One member of the family inevitably influences the rest. The exact same truth applies to the family of God.
In Matthew 18, picking up right where Brad left off, Jesus shows His disciples our mutual responsibility in community.
Matthew 18:7 (NASB)
’Woe to the world because of [its] stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!
Jesus begins with the word woe. This word appears throughout Scripture, pronouncing divine judgment, but it is always framed by intense mourning. Jesus is pronouncing judgment while grieving over the reality of sin. He mourns what happened in Genesis 3. He mourns that the world is broken and not functioning as He created it to be. Yet, He pronounces woe upon the instruments that cause His little ones to stumble.
Sin is serious. It is never something to brush aside with an attitude of, “Well, I messed up, but God will forgive me because I love Jesus.” Sin is so grievous that the Creator of the universe mourns its existence. Sometimes as believers, we lean on grace and categorize sin: “Well, some sins are really bad, while others are just normal human mistakes.” But any sin causes Jesus to mourn deeply and to bring judgment upon whatever leads others into rebellion.
The Trap of Stumbling Blocks
Jesus warns of stumbling blocks. A few weeks ago, we saw Jesus look at Peter and say, “Get behind Me, Satan!” If there is one nickname you never want to receive from Jesus, that is probably it. He called Peter a stumbling block because Peter was trying to stand between Jesus and the cross—the divine purpose given to Him by the Father.
In this context, a stumbling block refers to an obstacle or a trap that ensnares someone and prevents them from living out God’s righteous calling. Jesus is warning believers about getting in each other’s way and hindering total devotion to Christ.
He says stumbling blocks are inevitable in this world. The world stands in active opposition to God. It constantly tells you not to live out your faith, claiming that God’s Word lacks authority and that you should live life entirely on your own terms. Ever since Genesis 3, when Adam and Eve rebelled, our fallen world has been plagued by temptation and brokenness. Jesus promised that in this world we would experience trials.
Yet Jesus adds a heightened warning: “Woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!” He points directly inside the family. It is a tragedy when family members set traps for one another. You set a trap knowing someone is vulnerable, enticing them toward danger, leading them to the edge, and watching them stumble.
If you wanted to set a physical trap for me, all you would need is a net and a maple bar donut placed right in the center. I would fall for it every single time. But spiritually speaking, our lives are deeply intertwined. You can lead me astray, and I can lead you astray. Your choices, your example, and your compromises rub off on the people around you. You possess the daily power either to encourage your brothers and sisters toward Christ or to entrap them in sin.
Paul emphasizes this exact truth to the church in Rome.
Romans 14:13 (NASB)
Therefore let us not judge one another anymore, but rather determine this– not to put an obstacle or a stumbling block in a brother’s way.
The Radical Seriousness of Sin
If Jesus pronouncing judgment does not arrest your attention, He continues with vivid imagery to drive home the gravity of sin.
Matthew 18:8-11 (NASB)
’If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. ’If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell. ’See that you do not despise one of these little ones, for I say to you that their angels in heaven continually see the face of My Father who is in heaven. [’For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost].
Jesus employs a striking hyperbole here, similar to His teaching in the Sermon on the Mount.
Matthew 5:29-30 (NASB)
’If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. ’If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell.
He highlights the hand, the foot, and the eye—essential parts of the body that are vital for daily life. Even without modern medical science, His listeners understood how catastrophic it was to lose a limb or eyesight. Jesus leverages the extreme value of these body parts to make a point: it is far better to enter eternal life crippled, lame, or blind than to have an intact body and be cast into eternal fire.
Jesus is not prescribing literal self-mutilation. Cutting off a physical hand does not eliminate sin, because sin originates in the human heart. Rather, He is demonstrating the radical, urgent lengths we must go to in order to sever sin from our lives. Sin separates us from God and leads to eternal ruin.
He then commands, “See that you do not despise one of these little ones.” The phrase little ones expands beyond physical children to encompass all disciples who walk in humility and follow Jesus without chasing worldly status. To despise someone means to treat them with disdain or disregard. Jesus commands us never to treat fellow believers with contempt or lead them into ruin.
He also makes a brief reference to the spiritual realm, noting that their angels in heaven continually behold the face of the Father. While some people use this verse to construct elaborate theories about individual guardian angels assigned to prevent fender-benders, the broader biblical picture shows that God’s angels are actively engaged in the spiritual realm, caring for and watching over the people of God.
Some of your Bible translations may place verse 11 in brackets or omit it in footnotes, as it is absent from the earliest manuscripts of Matthew. However, these exact words were spoken by Jesus elsewhere in the Gospels.
Luke 19:10 (NASB)
‘For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.’
The overall emphasis remains crystal clear: sin is deadly serious. It fractures our relationship with God vertically, and it fractures our relationships with each other horizontally. When Adam and Eve sinned, they hid from God in shame and immediately turned on each other in blame. Sin always brings devastation.
James 1:15 (NASB)
Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
God does not highlight the danger of sin simply to condemn us; He desires our complete freedom.
Galatians 5:1 (NASB)
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
Pursuing the One Who Strays
To ensure His disciples grasp how much God values the spiritual restoration of His people, Jesus shares another illustration.
Matthew 18:12-14 (NASB)
’What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go and search for the one that is straying? ’If it turns out that he finds it, truly I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine which have not gone astray. ’So it is not [the] will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones perish.
While this parable sounds similar to the one in Luke 15, the context is distinct. In Luke 15, Jesus speaks to tax collectors and sinners. Here in Matthew 18, He is speaking directly to His disciples. This is family business.
When we read about a shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep on the mountain to search for one, our immediate practical question might be: why leave ninety-nine unattended? In ancient pastoral culture, shepherds rarely worked alone. The flock on the mountain was left safely in the care of companion shepherds while this shepherd went off to rescue the stray.
When the shepherd finds the lost sheep, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never wandered. That reaction is not a statement that the one sheep is inherently more valuable than the rest; rather, it reveals God’s overwhelming joy when a straying believer is rescued from the destructive grip of sin.
When you place your faith in Jesus Christ, your salvation is secure. You do not lose your eternal standing every time you make a mistake, spending your days in anxious fear trying to earn your way back into God’s family. However, when we choose sin, we turn our backs on God. We do not lose our ultimate fellowship as His children, but we forfeit our daily intimacy with Him.
God created us in Genesis 1 and 2 for deep, unhindered communion with Himself. When you wander, God actively pursues you. He does whatever it takes to turn your heart back toward Him because He loves you. When that intimacy is restored, heaven rejoices.
Furthermore, God calls us to participate in that rescue mission within the church family. When a brother or sister begins to wander into compromise, we are called to step in with love, care, and truth.
James 5:19-20 (NASB)
My brethren, if any among you strays from the truth and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and will cover a multitude of sins.
A Call to Intimacy and Community
We must stop treating sin as a minor, casual issue. Scripture never describes sin as acceptable. Whether it is pride, people-pleasing, lust, comparison, or bitterness, all sin disrupts the intimacy God desires us to experience.
This is why genuine Christian community matters. My grandmother once shared a heartbreaking story about my uncle. As a teenager, he fell into severe drug addiction. After trying everything to help him, she realized she had to stop enabling his self-destruction so he would feel the gravity of his choices. One day, driving down DeSoto Avenue in the San Fernando Valley, she looked over and saw her own son lying asleep in the street gutter.
In that season, my uncle assumed his drug use affected only him. But his choices deeply wounded his mother, his siblings, and his entire family. By God’s grace, he has now been sober for over forty years, but the healing required immense time and work. Sin is never merely private; it impacts the whole family.
Within the church, we have a sacred duty to encourage one another, warn one another, and pursue one another in love. If you see a fellow believer walking toward destruction, love demands that you gently intervene and say, “Brother, sister, this is not God’s best for you.” They might push back or call you annoying, but intervening in love can save a soul from ruin and restore their walk with the Lord.
If you are here today and have never placed your faith in Jesus Christ, please know that the family of God is not automatic for everyone by birth. Scripture teaches that we become children of God through faith in Christ. If you do not know Him, your sin currently separates you from your Creator. Yet God is actively pursuing you today. He sent His Son to live a sinless life, die on the cross in your place, and rise again so the gap between you and God could be bridged forever. Do not walk away today clinging to sin; turn to Jesus and enter the family of God.
For those of us who belong to Christ, our lives are linked together. In our church, we have a recovery ministry called Re:Gen. I am currently in Re:Gen on Step Six, and Brad is my mentor, which means I have to sit down and confess all my junk to him. Walking through that process has continually reminded me of the beauty of this passage. Every time I realize I have turned my back on God, His grace invites me to turn right back around and walk in honest, restored intimacy with Him.
May we be a people who take sin seriously, love each other deeply, and pursue the intimacy God has prepared for His family.
Let us pray.