Offence

In biblical usage, offence denotes both a moral transgression against God's law and, more specifically in the New Testament, a stumbling block (skandalon) — something that causes another to fall into sin. The Greek skandalon (from which scandal derives) originally referred to the trigger of a trap, then metaphorically to any obstacle or inducement to sin. Jesus warned with great severity against causing one of these little ones to stumble — it would be better to be drowned with a millstone (Matthew 18:6–7).

Paul develops the concept pastorally: the strong have an obligation not to use their freedom in ways that cause the weak to stumble (Romans 14:13–20; 1 Corinthians 8:9–13). The cross itself is a skandalon — a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Greeks (1 Corinthians 1:23; Galatians 5:11). The category thus spans from culpable sin to the paradox of the gospel's offensiveness to human pride.