This whole chapter deals with the attitudes we have towards people. The previous section dealt with who we consider to be important. This theme continues in this section about causing people to stumble. The way that we act, the things that we say, can have a big effect on others.
Causing people to stumble means causing them to sin. Jesus refers to those who believe in Him as "little ones", ie ones who the world holds to be of no account. There are no prizes in the world for believing in Jesus. But to cause one of Jesus' believers to sin is a most serious matter, and people will be judged severely for it.
Things do happen that cause people to sin, but the one in most trouble is the one who brings these things about. Jesus then talks about dealing drastically with things that cause us to sin.
So what is Jesus doing here? He is first of all addressing those who cause others to sin. It is easy to cause to others to sin. You can tempt them with sex, money, greed, resentment, strife, all sorts of things. It is easy to stir up trouble, but anyone who does so is opening themselves up to severe judgement from God.
However, saying "he made me do it", or "the circumstances" made me do it is no excuse. We must not sit back because someone is worse than us. Instead we must do all that we can to avoid sinning. Sin is a matter of life and death, and sin leads only to death, so we must avoid it like the plague.
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