The Offended Body…

Matthew 24:3, 9-10  

³ Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, “Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?” ⁹ “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake. ¹⁰ And then many will be offended, will betray one another, and will hate one another.

2 Thessalonians 2:3

³ Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,

Matthew 18:7

  ⁷ Woe to the world because of offenses! For offenses must come, but woe to that man by whom the offense comes!

       I.            Offense

a.      Offend comes from the Greek word skandalon, meaning to cause to fall away (from the truth).

b.     Jesus is an offense to many.

                                                              i.      Isaiah 8:13-14

¹³ The Lord of hosts, Him you shall hallow; Let Him be your fear,
and let Him be your dread. ¹⁴ He will be as a sanctuary.
But a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense to both the houses of Israel,
as a trap and a snare to the inhabitants of Jerusalem.

                                                           ii.      1 Corinthians 1:18-24

18 For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved, it is the power of God. 19 For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.” 20 Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; 23 but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.

   II.            Who is offended?

a.      The unbelieving. Romans 9:30-33

30 What shall we say then? That Gentiles, who did not pursue righteousness, have attained to righteousness, even the righteousness of faith; 31 but Israel, pursuing the law of righteousness, has not attained to the law of righteousness. 32 Why? Because they did not seek it by faith, but as it were, by the works of the law. For they stumbled at that stumbling stone. 33 As it is written: “Behold, I lay in Zion a stumbling stone and rock of offense, and whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.”

b.     The disobedient. 1 Peter 2:6-8

6 Therefore it is also contained in the Scripture, “Behold, I lay in Zion A chief cornerstone, elect, precious, and he who believes on Him will by no means be put to shame.” 7 Therefore, to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, “The stone which the builders rejected Has become the chief cornerstone,” 8 and “A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.”

They stumble, being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed.

c.       The term “believeth” is a continual tense verb that means to believe habitually.

d.     John the Baptist is referred to by Jesus as one of the greatest prophets born of women, yet he chose not to believe.

Luke 7:18-23

18 Then the disciples of John reported to him concerning all these things. 19 And John, calling two of his disciples to him, sent them to Jesus, saying, “Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?” 20 When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’” 21 And that very hour He cured many of infirmities, afflictions, and evil spirits; and to many blind He gave sight. 22 Jesus answered and said to them, “Go and tell John the things you have seen and heard: that the blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, the poor have the gospel preached to them. 23 And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.”

e.      Elijah the prophet. 1 Kings 17-19

III.            How to avoid offense

a.      Believe continually in the Son. Don’t live off of someone else’s faith. John 6:60-69

b.     Recount the things God has done. Luke 7:21-23

c.      Have the right expectations. Matthew 10:34