16. But woe to him through whom scandal comes. This means that since evil is always evil, those who unknowingly  have served as instruments for divine justice, those whose evil instincts have been utilized, have committed evil nevertheless and must be punished. Thus it is, for example, that an ungrateful child is a punishment or trial for the parents who bear it because they themselves had perhaps been bad children and now must suffer the penalty of talion. However, the child is blameworthy nonetheless and must be punished in turn in the persons of his or her own children or in some other way.

17. If your hand is a cause for scandal, cut it off. This is a powerful image which would be absurd if taken literally, and which simply means that one must destroy within oneself all cause of scandal, that is, of evil; one must uproot from one’s heart every impure sentiment and every immoral tendency. It also means that it would be more praiseworthy to have one’s hand cut off than for that hand to have been an instrument for an evil act; to be deprived of one’s sight than one’s eyes having been an avenue for evil thoughts. Jesus never said anything absurd to those who could understand the allegorical and deeper meaning of his words. However, many things cannot be understood without the key that Spiritism provides.