The Gospel of Luke: Family Matters - Audio

Sermon Notes: 4/19/26 And he said to his disciples, “Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come! 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. Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” And the Lord said, “If you had faith like a grain of mustard seed, you could say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it would obey you. “Will any one of you who has a servant plowing or keeping sheep say to him when he has come in from the field, ‘Come at once and recline at table’? Will he not rather say to him, ‘Prepare supper for me, and dress properly, and serve me while I eat and drink, and afterward you will eat and drink’? Does he thank the servant because he did what was commanded? So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” Luke 17:1-10 In this text, Jesus is no longer speaking to the Pharisees, but is speaking to the disciples, such that they might conduct themselves in a way that would not allow sin the air to breathe. Sin is a trap: when we indulge in it, it hurts us. Jesus notes that this life will have plenty of these traps, but he also pronounces "Woe" on the one who sets the trap. He pronounces "woe" on those who would twist scripture to imply it gives the freedom to sin: to indulge in hate, lust, greed, etc. Those with power and influence who twist scripture in this way can shatter the faith of their victim, and Jesus says that it would be better if their physical body were destroyed than if they face the consequences of hurting people in this way. Jesus also notes that the family of God corrects one another AND restores one another, via forgiveness. We are called to correct our brothers and sisters, but not in a way that defeats or humiliates. We must perpetually correct and forgive. It is an indictment of the family of God when we serve a God who forgives but don't extend that forgiveness to others ourselves. When the apostles are told they must perpetually forgive they understand the implications and realize they can only do so via God's direct help. There's no way a person can live this way without God's help. Jesus says that it's only possible through faith... even faith the size of a tiny mustard seed. The passage ends with a parable of a servant given responsibilities. You do not celebrate a servant who does only what he is commanded. We are commanded to forgive and to have faith. We get no special gift or celebration for fulfilling our duty. God has done so much for us already. He owes us nothing more.