Hey Cameron,
Are you still working on Luke? I just had a conversation with someone yesterday concerning Jesus teaching on stumbling blocks. The answer to the question ‘What do we know about stumbling blocks?’ is the key to the entire first paragraph, which in itself in turn is the key to the rest of the passage. ‘What do we know about stumbling blocks?’ Stumbling blocks are bad????’What do we know about stumbling blocks?’ Jesus doesn’t like stumbling blocks????’What do we know about stumbling blocks?’ They are things that make walking difficult????’What do we know about stumbling blocks?’ Stumbling blocks will come???? CLOSER, CLOSER!‘What do we know about stumbling blocks?’ They come from people???? AMOST THERE‘What do we know?’ They come through people but they are not to come through you. THAT”S IT!!!
People are going to do things that make you’re walk with the Lord challenging. People are going to do things that trip you up in your Christian life, but dont you DARE do anything to trip people up in their christian life. This has all kinds of implications. Are you willing to sacrifice or forfeit things from your life that make others stumble? Do you expect others to do the same? Are you willing to sacrifice or forfeit things from your life that make others stumble while not expecting others to do the same????That seems to be what Jesus is actually suggesting. That idea influences the understanding of everything that follows in the seventeenth chapter.
It logically follows in fact that the questions that you ask the text in the remaining material that constitutes the chapter be related to living your life in such a way that you make others lives easier without expecting others to reciprocate equal behavior. This is what most of the Sermon on the mount was detailing. The only way to do this is to focus on eternity. If that helps your study in Luke, be blessed. If it adds nothing then you are none the wiser. At any rate, I hope all i well and you are being abundantly blessed. Please give my love to the family.
Blessings, Leep