The Millstone Around The Neck Rebuke

“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.” -Luke 17:2

I enjoy fashion jewelry just as much as anyone. I have pieces that I enjoy wearing more than others like a stylish necklace: pearls are my favorite. But Jesus had something different in mind when he began his teachings on offense, faith and forgiveness.

A millstone is neither a stylish and nor an object to be desired especially to be warn around  the neck. When the disciples heard of Jesus’ rebuke, they in fact determined that  in order not to offend the little ones they needed more faith.  That is interesting! What had them so upset and shaken about offense and forgiveness? Perhaps they feared that they would not live up to  Jesus’s expectation or maybe the mental picture that a millstone around the neck invoked. Lets examine the Jewish aspect of the millstone.

When Jesus refers to a millstone in Luke 17:2 the listening jews  had no doubt  as to what object  he had in mind. Two types of millstone were commonly used by the Jews in Palestine:

 

1.Hand millstone 

Two woman commonly cooperated to grind  the grain with the hand millstone. They sat across each other having a hand on  the handle, taking turns moving the top stone around.

 

 

2. Donkey Millstone

The donkey mill some was larger and heavy. The much larger donkey millstone which Jesus referred to; the top stone about 4-5 ft off the ground rolled on edge by means of lever arrangements in a circular pattern on top of a still target base stone where the grain is spread. The top stone was some 18 inches thick and it weighed over a ton! The top stone has a shaft instead through the center hole which was attached to a donkey.

This arrangement could grind enough flower  for the community.  It was the upper portion  Jesus had in mind when he asserted that a person that offended one the the little ones should have a millstone around his neck and be cast in to the sea.  Any one with such a large weight around their neck would surely sink quickly to the bottom of the sea with NO possible way of survival. Sounds serious to me. For Jesus this was a dreadful image to swallow. It was also regarded as the worst kind of death.  Get the picture.

On the other hand Jesus was tryign to teach an objective lesson. The whole point was not to offend or be a stumbling block  to other in their christian walk. Yes ,the judgement was severe but the offense was severe to God. Even if the one who asks for  God for forgiveness is a repeat offender- even thought their sinful actions may cause frustration  and be annoying- our christian  duty is to forgive  as many times as asked. this requires  only a small amount of faith  in God to accomplish who a fellow believer  sins against us.

Instead  of being overly sensitive  thinking mostly of ourselves, we must be careful to show loving care to the other person. The Disciples felt that it was difficult to do so they asked for more faith. Jesus Reminded them that it was confidence in God  that was needed- mot more faith. God is the source of all faith great or small.

The amount of faith is never the problem! Our role, my friends, is to accept gods promises  and have full confidence in them. Lets not loose sight of God  in any circumstance we may find ourselves in. Most of all lets not forget the power of prayer during these times. Turn your cheek- here comes a BIG hug for God for you!!!