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“Jesus answered and said to them, ‘Go and tell John the things which you hear and see: The blind see and the lame walk; the lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear; the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them. And blessed is he who is not offended because of Me.’” (Matthew 11.4-6). The American Standard Version of 1901 correctly renders the last sentence of the quoted passage as, “And blessed is he, whosoever shall find no occasion of stumbling in me.”

Is it possible that an “occasion of stumbling” might be in Christ Jesus? If so, what could it be? How could someone be caused to sin (the result of an occasion of stumbling) because of Jesus? Not only is it possible, the Bible records several occasions when people were caused to stumble through or literally in Jesus! We will examine a few of these places and see how they tie in to Matthew 11.6 and how that text ties to 2 Thessalonians 2 and the necessity of receiving the love of the truth.

“And when He had come to His own country [Nazareth], He taught them in their synagogue, so that they were astonished and said, ‘Where did this Man get this wisdom and these mighty works? Is this not the carpenter’s son? Is not His mother called Mary? And His brothers James, Joses, Simon, and Judas? And His sisters, are they not all with us? Where then did this Man get all these things?’ So they were offended at Him. But Jesus said to them, ‘A prophet is not without honor except in his own country and in his own house.’” (Matthew 13.54-57). His countrymen were offended because of Him!!

“He said to them, ‘Hear and understand: Not what goes into the mouth defiles a man; but what comes out of the mouth, this defiles a man.’ Then His disciples came and said to Him, ‘Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this saying?’ But He answered and said, ‘Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.’” (Matthew 15.10-13). The Pharisees were offended because of Him!!

When the angels announced the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, they said, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.” (Luke 2.14). Concerning His own work, Jesus said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law.” (Matthew 10.34-35). Notice that Jesus said He did not come to send peace; rather, He came to cause division among family members! This must be understood in light of a greater context. It is not God’s will that anyone perish (1 Timothy 2.3-4). So, how is it that Jesus would cause serious rifts in otherwise sacred ties? The answer is consistent with what we have already observed. Some would be offended because of Him while within the same family others would become believers because of Him!!

In the context of today’s devotional, it could be said that Jesus caused division; however, when all is said and done, it was the offended ones who were to blame, and not Jesus. In this same manner, one could say that God was the source of the strong delusion that would damn many (see 2 Thessalonians 2.8-12). However, when all is said and done, it will be the deluded ones who bear the blame for their deception, and not God! The love of the truth is an preventative against such delusion!!

Questions:

1. What is an occasion of stumbling? Does any one stumble because of Jesus? If yes, in what sense is He the “cause” of their failures?

2. When the people of Nazareth were offended in Jesus, what did He say?

3. Why were the Pharisees offended in Jesus according to Matthew 15? Who will bear the blame for their offense?

4. What did Jesus mean when He said He did not come to send peace, but a sword? Doesn’t He want everyone to believe in Him? Then in what sense does He send a sword?

"The Way" from Kevin Pauley

A World of One