Offenses

Luke 17:1-10
Before heading to raise Lazarus Jesus concludes His time with the disciples in Perea with four lessons.  They need to be careful that they do not lead others astray (v 1-2), to mercifully forgive those who sin against them (v 3-4), to put into practice their faith (v 5-6), and not to think they should be treated in a special way by God but realize they are merely His slaves and should expect to serve Him (v 7-10).

Luke 17:1-2
"It is impossible that offenses will not come", Jesus stated the obvious to the disciples, and to us, yet how many times are we surprised when an offense happens toward us.  Jesus was reminding them that we live in a fallen world, it is inevitable that someone will sin against or hurt us in someway, either knowingly or unknowingly.  Then He went on to tell them what was expected of their behavior as His followers...be very careful not to offend or lead others astray yourselves.  I'm sure He had the Jewish leaders in mind with this instruction.  Many were being lost to the true way of faith because the Pharisees and other types of spiritual leaders were ambitiously following their own truth not Gods, in many ways it still happens today.  As true followers let's be especially mindful of how our actions affect others, remember that His burden is light because all we really need to do is love others in the same way He loves us.  Love never fails.