Tuesday, May 1, 2018

The scandal of Christ's Words



The Stumbling
“Does this offend you?”
Jesus asked the disciples when they were murmuring and complaining about some of the hard words He had spoken and they didn’t understand.
Do some parts of the Bible that are hard to understand “make you stumble” (John 6:61 NASB, ASV)? The Greek word for offend or stumble is the same word from whence we get the English word “scandal”.
Maybe it’s not the difficult to understand parts of the Bible, but rather the parts that you DO understand that offend you. Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens) said, “Some people are troubled by the things in the Bible they can’t understand. The things that trouble me are the things I can understand.” (Watertown Daily Times, 1915)
The Ascension
Flash forward, several decades from when Jesus said, “Do my words offend you”. The Apostle John, now an aged man after hearing this as a young disciple, was exiled to the island of Patmos. An angel with a voice like a trumpet came from heaven and said, “Come up here!”
Immediately, the old apostle was ushered up into heaven to the very throne room of God, standing before God the Father and Jesus the Son.
That word, “Come up here” (anabaino in the Greek) was also used again in Revelation when two prophets in the end times were raised from the dead after three and a half days. “And they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up here.’ And they ascended to heaven in a cloud, and their enemies saw them” (Rev. 11:12).
What is significant about “anabaino”? After Jesus said, “Does this offend you?” He immediately asked a second question.
The Seeing
Look at how Jesus follows up His question in John 6.  “Does this offend you? What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend (Greek: anabaino) where He was before?” (John 6:61b-62)
After the resurrection of Christ, the disciples saw Jesus ascend to heaven in the clouds. One day, we also will anabaino to heaven. On that day, which will matter most? To be offended by the hard words and commands of Christ. Or to offend Him by our disobedience and lack of faith?
The word of God may be offensive to the world, but not to the believers. Jesus said, “Blessed is he who is not offended because of Me” (Matthew 11:6, Luke 7:23).
The very words that may originally cause you to be offended or stumble are given to keep you strong, especially in times of hardship. “These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble (skandalizo). They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service.”  (John 16:1-2)
Don't be offended, or stumble or even be scandalized by the hard teachings of God's Word. One day, we will ascend up to heaven, just as He ascended, and the entire world will stand before Him. Those who were offended by Him will be eternally ashamed. Those who were not offended will be eternally blessed.