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bigmike

John 16:1 (LSB) 1 “These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling.
This is a very interesting verse.
What makes it so interesting?
The fact that Jesus was warning the disciples that what was to come may cause them to stumble.
Various Bible translations often include a descriptive subtitle at the beginning of each chapter of the 66 books.
For this chapter, the LSB translation uses this subtitle: Jesus’ Warning.
The NKJV translation uses this: Jesus Warns and Comforts His Disciples.
So, from this we can clearly see that Jesus was warning them, and also comforting them.
But it’s also important that we understand what it was that He was warning them about.
In the LSB, above, we can see that He wanted them to be aware so they may “be kept from stumbling.”
The NKJV says it was so they “should not be made to stumble.”
This brings much more clarity to the importance of what Jesus was saying, and why He warned them.
But what does this mean? What was being referred to by “stumbling”?
The NLT translation brings it all together by saying “I have told you these things so that you won’t abandon your faith.”
You see, our faith in Christ is a walk; a perpetual endeavor that relies on our effort to keep it thriving. It is a lifelong journey.
And if the disciples, who spent 3 years face-to-face with Jesus, needed to be cautioned, so must we also exercise that same caution, that we may also not stumble or abandon our faith.
Knowing this, let us give our relationship with God the time, effort, and diligence that are due, that our walk with God may become impenetrably strong; an unbreakable bond between us and our Savior that not even the demons of hell can destroy.
That on our final day, when we cross over into eternity, we may hear God say, “well done, my good and faithful servant.”
Amen

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