Skandalon

The Greek word skandalon originally referred to the trigger stick in a trap—the bait-holding mechanism that, when touched, springs the snare. By extension, it meant any stumbling block or obstacle that causes someone to fall. The New Testament transforms this practical term into theological dynamite: God himself has placed a skandalon in history that divides all humanity.

Paul declares the cross "a stumbling block (skandalon) to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called...Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God" (1 Corinthians 1:23-24). The crucified messiah violated Jewish expectations (messiahs conquer, they don't get executed) and Greek sensibilities (gods don't suffer shameful deaths). God's chosen method of salvation became the very thing that tripped people up. This isn't accidental—the skandalon exposes what people truly value.

Peter quotes Isaiah, identifying Jesus as "a stone of stumbling (lithos proskommatos) and a rock of offense (petra skandalou)" (1 Peter 2:8). Those who reject him "stumble because they disobey the word." The imagery is stark: you can build on this stone or trip over it, but you cannot ignore it. Christ forces a decision—there's no neutral ground around a skandalon.

Jesus used skandalon language with sobering warnings: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin (skandalisē)...it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck" (Matthew 18:6). Here the verb form appears—to skandalize means to place an obstacle in someone's path to faith. The responsibility is grave: your actions can become someone else's trap.

Yet Jesus also said, "Blessed is the one who is not offended (skandalisthē) by me" (Matthew 11:6). Following Christ inevitably involves encountering skandala—his teachings offend our sensibilities, his demands trip up our autonomy, his cross contradicts our wisdom. The question isn't whether we'll encounter stumbling blocks but whether we'll stumble or trust.

Here's the dark irony: the word scandal comes directly from skandalon, but we've reversed its meaning. Modern scandals are shameful secrets exposed—things we wish to hide. But the biblical skandalon is God's public declaration, displayed on a hill outside Jerusalem for all to see. The cross isn't God's scandal to hide; it's his skandalon to proclaim. What shames the world reveals God's glory. The trap has been sprung, but not to catch us—to free us.