Charles Ellicott Commentary Matthew 18:6

"But whoso shall cause one of these little ones that believe on me to stumble, it is profitable for him that a great millstone should be hanged about his neck, and [that] he should be sunk in the depth of the sea." — Matthew 18:6 (ASV)

Whoever causes one to stumble—These words seem to reflect the thoughts that arise unbidden in the minds of people to the degree that they are Christ-like. We gaze on the innocent beauty of childhood with love and admiration. What if that beauty should be marred by the taint of evil? What if those who do the Tempter’s work should cause the “little one” to stumble and fall?

That a millstone were hanged about his neck—The Greek word for “millstone” here refers to the larger kind, which required a donkey to turn it, as distinguished from the smaller hand-mill of Luke 17:35. This punishment was not recognized in Jewish law, but it was in occasional use among the Greeks (Diod. Sic. xvi. 35) and had been inflicted by Augustus in cases of special infamy (Sueton. Aug. lxvii.). Jerome states in a note on this passage that it was practiced in Galilee, and it is not improbable that the Romans had inflicted it on some of the ringleaders of the insurrection headed by Judas of Galilee.

Assuming this, our Lord's words would have come home with special vividness to the minds of those who heard them. The infamy of causing one of these “little ones” to stumble was as great as that of those whose crimes brought upon them this exceptional punishment. It was a form of death less cruel in itself than many others, and its chief horror, for both Jews and pagans, was probably that it deprived the dead of all burial rites.

It should be noted that Mark and Luke insert John’s complaint at this point: that he had seen someone casting out demons in Jesus’ name. This must be taken into account as an element in the sequence of thought. He was unconsciously placing himself among those who were hindering Christ’s work and so “offending” those who believed in Him (see the note on Mark 9:38).