As I read these four verses a few minutes ago, they probably didn’t jump off the page at you. These are not among the gemstones of the scriptures – demanding, by their beauty, that we spend an hour studying them. In fact, we have seen two of these verses in a different context – the Sermon on the Mount. But I’m here to tell you that we need what the Lord has to say to us here.
If, after the service this morning, I took you aside and told that you would be killed in an accident on your way home, you would probably laugh at me. You know that I don’t have any ability to look into the future. And even if you granted me a little foresight, you’d probably drive a little more cautiously than usual. Would it make a difference if it wasn’t me, but the Lord Jesus who told you? As the Son of God, Christ Jesus is omniscient – He knows all things. A pronouncement of “woe” from Him is very significant. And how does Christ’s statement in our scripture begin? “Woe.” You may not think that this is a significant Biblical statement, but the Son of God apparently does. And stoking the fire just a bit, what do the words “hell fire” and “everlasting fire” mean? We will explain these words in a few minutes, but obviously this is an important passage of scripture.
Our theme is “offenses” – what are they, why do they come and why should we be concerned about them?
What exactly are these offenses to which the Lord refers?
Well, to be exact, the Lord wasn’t exactly exact. And that leaves the door open to some interpretation and a variety of applications. This the Greek word is “skandalon” (skan’-dal-on) from which the English word “scandal” is derived. The English word refers to – “A publicized incident that brings about disgrace or offends the moral sensibilities of society:” “A person, thing, or circumstance that causes or ought to cause disgrace or outrage.” “Damage to reputation or character caused by disclosure of immoral or grossly improper behavior.” Or – “talk that is damaging to one’s character.” The Biblical use of the original word is not exactly the same thing, but it is pretty close. Woe to whosoever causes one of the Christ’s little one’s to be scandalized. Woe to the person who creates scandal. Woe to the world because of its scandals.
Some of the scholars which I consulted suggested that when Jesus used the word He was speaking of SIN. “Whoso shall cause one of these little ones, which believe in me, to sin, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.” “Whoso shall sin in front of these little ones which believe in me.” These things, especially the first, are certainly true, whether that was Jesus’ meaning here or not.
Another common explanation is that “skandalon” is referring to temptation to sin, rather than to sin itself. Ultimately that is nothing more than splitting hairs – tempting someone to sin and causing them to sin are almost the same thing. “Skandalon” is often translated “stumbling block” or “cause to stumble” which leads to this interpretation. Paul says, “Let us not therefore judge one another any more: but judge this rather, that no man put a stumblingblock or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way.” He says, “I beseech you, brethren, mark them which cause divisions and offences (scandals) contrary to the doctrine which ye have learned; and avoid them.” John says, “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.” “Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Do you ever openly or inadvertently open the doorway to sinfulness in another person? There are more possible ways to do this than Heinz has varieties. Maybe it’s the provocative way that you dress – what does that tell people? Or your neighbor sees you going into that multi-screen theater, but he can only guess at which movie you will be watching. What does that bottle of wine tell children, especially now that marijuana is as legal as alcohol? Can you be sure that you are not creating future addicts? How much temptation is there in the entertainment which you enjoy? Perhaps there is no temptation at all for you, but what about for Christ’s “little ones.”
Please don’t think that I’m peering down upon you from my lofty and righteous perch, pointing my finger. I’m just as guilty – or potentially guilty – as anyone else. Does the way that I walk suggest pride or humility? When I have the opportunity to show a little kindness, do I do it? Or do I walk away leaving the impression that I think that I’m better than the other person? If you look at my library, you’ll see books written by heretics. When someone comes in and sees them, I have to be careful to explain their purpose for being there. And for various reasons, I subscribe to neo-evangelical religious magazines, which can lead some people to wrong conclusions. You all know I Thessalonians 5:22 – “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” The word “appearance” refers to the shape, fashion or form – of evil. Why should we avoid it? There are a dozen reasons – many of which speak of harm to us. But the one in front of us is – “Whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.”
Here in verse 7 Christ says, “For it must needs be that offences come” Why is that?
Why is the world so filled with scandal? First, because almost since the beginning of time, the world has been in rebellion against God. I’m not referring to “the earth,” as a planet in this solar system – I’m referring to God’s creation per se.
At some point in eternity past, Jehovah chose to create; I assume that was for His glory. We have a literal description of that creation in Genesis 1 and 2. At some point God also created the unseen world of angels – spirit creatures. Some of those angels were permitted to rebel against their Creator and to temporarily get away with it. Furthermore they were permitted to tempt the first human beings to join them in their rebellion. All of this is clearly documented in the Bible. Despite the fact that there is no corroboration of this spiritual conflict in any other place but the Bible, there is proof all around us. Anthropology, sociology, psychology, and history document an on-going rebellion against God. And it is not just about feeble man attempting to eat what God has forbidden him to eat. It’s not just about man’s desire to worship football stars or movie stars rather than Jehovah. The conflict is infinitely higher, darker and more mysterious than the human heart. It is a spiritual battle between Jehovah and a being called “Lucifer” – alias “Satan” – the Devil.
“Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must NEEDS be that offences come.” When Christ spoke of “the world,” the word that He used was “kosmos.” Most people think of the planet “earth” when they hear the word “world”, but the “cosmos” is more all-encompassing than the earth. When you read the world “world” – “kosmos” in the Bible it almost never refers simply to “the earth.” It speaks of a realm controlled by Satan; it is essentially the antithesis of the “Kingdom of Heaven.”
Why does the Apostle John exhort us, “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world?” Because “if any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.” “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.” The world is the realm of offenses against God and against the Lord’s “little ones.” “And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.” John has a great deal to say about the world, apparently understanding its true nature fairly well. “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you.” “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.” “Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world.” “Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.” “They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.” These and several dozen other verses point out the conflict which exists between Christ and the world. “Woe unto the world because of offences! for it must needs be that offences come; but woe to that man by whom the offence cometh!”
But why does the Lord utter that interjection, the exclamation of grief – “Woe be unto you?”
Why does He speak of cutting off hands and plucking out eyes? Because this is a far more serious subject than the average person is willing to admit. At some point in our young lives, we realize that people die. At first it was a great grandparent, or perhaps a member of a friend’s family. Eventually we come to realize that it’s not just old people, but even young people die – people my age. Then as our perception of things grow, it dawns on us that even we shall die some day – but it will be away off in the future. For years we live under that realization – some of us are bothered, but others don’t really care. But then comes the day when we listen to a doctor, or we are looking at an internet site, comparing our symptoms with those described on the screen. Eventually there comes a day when we conclude that OUR death is just around the corner, or potentially just across the street. Death – and life – take on new meaning and a new context under those circumstances. “I am on the edge of death; I may not see my next birthday; I am dying.”
I wish that I was given the miraculous ability to take that thought and raise it even a notch higher. THAT is the context of Jesus’ “woe unto you.” The ultimate effect of these offences relates not to mere death – but to eternal death. I can speak the words and quote scripture after scripture, but the only way that the woefulness of this is brought to you as it needs to be brought is by the ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Of course, cutting off hands and jabbing sharp sticks into our eyes, will not keep us from Hell fire. Sin doesn’t abide in the muscles of the hand or in someone’s optic nerve. Sin resides in the human heart, planted there by our parents and grandparents before us. The hand only expresses what the heart desires; and the eye only flames the fire already burning in us.
And in that regard, I was thinking about hands and eyes. The hand is one part of us which might CREATE an offense – stumbling block – before another person. If by cutting off our hand, it guaranteed that we couldn’t offend someone – then that might be good. But of course in the process we’d also be cutting off the means of being a blessing as well. The Lord is not exhorting us to self mutilation. He is only showing us the gravity of the case. The hand might cause an offense, but the eye may be the means of being offended. Rarely can it be said that one person’s eye causes another person to be tempted to sin. Rather it is through “the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life” that we permit temptation to enter our own souls. If the eye was the only way that we could be offended, then perhaps blindness would be a good thing. But that is only one portal to the soul. The Lord is only referring to these two things to point out the seriousness of His primary point.
But what do we make of Jesus’ reference to “everlasting fire” and “hell fire” – the fires of Gehenna? Only one Biblical writer beside Christ ever used the word “Gehenna,” and that was James. He used the word in exactly the same way as his Master – “Fire of hell.” It is earlier in Matthew 10:28 where the full impact of the word is clearly seen. The Lord Jesus says, “Fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Please notice that Christ differentiates between the death of the body and the death of the soul. And the death of the body is nothing compared to the other, because the death of the soul involves hell – an eternity in “hell fire.” For you theologians “Gehenna,” unlike “sheol,” is equivalent to the Lake of Fire – the final and eternal judgment of sin.
But as we might read just two verses after our scripture for this morning – “The Son of man is come to save that which was lost.” The purpose for the coming of Christ, was to rescue souls bound for Gehenna. He gave His life in order to share His eternal life with dying souls like us. He paid the ultimate price of death so that sinners like us would NOT have to pay that price.
The Bible exhorts us to look toward this Saviour – look with faith and humility; repentance and trust. The Lord will not save a single soul without that person’s knowledge. We know that we have been delivered from our sin – and thus from spiritual death and Gehenna – when we find placed in our hearts a faith and love for Christ and the things of God. Are you a disciple of Christ? Is your faith in Him this morning?