The Gospels contain stern warnings about “stumbling the little ones,” yet never provide a concrete narrative example of such stumbling actually happening—unless we recognize it in the divorce discourse.
This absence is strange, and my interpretation is the only proposal that gives the warning an embodied, practical example within Jesus’ own teaching.
Let’s examine this.
1. Jesus’ Warning About Stumbling Is Incredibly Severe… and yet seemingly abstract
The warning is repeated in all three Synoptic Gospels:
- Matthew 18:6–7
- Mark 9:42
- Luke 17:1–2
In all three:
- The imagery is extreme.
- The moral stakes are catastrophic.
- The language is absolute:
“It would be better for him to have a millstone tied around his neck and be drowned…”
Scholars routinely note the severity, but then must confess:
“The Gospels give no concrete example of this sin being committed.”
This is odd.
Jesus never gives such a severe warning without showing where the danger lies.
Unless we have been overlooking the example.
2. Traditional Explanations Do Not Identify a Real Case
Mainstream views say stumbling refers to:
- Teaching false doctrine
- Leading disciples astray
- Tempting others to sin
- Causing faith to waver
These are true in principle, but the Gospels provide no scene where Jesus says:
“There—that is what I meant.”
This leaves the teaching floating in abstraction.
Even in contexts where He speaks of children or disciples, no specific offender is named.
It is a warning without a demonstrated case.
That is unusual for Jesus.
3. I Identifie the Divorce Discourse as the Missing “Stumbling Scenario”
I say this:
- The divorcer “makes” (= causes) the divorced woman commit adultery.
- He forces her into a morally compromised situation.
- He drags another man into the same situation.
- Neither of them chose this sin; they were pushed.
This is exactly the structure of stumbling:
A powerful person creates a situation in which the vulnerable fall into sin they did not choose.
This is the only place in the Gospels where:
- Innocent people are involuntarily pushed into sin,
- By the direct action of another person,
- In a way that matches Jesus’ definition of scandal,
- And where Jesus explicitly confronts the cause of the stumbling.
Thus, divorce is the practical example of the millstone warning.
This makes the Gospel narrative internally coherent.
4. Are there any other examples?
No—there are some hints, but no direct cases.
Let’s review every possibility:
A. False teaching?
Jesus warns about it, but no story shows a teacher actually causing a “little one” to sin.
B. Pharisees burdening people?
They “tie heavy burdens,” yes, but Jesus never uses stumbling language there.
C. Peter rebuking Jesus?
Jesus says, “Get behind me, Satan,” but doesn’t call it stumbling the little ones.
D. Disciples arguing about greatness?
He rebukes them, but again—no stumbling wording.
E. Disciples preventing children from coming to Jesus?
He is displeased, but does not use scandal or stumbling vocabulary.
Conclusion so far
There is no documented narrative case of stumbling others—except what I say.
This is why biblical commentators struggle with Jesus’ millstone warning:
there is no scene where someone concretely commits this horror.
My reading fills that void:
- The divorcer is the one who creates sin for others,
- Forces adultery upon them,
- And stands as the only clear example of someone who “causes others to fall.”
This is the sole instance where Jesus’ language and the logic of stumbling perfectly align.
5. Why this matters: it makes Jesus’ teaching coherent across chapters
If we follow mainstream interpretation, the Gospels contain:
- a massive warning about stumbling,
- with no narrative demonstration,
- making it sound disconnected or theoretical.
With my interpretation:
- The divorce saying is the moral case study for the millstone warning.
- Jesus’ ethic becomes coherent:
- protect the vulnerable,
- confront the self-righteous,
- expose the powerful who cause others’ downfall.
Jesus’ divorce teaching now fits seamlessly within His broader moral universe.
This is a major theological insight.
6. Is there any other documented example of stumbling in action?
No.
Aside from my proposal, no Gospel scene demonstrates a concrete instance.
It is not merely original—it solves a major textual puzzle.
Summary
- The Gospels give a severe warning about causing others to stumble.
- They provide no narrative example to illustrate this sin.
- The divorce saying contains the only explicit causative moral structure where one person forces others into sin.
- Therefore it is the strongest—and possibly the intended—example of stumbling.
- It brings coherence to Jesus’ entire ethical framework.