In Mark 9:42 Jesus said: “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them if a large millstone were hung around their neck and they were thrown into the sea.”

Wow! 

He went on to say that if their hand, foot or eye caused them to sin that they should cut it off (or pluck it out). “It is better for you to enter the kingdom of God with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into hell…” (verse 47).

He was clearly using hyperbole (after all, cutting off a hand or foot doesn’t stop you from sinning, as he himself teaches elsewhere). Even still, it’s a very serious warning. So what in the world was he trying to say? 

Earlier Jesus had been explaining what it meant to be great. In short, greatness is servanthood. (See Mark 9:35.) This is the opposite of what our society often tells us. Instead of seeking popularity, power, wealth or status, we are to seek greatness as servants.

From there Jesus warned the disciples against causing “these little ones” to stumble. He may have been talking about children. But he may also have been referring to new or immature Christians.

Either way, his point was serious: be very careful not to lead others astray.

Given what he had been teaching about servanthood, one of the ways we serve others is through our example. 

If you’ve been walking with the Lord for a while, you need to know that your example matters. It can lead others astray, or it can help them.

If this unsettles you, I get it. We mess up all the time! This is one of the reasons why we need the grace of God.

I think Jesus’ point has to do with being deliberate about the example we set. We need to take both sin and righteousness seriously. If our example makes children (or new or immature Christians) think that life is all about being liked, pursuing popularity, accumulating wealth, or being better than everybody else, it would be better for us if a five hundred pound cement weight was hung around our necks and we were flung into the sea!

Lee Strobel wrote the best-selling book, The Case for Christ. Earlier in his life he was a hard-nosed atheist reporter. But when his wife converted to Christianity he set out to disprove the resurrection. However, the opposite happened. He became convinced!

Was he perfect? No. But over time, he started to change. His own child noticed something different. “I want God to do for me what he has done for Daddy.”*

Wow. With God’s help he started to be more like Jesus. His daughter noticed and wanted the same thing for herself!

Life is hard. We make mistakes. But we also seek God’s help to be more like Jesus. This is a part of our servanthood. One of the ways we serve others is through our example.

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Notes:

-“How did Jesus define greatness?” Click here. Sermon. February 23, 2025.
-*Lee Strobel, The Case for Easter (Zondervan, 2009), 89.
-Bible quotes are from the NIV.