There’s a great song that goes with today’s message.

In today’s sermon about the Messiah, we spent time considering the skandalon of Jesus Christ. In the original language of the New Testament, that word is sometimes translated “offense,” as in…

“And they took offense at him.” (Matthew 13:57 and Mark 6:3)

or…

“the offense of the cross” (Galatians 5:11)

Other times skandalon (from which we get our word, “scandal”) is used to refer to that which causes men to stumble…

“…we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block (skandalon) to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.” (1 Corinthians 1:23-25)

“I lay in Zion a stone that causes men to stumble and a rock that makes them fall (petran skandalou—literally, ‘a rock of offense’), and the one who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” (Romans 9:33)

For a larger perspective on the skandalon, listen to the sermon titled, “Look Who We Found!” (1/16/11).