A skandalon is a stumbling block — anything that trips a person into sin, unbelief, or spiritual ruin. In the Gospels, Jesus uses it with devastating precision: "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble (skandalisthē), it would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea" (Matt 18:6). But the supreme paradox of Scripture is that Christ Himself is the ultimate skandalon — a "stone of stumbling and a rock of offense" (1 Pet 2:8). The cross is foolishness to the perishing, a skandalon to the Jews, and the power of God to those being saved (1 Cor 1:23). The gospel must offend, because it demands the death of human pride. A Christianity that has removed all skandalon has removed Christ.
SCANDAL, n.
SCANDAL, n. [L. scandalum; Gr. σκάνδαλον.] 1. Offense given by the faults of another; reproachful aspersion; opprobrious censure. 2. Reproach or disgrace proceeding from some fault or misconduct. 3. In Scripture, that which causes to stumble — anything that occasions a fall from virtue or into sin; a stumbling-block. "Great peace have they which love thy law, and nothing shall offend them" (Ps 119:165). Webster understood the word's original force: it is not mere embarrassment, but a snare laid in the path of the soul.
• Matthew 18:6–7 — "Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble… Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks!"
• 1 Corinthians 1:23 — "We preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles."
• Romans 9:33 — "Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense."
• 1 Peter 2:8 — "A stone of stumbling and a rock of offense. They stumble because they disobey the word."
• Galatians 5:11 — "In that case the offense of the cross has been removed."
"Scandal" has been reduced to celebrity gossip, political embarrassment, or public relations damage.
"Scandal" has been reduced to celebrity gossip, political embarrassment, or public relations damage. The modern scandal is about reputation — being caught, not the sin itself. But the biblical skandalon is infinitely more serious: it is the destruction of a soul's relationship with God. When Jesus warned about causing little ones to stumble, He was not discussing reputational harm — He was pronouncing judgment on anyone who lays traps in the path of faith. The church has also domesticated the concept by removing anything "offensive" from the gospel, producing a Christ who offends no one and therefore saves no one. Paul was clear: "If I still preach circumcision, why am I still persecuted? In that case the offense (skandalon) of the cross has been removed" (Gal 5:11). A gospel without skandalon is no gospel at all.