Jewish Roots - The Scandalous Birth Of A Scandalous Child

Of all the names Christ was called at his birth and during his life (Emmanuel, Prince of Peace, Lamb of God), one name stands out as particularly jarring. It doesn't seem to fit with all the other majestic names He was called. That name is "Scandalon" (Literally, a "stone of stumbling"). We get the word "scandal" from that Greek word. The imagery here is of the part of an animal trap on which the bait is attached, intentionally designed to cause an animal to become ensnared. Later, "scandalon" came to mean a thing that offends people, and causes them to stumble.. Was tjhe Prince of Peace a "scandalon"? Yes. To some people He was, and was intended by God to be so!  This Thursday evening we'll  look at why this is so, and why a loving God would do this. 

Notice I Peter 2:7 and 8:

"Therefore to you who believe, He is precious; but to those who are disobedient, 'The stone which the builders rejected has become the chief cornerstone, a stone of stumbling and a rock of offense.' They stumble being disobedient to the word, to which they also were appointed."

"To which they also were appointed"?!

What is God doing here, by "appointing" some to stumble over Christ?

Your host: Rev. Rick Anderson, on "Jewish Roots", each Thursday at 9:30-10:30 EST. Listen LIVE through www.scripturesdramatized.com, or through www.blogtalkradio.com/fougcrew. [This is an "On Demand" pre-recorded episode. Do not call in tonight.]