In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.
Summary: Finding the meaning of this passage leads us back to the prophet Isaiah and his prophecy about the “stumbling stone.”
As I read this passage, I find myself tempted to bleep over it. Do you know what I mean? I read the words, but they don’t connect with my brain, so I just keep going without really understanding what I have read.
A casual reading of “the offense of the cross” doesn’t register. This verse is the only time in the Bible that phrase shows up, so if I am going to understand it, I will have to think about it.
The first place I looked was other translations of this verse to see how other scholars handled this passage. The Revised Standard Version of the Bible worded it this way:
“In that case the stumbling block of the cross has been removed.”
When you put it that way, it makes more sense!
Isaiah’s prophecy about the coming Messiah describes him as “a stone that causes people to stumble and a rock that makes them fall” (Isaiah 8:14)*. Peter quotes this same passage (1 Peter 2:8), and Paul refers to it in his letter to the church at Rome (Romans 9:32-33).
Understanding the “stumbling stone” is a topic all by itself. In short, God foretold that his Messiah would be a hard pill for the Jews to swallow. Pride is a relentless and unforgiving taskmaster. People who refuse to humble themselves before God are humbled by the “stumbling stone.”
Paul doesn’t mind the Jews who believe in Jesus holding to their traditions. He went to great pains to show the Jews he meant no harm to Jewish law when he traveled to Jerusalem (Acts 21:24). But teaching the Gentiles that they have to adopt Jewish customs to be saved is unacceptable.
Looking back over the past few verses, Paul says that the one who is causing confusion will pay a penalty. Then he says, “if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted?”
The Living Bible translates the verse this way:
“Some people even say that I myself am preaching that circumcision and Jewish laws are necessary to the plan of salvation. Well, if I preached that, I would be persecuted no more—for that message doesn’t offend anyone. The fact that I am still being persecuted proves that I am still preaching salvation through faith in the cross of Christ alone.”
I think this translation captures the essence of what Paul is saying. Teaching the pure gospel to the Galatians has put Paul at odds with both Jews and many Jewish believers in Jesus. Oddly enough, their persecution of him proves his point.
Application: Don’t allow your faith in Jesus to be diluted with anything.
Food for Thought: What does the “stumbling stone” teach us about how we should approach Jesus?
*The stone is also mentioned in Isaiah 28:16.
Well, I feel like I’ve been given a gift. I have never looked at this verse as we have today in the meditation.
Looking at Romans 9:32-33, 1 Peter 2:8, Isaiah 8:14, and Isaiah 28:16, I find the following:
“whoever believes in him will not be put to shame”
“They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do”
“he will become a sanctuary and a stone of offense and a rock of stumbling”
“a stone, a tested stone,
a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation:
‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.'”
I like the imagery of these four verses. I get an image of Christ being a fixed, immovable, and unchanging stone, that is a cornerstone. A stone that will surely “catch your foot,” meaning it is counter to any type of reasoning, logic, or determination a person could come up with on salvation, life, or reconciliation with God. But that same stone would then be the cornerstone of salvation, life, and reconciliation with God.
What does the “stumbling stone” teach us about how we should approach Jesus?
We shouldn’t approach in shame, but in understanding that we can never live up to the law. He is our sanctuary, we should make Him our cornerstone. He has proven Himself worthy, we should trust that He will strengthen our relationship with the Father in His time, we just need to put our faith in Him.
Thank you, Chris!
It is gratifying to share discoveries in the Word!
Your comments remind me that there is one more reference to a “rock” that should be mentioned here. In relating Nebuchadnezzar’s dream to him, Daniel describes what the king saw:
“While you were watching, a rock was cut out, but not by human hands. It struck the statue on its feet of iron and clay and smashed them. Then the iron, the clay, the bronze, the silver and the gold were all broken to pieces and became like chaff on a threshing floor in the summer. The wind swept them away without leaving a trace. But the rock that struck the statue became a huge mountain and filled the whole earth.” (Daniel 2: 34-35)
Thank you Jeff! I just read Daniel 2!
What does the “stumbling stone” teach us about how we should approach Jesus?
As believers, Christ has come to dwell in our hearts, to individually and collectively, become the stones created by God into the spiritual house in which He dwells.
1 Corinthians 3:16–17, “Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? If anyone defiles the temple of God, God will destroy him. For the temple of God is holy, which temple you are”
1 Peter 2:5, You, like living stones, are being built up into a spiritual house for a holy and dedicated priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable and pleasing to God through Jesus Christ.
A cornerstone is the principal stone, usually placed at the corner of an edifice, to guide the workers in their course. The cornerstone was usually one of the largest, the most solid, and the most carefully constructed of any in the edifice. The Bible describes Jesus as the cornerstone that His church would be built upon. He is foundational. Once the cornerstone was set, it became the basis for determining every measurement in the remaining construction; everything was aligned to it. As the cornerstone of the building of the church, Jesus is our standard of measure and alignment.
Isaiah 28:16, Therefore thus says the Lord GOD, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed.
Psalm 118:22 The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone.
Philippians 2:7-8, Jesus made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.
All true believers, are united in Christ who is the one cornerstone of the spiritual temple being built by God as His dwelling place. The proud seek to elevate themselves, become the cornerstone themselves, refuse to submit to the authority of Jesus and are cast aside, not used by the builder to build His Temple.
Thank you, Ron!
I love the reminder of the Cornerstone! When we approach the cornerstone, we align ourselves with it.
Thank you CH and R2T2. Good comments.
🙂