Then He said to the disciples, “It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!” (Luke 17:1)
At the close of the previous chapter, Jesus told the account of Lazarus and the rich man. One point of that account was that eternity is for real, and no one from the world beyond will come back to help us. Considering this, we must understand how important it is to treat other people rightly. The rich man treated Lazarus terribly (Luke 16:19-22) and suffered from that offense for all eternity.
With this in mind, Jesus spoke to His disciples about offenses. In context, it is safe to suppose that Jesus meant “real” offenses – ways that people genuinely harm each other, in more than the superficial ways some people seem to take offense today. This is real harm against another person.
The New Testament word used here for offenses is skandalon, and it comes from the word for a bent-stick – the stick that springs the trap or sets the bait. It also was used for a stumbling block, something that people trip over.
In the Bible sometimes a skandalon is good that is received wrongly – such as the way that people “trip” over Jesus, and are offended at the gospel (Romans 9:33, 1 Corinthians 1:23, Galatians 5:11).
But among brothers and sisters in Jesus, a skandalon is bad. It can be false counsel (Matthew 16:23) or leading a brother to sin by your “liberty” (Romans 14:13). Division and false teaching bring a skandalon among God’s people (Romans 16:17).
Taking the idea of offenses in a serious and not superficial way, Jesus said that it is impossible that no offenses should come. It is inevitable that people will hurt, offend, and harm one another. This has always been true. Yet, when someone genuinely harms another person, God cares and will hold that one to account.
In saying, Woe to him through whom they do come, Jesus said: “People are going to take the bait – but woe to you if you offer the hook. People are going to trip up – but woe to you if you set the stumbling block in their way.” 1 John 2:10 explains the solution to being a skandalon to others – love: He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. If we love our brother, we will not bring an offense into their life.
This is a lesson that the church learned the hard way in the centuries when many Christians felt it was their duty to “help” God and to curse the Jewish race for their rejection of the Messiah. I believe that the curse came back on the church worse than ever.
Here is a principle to live by: If someone seems ripe for the judgment or discipline of God, let God do it. Get out of the way. God doesn’t need you as an instrument of His judgment, only as an instrument of His love.
Click here for David’s commentary on Luke 17
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