<p>17:2 <i>It would be better for him if a millstone was hung about his neck and he was thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble</i>- As noted on :1, the &quot;little ones&quot; in view are the likes of the prodigal son and Lazarus. Our attitude to the spiritually &quot;little&quot;, the spiritually vulnerable, is critical to our discipleship. And not having them at our table, like the elder brother of Luke 15 and the &quot;rich man&quot; of chapter 16, is to cause them to stumble. So often, those turned away from fellowship then stumble. And the woe pronounced is so great that we have to urgently enquire of ourselves whether we are in any way responsible for such exclusions. Even if we are separated from this world externally, we can still act in a worldly way, and share the world&rsquo;s condemnation. The Lord taught that the believer who makes his brother stumble should have a millstone hung around his neck and be cast into the sea (Lk. 17:2). This is exactly Babylon&rsquo;s judgment (Rev. 18:21). The unloving in the ecclesia will be treated like the unloving world whose spirit they share.</p>