The Study Watchtower, «Article 25», Week 23-29 August 2021, Let's not trip “these little ones”, Answers.
1. What has Jehovah done for each of us?
Jehovah has drawn each of us to himself. Among the billions of people in the world, he saw something valuable in us: a sincere heart that could love him
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
Jehovah draws us to him, when he discovers in each one of us a willing and sincere heart that can love him, calls him and gently draws us to him.
2. What example did Jesus set to help us understand that Jehovah loves each of us?
Jesus gave the example of a shepherd who has 100 sheep and loses one, when he realizes, He leaves the other 99 in the mountains and looks for the one that is lost. When he finds her, he does not get angry with her, but will be happy. Likewise, Jehovah, like a shepherd, loves each sheep so he does not want a single one to be lost.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
Jesus in this example compares Jehovah to the loving shepherd who "has 100 sheep, but when one is lost, he goes out in search of it and when he finds it he is more glad for this little sheep than for the ninety-nine that were not lost." With this, Jesus wants to make it clear that Jehovah is a loving shepherd who cares deeply for each member of the flock, "He does not want even one of the little ones to be lost." In his eyes, each of his servants is special and valuable.
3. What will we analyze in this article?
We will analyze a little about “these little ones” mentioned in Matthew chapter 18 and then we will see How can we avoid tripping others? And what can we do if someone hurts us?
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
In this article we are going to analyze about "these little ones" mentioned in Matthew 18, and we are also going to answer these questions: How can we avoid causing others to stumble? And what can we do if someone hurts us?
WHO ARE "THESE LITTLE PEOPLE"?
4. Who are “these little ones”?
They are all disciples of Jesus. Their willingness to let themselves be taught makes them resemble little ones. Even though they are from different places and cultures, and have different tastes and personalities, they all have faith in Christ. And he wants them.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
We are all disciples of Jesus. As John 1:12 says, we are "all of us who have faith in Christ," even though we come from different places, cultures, and have different tastes and personalities.
5. How does Jehovah feel when someone hurts or stumbles one of his servants?
Just as we feel that desire to protect and defend a child, Jehovah feels the same way, so when someone hurts or trips one of them, he is upset or even enraged.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
Jehovah is very angry because he sees us, just as we see children: they are valuable, but at the same time helpless, because they do not have the strength, experience and wisdom of adults. And, if we see that someone wants to harm them, we get angry and look for ways to protect them. In the same way, each of his servants is valuable to Jehovah and he becomes upset and enraged when someone hurts us or causes us to stumble.
6. According to 1 Corinthians 1: 26-29, how do the people of the world view Jesus' disciples?
The world also considers them small, but not for the same reason as Jehovah, rather it is because as 1 Corinthians indicates they are insignificant, despised, or worthless.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
The rich, the famous and the powerful are important to the world. But those of us who are disciples of Jesus, as these texts say, are considered insignificant, weak, and worthless. In general, they adopt the attitude that "no one important follows Jesus."
7. How does Jehovah want us to view our brothers?
Jehovah wants us to see our brothers as he sees them. If he loves them, so do we, as 1 Pet shows. 2:17 we must have "love for the whole brotherhood," not just a part of it. And that love should lead us to do whatever it takes to protect and care for them.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
As 1 Peter 2:17 says, Jehovah wants us to have "love for the whole brotherhood." For this reason, we must care how we treat each other. If we realize that we have offended or hurt a brother, we should not wash our hands and think that he is very picky and that what he should do is forget. Or contrary to that, if we are easily offended we must recognize that this is a defect in which we need to work. The important thing is to fix the situation for our own tranquility and that of others and, this at the same time, is a token of love.
WE THINK THAT OTHERS ARE SUPERIOR
8. What way of thinking influenced Jesus' disciples?
At that time, many Jews attached great importance to prestige and social position, and apparently they had allowed themselves to be infected, that is why they asked him: Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
It influenced them, the way of thinking of that time, where the Jews attached great importance to prestige and social position. As one specialist put it, "men lived and died to enjoy honor, consideration, fame, approval, and respect." Due to this influence, the disciples had approached Jesus to ask him, which of them would be the greatest in the Kingdom of heaven?
9. What did Jesus' disciples have to do?
They had to work hard to leave behind that competitive spirit that was ingrained in Jewish culture. They must now think that others were superior to them. That would make it less likely that they would trip others.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
They had to work hard to leave behind that competitive spirit that was ingrained in Jewish culture. Jesus told them that "whoever wanted to be the greatest among them had to become the youngest." In the same way, it is at present, to behave as "the youngest", we have to think that others are superior to us, if we have that good attitude, the less likely it will be that we will trip others.
10. What advice from Paul should we take to heart?
The advice recorded in 1 Cor. 4: 7 which says: Who makes you different from others? Actually, what do you have that you have not received? So if you received it, why are you bragging as if you hadn't received it? With this, Paul advised us not to be tempted to draw attention to ourselves or to believe ourselves to be superior to others. Merit must always go to Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
The advice found in 1 Corinthians 4: 7 where we are told to "not brag" about the work or success we do in the congregation, because this is only possible because of Jehovah's blessing. So we must not be tempted to draw attention to ourselves or to believe ourselves superior to others, rather, all credit must always go to Jehovah.
WE FORGIVE FROM THE HEART
11. What do we learn from Jesus' parable about the king and the slave?
We learn how important it is that we forgive, if we are not willing to forgive our brothers, Jehovah will treat us in the same way and will not forgive all the sins we have committed. Whereas, if we do, He will also forgive us.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
This parable is about a king who forgives a huge debt to one of his slaves, but then this same slave did not want to forgive another companion a much smaller debt. Therefore, the king puts the slave who had no mercy in jail. We learn a great lesson from this because “this is how Jehovah will treat us if we do not forgive our brothers from our hearts.
12. If we refuse to forgive, how do we hurt others?
We hurt others because we behave cruelly by not forgiving them and denying them our affection, even ignoring them. And our behavior will also lead to not feeling well, it affects them negatively because, when noticing what has happened, they will feel uncomfortable, which could lead anyone to stumble.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
If some brother treats us badly and we refuse to forgive him, we are doing the same as the cruel slave, who sent his companion to jail, and not only harmed him, but also others because the other slaves saw this situation and they got upset. Similarly, if we do not forgive our brother we are hurting him because we are denying him our affection to the degree perhaps of ignoring him. But, in addition, we also make the other brothers feel uncomfortable because they notice that we are not at peace with that person.
ILLUSTRATION:
A sister speaks alone in the Kingdom Hall with another sister who is angry with her. Picture series: 1. At a meeting for field service at the Kingdom Hall, the brother assigns them to preach together, and one of them looks annoyed. 2. The two sisters enjoy preaching together.
Will we hold a grudge or will we forgive from the heart? (See paragraphs 13 and 14.) *
13. What do you learn from what happened to a pioneer?
We learn that when we do not forgive we do not have a good time either, we even lose the joy of doing the right thing, it is as if we have a great burden on us that does not allow us to move forward.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
This pioneer remembers how bad the words and actions of another sister made her feel. But the pioneer was humble and decided not to hold a grudge or fall into self-pity, rather she followed the advice of an article in the Watchtower that talks about forgiving from the heart, so she forgave her sister and understood that we are all striving to put on the new personality and that Jehovah generously forgives us every day. This example teaches us that we must forgive our brothers as many times as necessary even if we have reasons to complain, in this way we imitate Jehovah, who not only forgives us once, but thousands of times.
14. a) According to Matthew 18:21, 22, what problem does the Apostle Peter seem to have had, and what do you learn from Jesus' response? b) What can help us if we find ourselves in the same situation?
The apostle Peter also had a hard time forgiving. That is why he asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone.
It can help us 1) meditate on all the times that Jehovah has forgiven us. As well as remembering that we have an obligation to love each other. 2) we can meditate on what happens when we forgive. We help the person who mistreated us, we contribute to the unity of the congregation, we protect our friendship with Jehovah, and we take a load off ourselves. 3) pray to Jehovah.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
It seems that Peter had a hard time forgiving, because he asked Jesus if "7 times was enough to do it", but the answer that Jesus gave him was "that up to 77 times." What teaches us that we must forgive without limits, as many times as necessary.
First, something that helps us is to meditate on all the times that Jehovah has generously forgiven us even though we do not deserve it. Second, we must meditate on what happens when we forgive. We help the person who treated us badly, we contribute to the unity of the congregation and we protect our friendship with Jehovah and we take a load off our shoulders. And, the third help is prayer, we need to ask Jehovah to help us not to fall into the trap of Satan, who wants to alter the peace and unity that we have with our brothers.
WE DO NOT LET OTHERS 'ACTIONS MAKE US STUMP
15. According to Colossians 3:13, what can we do if a brother or sister does something that bothers us?
We can pray to Jehovah and tell him everything we feel. Let us ask him to bless the brother and help us to see his good qualities, those that he has seen and values. Now if we feel like we need to talk because we can't ignore what you've done, let's think about the best way to do it. Let's give you the benefit of the doubt. And if you don't want to make amends, let's not give it up.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
If we have already done our part to keep the peace with our brother, and it happens that he does not want to fix the situation, in Colossians 3:13 we are advised to "Keep supporting one another." We must not conclude that our brother is a basket case, nor should we allow this to be a cause of stumbling for us. Rather, let's focus on doing things as Jehovah asks us to no longer hold a grudge, as this would damage our friendship with Jehovah. In this way we show that we love Jehovah above all else.
16. What obligation does each of us have?
Each has an obligation to preserve the unity of Jehovah's people. To do this, we must strive to see others as valuable as Jehovah sees them.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
We have an obligation to help maintain unity in the congregation. We must bear in mind that we are all one flock and that Jehovah our Shepherd sees us as his "little ones" and considers us very valuable, that is the way we should also see our brothers. Jehovah values our caring for and helping one another.
17. What are we determined to do?
We are "determined not to put any hindrance or obstacle in front of a brother." To think that they are superior to us and we want to forgive them from the heart. And not to allow the actions of others not to stumble.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
We are determined to follow the advice of Romans 14:13 which says that "we must not put any hindrance or obstacle before a brother." Rather, since we love our brothers and sisters, what we will do is "Keep looking for the things that promote peace and the things that build each other up."
WHAT ANSWER WOULD YOU GIVE?
Who are “these little ones” mentioned in Matthew chapter 18?
They are all the disciples of Jesus, no matter their age, country of origin, culture or tastes, they are called that because they are humble like children and allow themselves to be taught.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
We are all disciples of Jesus. As John 1:12 says, we are "all of us who have faith in Christ," even though we come from different places, cultures, and have different tastes and personalities.
What will help us to think that others are superior to us?
It will help us to recognize that everyone surpasses us in something, to do so we only have to focus on their good things, and if at any moment we feel the desire to focus our attention on ourselves, let us direct it to Jehovah, who has given us everything.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
What will help us is to try not to be influenced by the competitive spirit of this world, and, as Jesus said, we must behave like "the youngest", which means that we have to think that others are superior to us. Also remember that "we should not brag" about the work or success we do in the congregation, because this is only possible thanks to Jehovah's blessing.
If we have a hard time forgiving, what can we do?
We can meditate on all the times that Jehovah has forgiven us. The second thing that can help us is to meditate on what happens when we forgive. We learned that we help the person who treated us badly, and we contribute to the peace of the congregation. And third to pray to Jehovah, who is the one who commands us to forgive.
ADDITIONAL COMMENT
1) We can think and meditate on all the times that Jehovah has generously forgiven us even though we don't deserve it.
2) We must meditate on what happens when we forgive. We help the person who treated us badly, we contribute to the unity of the congregation and we protect our friendship with Jehovah and we take a load off our shoulders.
3) We must pray and ask Jehovah to help us not fall into the trap of Satan, who wants to alter the peace and unity we have with our brothers.
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