"If any of you put a stumbling block before one of these little ones who believe in me, it would be better for you if a great millstone were hung around your neck and you were thrown into the sea"(Mark 9:42).I felt the gravity of this teaching of Jesus while visiting Capernaum yesterday. Capernaum was known as a fishing village in the first century, but there must have been a secondary industry for the manufacture of millstones. They abound on the site of the chosen home of Jesus.
In Mark's gospel, Jesus has returned to Capernaum from Caesarea Philippi. He stays only briefly, setting his face for Jerusalem. Knowing what faced him there perhaps stirred him to speak with urgency. He warns His disciples to take great care of children and new believers. To cause any to stumble will bring dire consequences.
Noting the size of these millstones and considering their pull if tossed into the nearby Sea of Galilee brought home the weight of Jesus' words. Walking in this land causes one to read the Bible with new eyes and a greater sense of urgency.
