Blessed is He who is not offended in me ~ Matthew 11:6
NIV ~ “Blessed is anyone who does not stumble on account of me."
NLT ~ “And tell him,‘God blesses those who do not turn away because of me.” GNT ~”How happy are those who have no doubts about me!"
Websters Bible ~ “And blessed is he to whom I shall not be the cause of his falling into sin.”
Skandalízō is a great word in the Greek and as you can see from above, translated numerous ways to be used with the idea of "trip up" or "entrap." Skandalizo means – properly, set a snare ("stumbling-block"); (figuratively) "to hinder right conduct or thought; to cause to stumble" – literally, "to fall into a trap" (Abbott-Smith).
"The kindred noun (skandalon) is the stick on which the bait is placed, springing to shut the trap on "an animal. Hence, generally, a 'snare, a stumbling-block'" (WS, 31).]
The English word offend (resentful or annoyed, typically as a result of a perceived insult) paints a bit of a different picture for us but the idea behind the Greek word is the action that follows; the removal from the relationship. The bait is the temptation to sever the relationship because of what we are hearing or seeing but do not understand. It may initially assault our senses but the reception to the bait is the ultimate act of falling away.
Matthew 13:21 gives a good idea of how this occurs ~ ‘yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away.’ Something comes into our life that challenges our perception of the way the word should be working for us.
We all believe like Peter, “though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended”, Matthew 26:33; but the capture of Jesus in the garden was enough to stimulate fear and denial in his life.
Jesus did all He could to prepare Peter for that moment ~These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling, John 16:1. John had Holy Ghost revelation about Jesus at His baptism. Yet both John and Peter stumbled when met with circumstances they could not reconcile with what they thought should’ve transpired.
We’ve all done the same thing and only by returning to the words Jesus has communicated to us, believing them independently of what we see and hear, will we find strength of heart, peace of mind and rest for our souls.
Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear , and the dead are raised up and the poor have the gospel preached to them and blessed is the one who is not offended by me.