"Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh! Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire. Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven. For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost. How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."
The things Jesus said in this quote, were not directed toward the disciples of Christ, these remarks were directed toward the mass of people who had followed Him.
Jesus starts this lesson by declaring that the world is condemned because of sin, "Woe unto the world because of offences!". He then goes on the say, "woe to that MAN by whom the offence cometh!"
These first two statements are obviously in reference to Adam, and his disobedience, since sin came upon the entire world through Adam's disobedience.
In the next portion of the quote, Jesus begins talking about the danger to one who is disobedient to God and outside His saving grace, "Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be cast into everlasting fire. And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire."
Jesus then makes it vividly clear that HIS "sheep" are protected by the angels in heaven, "Take heed that ye despise not one of these little ones; for I say unto you, That in heaven their angels do always behold the face of my Father which is in heaven."
Jesus then defines the purpose for His coming, "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost." In this statement, Jesus makes it clear that He has come to redeem those whom are condemned by inherent sin.
The last portion of this lesson explains that a good shepherd will abandon his entire herd to save just one of his sheep that might stray away. Jesus is that "good shepherd" He gave His life for every one of us, individually, so that none would be lost. However unlike the sheep in this analogy, we have the choice to remain lost by rejecting the sacrifice that "Good Shepherd" has made for us.
The last portion of this lesson says, "Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish."
"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." (John 3:17-18)~
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