28 besides the other things, what comes upon me daily: my deep concern for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I do not burn with indignation?
In verses 28 and 29 Paul described his anxiety in working with local churches. These verses are the climax of Paul’s lists of suffering.
11:28
besides the other things,
Beside all of Paul’s troubles mentioned in earlier verses, he faced difficulties in ministry. His list of suffering was only suggestive, not exhaustive.
what comes upon me daily:
Paul felt pressure every day.
my deep concern [anxiety] for all the churches.
The care of churches was a big problem to Paul because of divisions and doctrinal errors they faced (Ac 20:30). We see this concern in the number of letters Paul wrote to churches, including 1 and 2 Corinthians.
11:29
Who is weak, and I am not weak?
Paul identified with Christians who were weak. He faced frailty himself. The apostle identified with the weakness of others as if it were his own. For this reason, he would never cause anyone to stumble in their faith (1 Co 9:22).
Who is made to stumble, and I [emphatic] do not burn with indignation?
The apostle spoke of his experiences with believers who “stumbled” in their Christian lives. This caused him to “burn with indignation” at those who offended the brother. The thought of a believer falling away should cause anger in any Christian leader. The false apostles stumbled some in Corinth.
PRINCIPLE:
Those who care about fellow believers never do anything that would cause them to stumble in their faith.
APPLICATION:
Strong Christians defer to weak believers. They do this because they can identify with weakness (1 Co 8:13; Ro 14:14-21; 15:1-3). Empathy is crucial for ministry. Concern over the welfare of those under a leader’s responsibility is a sign of an authentic leader. Any believer can fall (1 Co 10:12), but immature Christians are particularly vulnerable to falling into a sin pattern.
