Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” (Luke 7:23 NIV)
John the Baptist was in prison and had sent some of his followers to find out if Jesus was indeed the one he had been expecting. It would appear that John’s expectations for Jesus did not line up with the reality of who Jesus was. And so his followers asked Jesus, “Are you the one?” In response, Jesus healed many people who are around him and then sent the messengers back to John to report on what they had seen and heard.
And then he included this curious verse, “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me.” How many of us have expectations of what a messiah should be, or do, and then encounter Jesus in the pages of the gospels. A messiah who may not be what we expect or want. And how do we respond? Do we look elsewhere? Or change our expectations? Or maybe what we do is ignore those aspects of Jesus’ life and calling that we are uncomfortable with and unwilling to emulate.
Blessed are those who do not stumble because Jesus is not the messiah they want. Accept him as he is, and then follow him wholeheartedly.
I have found your answer very helpful. I love it when scripture trips me up, when I find it offends me. This is because that is how the Lord has previously shown me, explained to me something new. The personal relationship I have with him is such that at the end of the day I trust him. It must therefore be me that is wrong. He is almighty God. If I am offended it follows that it is my ignorance. The Lord has always spoken into that mystery. Not always with a solution-(I still hope one day to understand the Trinity.) But something fresh, personal and precious.
I delight that he is active in responding to my inability to grasp his wisdom, reality and love. It is no stone idol we are in relationship too.
I suspect that at least a part of the reason that the Bible is so challenging to understand is intentional. It makes us work harder. And what we work harder for means more to us.