Eleventh Sunday after Pentecost – August 24, 2025

 

Introduction

  • As a baby believer, I was confused about how to live this Christian life. What were the basic rules of the game? What role did God play, and what was I expected to do?
  • In today’s text, Jesus gives four short, specific teachings about how to live out our faith: avoid making others stumble, confront—then forgive—sin, exercise faith and serve God with a servant’s heart. Luke ends with a story of Jesus’ healing ten guys with leprosy.

Four short teachings

Making others stumble

1Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves.

  • What does it mean to make others stumble? What are common ways Christians can cause others to stumble? (cf. 2 Tim 2:14; Rom 14:13).
  • It’s so serious that it would be better to be tied to a millstone and drowned. Jesus says: “Watch yourselves!” Be very careful you don’t do this!

Confronting and forgiving sin

“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.  4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

  • First, rebuke them. What does that mean? Deal honestly with the specific sins. Then the person has a choice: repent or double down.
  • Second, if they repent, forgive them. What if they don’t? (Mt 18:15-17)

Exercising faith

5 The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!” 6 He replied, “If you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mulberry tree, ‘Be uprooted and planted in the sea,’ and it will obey you.

  • A tiny bit of faith can uproot a mulberry tree and plant it in the ocean.
  • The point here: it is not the size of our faith that’s important but size of the One in whom we place our faith. God is greater than any prayer need you have. The better we know him (character, purposes, authority in us), the greater will be our faith.
  • Jesus commands us to use his authority to heal, preach and extend his kingdom (Matt 28:18-20).

Serving God

7 “Suppose one of you has a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Will he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, ‘Come along now and sit down to eat’? 8 Won’t he rather say, ‘Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink’? 9 Will he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? 10 So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ ”

  • Jesus’ point: We are to have the mindset of a servant, not a client (who is entitled to services). We sometimes treat God as a cosmic store clerk.
  • Rick Warren said we need to remember two things: 1. God is God, 2. You’re not.
  • American Christianity tends to be anthropocentric rather than theocentric.
  • Having said that, this God at the center of all things is inherently generous (John 3:16; Acts 17:24-25; Lk 12:37)! He loves to serve us!
  • So, we should maintain an attitude of reverent servanthood, where we worship God as King, place ourselves in his service daily and receive everything he gives us with continuous gratitude.
  • Luke’s closing story highlights this kind of humility and gratitude

Jesus heals ten men with leprosy

11 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. 12 As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance 13 and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” 14 When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. 15 One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. 16 He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. 17 Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? 18 Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” 19 Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

  • Who are we more alike: the one guy who returned to give thanks? Or the nine who didn’t? That’s our takeaway: to increasingly become men and women who are humble servants who receive with gratitude and praise all that God does for us and who make ourselves available to him daily to use our God given authority to expand his kingdom.