In verse 37 Jesus said that every disciple who receives such insignificant children is a blessed disciple who will receive his reward. And why would then a believer who does not follow them be considered beneath them (38-41)? Now we come to the other side: they should not dare cause these little ones to stumble, even if it were only one! Let it be the honour of the disciples to avoid and prevent the neglect of even one little person. Then they are truly “the servant of all” and therefore “the greatest.”1
42 “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him if a great millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea.