In stark words Jesus warned his audience against “scandalizing” little children (Matthew 18:6).
What did Jesus mean by “scandal”?
1) In our modern usage scandal is defined as “a disgraceful or highly disagreeable action, a public disgrace”. And to scandalize is “to shock or horrify by something considered immoral or grossly improper.”
2) Biblical dictionaries and biblical translations have a tendency to spiritualize and theologize and thus scandal is often rendered as “temptation to sin”, “enticement to sin or to apostasy”, sometimes also a “stumbling block.”
3) The original meaning of σκάνδαλον (SKANDALON) in the ancient Greek was “a snare”. It was derived from a verb for springing after being tripped. But scandal became more generally “any kind of a trap or even an obstacle on a road.”
What did Jesus mean by “scandal”?
1) In our modern usage scandal is defined as “a disgraceful or highly disagreeable action, a public disgrace”. And to scandalize is “to shock or horrify by something considered immoral or grossly improper.”
2) Biblical dictionaries and biblical translations have a tendency to spiritualize and theologize and thus scandal is often rendered as “temptation to sin”, “enticement to sin or to apostasy”, sometimes also a “stumbling block.”
3) The original meaning of σκάνδαλον (SKANDALON) in the ancient Greek was “a snare”. It was derived from a verb for springing after being tripped. But scandal became more generally “any kind of a trap or even an obstacle on a road.”
Until recently, when asked what might Jesus mean by scandalizing children, I would look among the first two modern definitions (secular or theological). Then we, unfortunately, heard about the US government literally catching, trapping and caging little children, while separating them from their natural care-givers. This is the SCANDAL! By this action our government joins a dark and horrid company and as Jesus’ followers we must not be silent.
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