Be Careful, It's A Trap!

Today, I would like to deal with the word “offense.” Used in a variety of ways in Scripture, as it is in English: it is an infraction of law, sin, transgression, and state of being damaged. In addition, it is the act of creating resentment, hurt feelings, and displeasure.

The Greek word for “offend” in our text comes from the word scandalon. This word originally referred to the part of the trap to which the bait was attached. Therefore, the word signifies a trap, snare, stumbling block, or enticement to sin.

My topic today is, “Be careful, it’s a trap!”

As we observe and effectively deal with “this” universal human difficulty that entangles so many in guilt or grief, I must first deal with First Corinthians 1:23, which Paul declared and wrote to the Corinthian church which is still extremely common and true today. For he ardently wrote these words, “We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews is a scandal and an offensive stumbling block (that brings a snare or trap) and unto the Greeks (or our current world system) it is foolishness, absurd and utterly un-philosophical nonsense.”

Paul was saying, Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection causes offense. Let me explain clearly the word offense in this context and its derivative concerning Christ, did not mean to entice one to sin.

For Paul was not referring to Christ as an enticement to sin. For Jesus Christ purpose was to bind the broken hearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and open the prison to them that were bound by sin, shame, and sickness that was quadrant to our make up (meaning spiritually, physically, emotionally, and psychologically). Therefore, the offense Christ causes is to our perverted paradigms of thought. He is compelling us to change our thought patterns, actions, and reactions to this world’s stimuli.

As a result, why was the majority of Jews offended? First to the Jewish opinion, they were offended by the fact that a loving almighty God would allow His only begotten Son (which Jesus declared to be) to die. For it was the worst death known in degradation and humiliation in their day.

Thus, some could not accept that Jesus was the actual Christ (Y’shua), and his life, and the cross became a stumbling block to accepting His deity. Therefore, Jesus became an offense, an obstacle to some of their patterns of belief and not an enticement to commit a crime.

Therefore, was He trying to trap or entangle them in sin? No! He was trying to free them from their own deception and mental and spiritual bondages.

However, the god of this world had blinded them, duped and bamboozled some of them in believing Jesus was enticing them into physical and political oppression. This is why Christ becomes an stumbling block, for the preaching of Christ crucified, challenges their perverted perspective.

Secondly, the offense of the cross to the Greeks and to some of us now, challenges us as well. For it challenges our distorted view and it becomes an obstacle to our human psyche and pride. For the preaching of Christ crucified declares that we are guilty sinners for whom another had to die for literally. Additionally, the preaching of Christ crucified affords many of us now who are bound by pride, self-righteousness, deception in good works the opportunity to confess our sins and humble ourselves before God.

For if many would take a leap of faith and seize the opportunity of salvation which offers the opportunity of inner change, they would not experience unnecessary sufferings in the trap which our nemesis has laid to ensnare them in preventing them to pursue their purpose and predestine path of freedom.

As stated, offense or scandalon involves the conduct of the person who is injured. It denotes the enticement or occasion leading to conduct that brings with it the ruin of the person in question. In our text Luke 17:1, the concept of offense is concerned mainly with the fact that it incites certain behavior that leads, or entices one to ruin or to fall. This is why the ending of our verse admonishes us in these words, “but woe unto him, through whom (offences) come.”

Thou this caveat are to those who deliberately set out to insult, injure, or ruin ones image, it is ultimately addressing our arch enemy, Satan, who tries to pervert our passion, steal our joy (for the joy of the Lord is are strength), kill our motivation, and destroy our dreams through the ignorance of those who we care for most. Why, for we expect more from them- after all, we given more of ourselves to them as David did to Paul for instance.

As David laments in Psalms 55:12-14, which is poignant and understood by many housed in this edifies, “For it is not an enemy who reproaches me (or shame, discredits, or disgraces), then I could bear it. Nor is it one who hates me who has exalted himself against me; then I could hide from him. But it was you, a man my equal, my companion and my acquaintance. We took sweet counsel together, and walked to the house of God in the throng.” This is the very reason why Satan relishes in using the ignorance of those who are close to us. For it hurts the worst from someone close because the higher the expectation, the greater the fall. But, “woe unto you Satan, whom offenses come!”